Pelican Brewing Company braces for winter with new chocolate stout inspired by Champurrado, classic Mexican hot cocoa
Abuela’s Casita—inspired by Pelican head brewer’s Mexican roots—is a new beer reminiscent of traditional hot chocolate made with corn, cinnamon, and cacao
Pacific City, Oregon (December 6, 2017)—Baby, it’s cold outside! Just in time for a comforting winter refreshment, Pelican Brewing Company releases another in its Lone Pelican Small Batch Series: introducing Abuela’s Casita, Mexican Chocolate Stout with cinnamon and cocoa. The full-bodied, creamy stout was created by Pelican’s head brewer, Jason Schlebach, who reimagined this unique style of beer with a take on the traditional wintery beverage, Champurrado, made by his grandmother in Mexico. Pelican’s chocolate stout is inspired by the classic Mexican hot drink made with chocolate, corn and milk. Robust chocolate flavors with hints of spice come from Tanzanian cacao nibs and Indonesian cinnamon sticks. Abuela’s Casita uses the traditional Champurrado ingredients of corn and lactose to add depth of flavor and to round out the palate. A staple drink made during the winter, Pelican offers this treat to warm the winter nights, just like Abuela does. Pale Ale malt, Crystal malt, flaked corn, Blackprinz malt, lactose, cacao nibs, cinnamon, Magnum hops, pure local water, pure ale yeast combine to create a rich cocoa character—available for a limited time now in 22 oz. bottles and on tap.ABV: 6% | IBU: 35 | PLATO: 16º
“I wanted to create a beer that harkens back to my favorite childhood beverage with a rich, creamy Mexican Stout perfect for seasonal drinking—not a forced chili-infused version, but an authentic throwback to a traditional chocolate character,” says Schlebach, who hails from both Mexican and German roots. “What we created is a very authentic Mexican version of this unique beer style that’s like no other we’ve tasted before. It’s a perfect addition to our Lone Pelican Series which offers limited-production beers that explore new techniques, ingredients and uncommon styles of beer.” With consistent growth and demand for its products, Pelican recently increased brewing and bottling capacity at its Tillamook facility to over 38,000 barrels and opened a new brewpub in Cannon Beach which offers additional capacity for such experimentation. Like all Pelican beers, Abuela’s Casita is born at the beach by a team of award-winning craft beer makers known for brewing styles of beer that they themselves love to drink. Cheers! About Pelican Brewing Company Pelican Brewing Company was founded in 1996 by Jeff Schons and Mary Jones in Pacific City with Oregon's only oceanfront brewpub. Celebrating its 21st year, the brewing company has created masterpieces like Kiwanda Cream Ale, India Pelican Ale, MacPelican’s Scottish Ale, Tsunami Stout and Doryman’s Dark. With the vision, creativity and brewing expertise of founding brewmaster Darron Welch, Pelican Brewing has won over 450 awards including a Silver Medal at the 2016 Great American Beer Festival, 2014 World Beer Cup© Champion Small Brewing Company and Brewmaster of the Year. Pelican Brewing currently distributes 22oz bottles, 12oz bottles in 6-packs, a new mixed 12-pack, and 50 liter and 20 liter kegs via a network of distributors in Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Utah, and Hawaii. The company operates brewing and brewpub facilities in Pacific City, Tillamook and Cannon Beach. For more information, visit Pelican Brewing Company. Contact: Claudia Johnson, Public Relations, 503-799-2220.