Drink of the Week: Sierra Nevada Fritz and Ken’s Ale

To celebrate their 30th anniversary, Sierra Nevada tapped some of the foremost pioneers in the craft-brewing world to collaborate on four different brews that will be released throughout this year. For the series’ inaugural beer, Anchor Brewing Company’s founder Fritz Maytag joined with Sierra Nevada’s Ken Grossman to craft this rich, inky-black stout. Aromas of molasses and rum-soaked raisins quickly open into potent flavors of dark, roasted malts, black coffee and pronounced hop bitterness. Finishing with notes of pure bitter dark chocolate and a trace of smoke, this robust imperial stout is a great candidate for cellaring and is best sipped only with a slight chill. Released earlier this month, Fritz and Ken’s Ale is currently making its way into all 50 states, and be sure to keep an eye out for the other beers in this series in the coming months, which highlight Sierra Nevada’s collaborations with Charlie Papazian, Fred Eckhart and Jack McAuliffe.
$10 for 750 ml., sierra30.com

For more on beer collaborations, check out “All Together Now” in the March/April issue.