Independence Brewing Co. and Alamo Drafthouse announced the 2018 edition of a holiday beer that has become a seasonal favorite among Alamo Drafthouse patrons—a yearly release called End Credits.
“This evolving series of limited-release holiday beers from Independence has become an annual end of year cinematic tradition for Alamo Drafthouse,” says John Gross, Alamo Drafthouse’s Director of National Beer Promotions. “We think highly of everything the brewery puts out and savor every drop of the limited releases while we can.”
This year’s recipe, German Chocolate Cake Stout, was inspired by the Alamo Drafthouse staff’s collective sweet tooth. According to Independence’s head brewer, Brannon Radicke, the beer’s driving flavor is layers of chocolate and cocoa with hints of toasted coconut in the aroma and taste. The malt bill and addition of lactose gave the brew a touch of sugariness, which balanced out the mild bitterness of cocoa and hops. End Credits has an ABV of 6.5% and a medium body that isn’t too heavy. Radicke describes it as “more cakelike than syrupy.” A fitting description for a beer emulating a decadent dessert.
“We deconstructed the traditional German chocolate cake and brewed this chocolate-y, coconut-y cake stout,” he continues. “The base style is an oatmeal milk stout layered with velvety chocolate notes and accentuated by cocoa nibs from Ghana and Ecuador. We also used a Dutch-processed cocoa powder and a blend of chocolate malts to get the exact flavor profile we wanted.”
John Gross and others from the Alamo Drafthouse crew joined Radicke and his team at the Independence brewery in South Austin to help brew the beer. Together, they hand-toasted 300 pounds of raw coconut on a flat top griddle. It took five days, five hours each day.
“The delicious German chocolate and the subtle coconut somehow just taste even better when the lights are down in the movie theater,” says Gross. The beer was designed to pair perfectly with popcorn.
The 2018 release of End Credits is special for another reason—it will be the first-ever Independence brew to be sold in Denver, making this recipe the company’s official debut in The Centennial State. Colorado is now the third state that Independence Brewing Co. beer is sold, rounding out an already incredibly successful year for the brewery.
“Alamo Drafthouse is proud to treat our guests to a special, rich beer as a reward for making it through a gonzo year,” adds Gross. “We drank plenty of standout beers while watching stellar movies in 2018 and are pleased to wind down with a chocolatey doozy as the proverbial credits roll on another calendar year.”
Independence’s End Credits German Chocolate Cake Stout is now available on draft at all 20 Alamo Drafthouse locations in Texas and at both Drafthouse locations in Denver. The seasonal brew is also available at select restaurants and bars in both states.
