Cadbunny Brew - An Epic Easter Collab with Wood Brothers Brewing
I don’t think I’ve ever seen a silly chat between friends actually materialize into something so quickly. Some of my closest beer media friends and I have a chat group which includes myself, Craig (better known as “Cee, Certified Brew Head”) of BAOS, Chris and Max of Hops & Bros, and Noah of Beerism. We talk literally every day, usually just shooting shit, often discussing beer news and occasionally thinking of crazy ideas for ridiculous beers, collaborations and whatnot. More often than not they’re just jokes, but this is a story of one silly idea that actually turned into a real thing.
In early March, we somehow got onto the topic of a Creme Egg stout as an Easter-themed beer. We laughed about it at first, but within less than an hour, Chris had got in touch with Wood Brothers Brewing from North Glengarry, ON, who by a wild coincidence had already been planning an Easter Creme Egg stout, and before we knew it we had a collab plan in the works!
Photo by Nathan Does Beer.
Noah, Max and I unfortunately missed out on the brew day, but Cee and Chris were there to rep BAOS and Hops & Bros respectively, fully partake in the brewing process and document the whole thing while they were at it, and damn it looked like a fun time.
Now for the beer itself. If you were ever looking for Easter candy in a glass, this is it. Cadbunny Brew is an 8.5% imperial milk stout brewed with Creme Eggs, a special Creme Egg fudge from Cowan’s Dairy (Cornwall, ON), Ecuador cacao nibs, Madagascar vanilla and lactose. If you think that sounds like a decadent combo of ingredients, you’d be right.
Photo by Nathan Does Beer.
The pour is oily slick and black as tar with a loose milk chocolate-coloured head that fades quickly. The nose is full on sweet milk chocolate candy. The mouthfeel is viscous and velvety smooth with a sticky, fudgey candy cream quality as well. There’s an abundance of sweetness, which is not surprising considering the generous combo of additions. The chocolate flavour is rich, coming through at first with the texture of a melted milk chocolate bar as well as a dusty sprinkling of powdered cocoa, finishing nicely with a welcome bite of bitter dark chocolate. The vanilla is giving it that decadent silky smoothness as well as combining with the lactose to contribute that extra kick of sweetness. Despite the 8.5% ABV, there is barely a trace of alcohol. This is a beer that delivers what it advertises: a rich, tasty treat.
Photo by Noah Forrest of Beerism.
Wood Brothers Brewing have a proud “Beer is fun.” attitude, and this beer is strong evidence of that. It’s admittedly silly but also downright delicious. It sold out within a couple of hours of the pre-order launch, so it has unfortunately already come and gone but you can bet you’ll be seeing more adventurous and insanely delicious brews coming out of Wood Brothers on a regular basis. Keep your eyes on their Social Media for pre-order announcements and enjoy some “Fearsome tasty liquid!”
Photo by Nathan Does Beer.
Wood Brothers Brewing Co.
2980 Wylie Rd.
North Glengarry, ON
Find Wood Brothers Brewing online!
Read Noah’s review of the beer!
Nathan
Nathan is a craft beer enthusiast from Ottawa, ON. He is the Co-Founder of @TeamLactose, he’s passionate about travelling for beer and he loves talking about beer from Ontario, Quebec and beyond.