Demand for Montezuma’s Chocolate Lager is growing as the Christmas season approaches.
The innovative beer is the world’s first authentic chocolate lager and was launched in Autumn 2014 as the result of a collaboration between Hogs Back Brewery, based in Tongham, Surrey, and West Sussex-based chocolate maker Montezuma’s. The 4.5% ABV light honey coloured, highly aromatic lager won a Gold award at the International Beer Challenge 2014.
Montezuma’s Chocolate Lager took six months to develop as the brewery and chocolatier teams tested styles of beer and production methods. Hogs Back Brewery managing director Rupert Thompson explains, “As brewers, we assumed that a chocolate beer would have to be dark, but the Montezuma’s team didn’t have the same preconceptions. We were surprised but delighted with the final beer and it’s been winning drinkers and listings ever since.”
Chocolate itself cannot be added directly to beer because of its fat content, so traditionally brewers have used dark, roasted malts to achieve a chocolate flavour. The innovative solution arrived at by the teams was to use a unique process to extract a natural essence from Montezuma’s ‘Lordy Lord’ dark chocolate bar, which could be added to a lager.
The beer is light, refreshing with a rich but well-balanced chocolate and hop flavour, evident on both the nose and the palate. The lager itself is based on the recipe for Hogs Back Brewery’s Hogstar English Lager, which is brewed with five different hops and special botanicals and is matured for over a month to allow flavours to deepen.
Montezuma’s is enjoyable on its own or paired with all things chocolate, from a square of Lordy Lord itself to a Yule Log. The brand has an RSP of £2.19 for a 330ml bottle.
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NOTES TO EDITORS
- Hogs Back Brewery was founded in 1992 in Tongham, Surrey, in the heart of the traditional Surrey hop growing area.
- Its flagship brand TEA, or Traditional English Ale, is the leading independent ale in Surrey and increasing in popularity throughout London and the South East, as well as being sold in leading supermarkets. TEA was recently awarded the Gold medal in the Best Bitter Category for the London and South East Area by CAMRA, the Campaign for Real Ale.
- The Hogs Back Brewery range includes a number of award-winning draught and bottled beers. Recent launches include Hogstar English Lager and Montezuma’s Chocolate lager, both demonstrating Hogs Back Brewery’s ability to combine brewing expertise and tradition with product innovation to create distinctive, memorable beers. Hogstar won a Gold award at the Society of Independent Brewers’ National Keg Beer Competition 2015. In 2013, Hogs Back also launched a traditional cloudy cider, Hazy Hog.
- In September 2015 Hogs Back Brewery harvested the first hops from its own hop garden a 3.5 acre plot adjacent to the brewery, bringing the traditional but near-extinct White Bine hop variety back to its Surrey home. Once fully mature, the hop garden will provide 25% of the brewery’s hop requirements.
- Hogs Back Brewery is growing its presence in both the on and off trade. Customers include Sainsbury’s, Waitrose, Majestic Wine, JD Wetherspoon, Mitchells & Butlers, Greene King and Spirit Pub Company.
Issued on behalf of: Hogs Back Brewery
Further information: Ros Shiel: ros@shielporter.com / 07841 694137
John Porter: john@shielporter.com / 07734 054389