Ghostfish Brewing Triple Layer Chocolate Fudge Cake Pastry Stout

Dedicated Gluten Free Pastry Stout

Ghostfish Brewing’s 6th Anniversary Limited Release

This is one hell of a special beer! Ghostfish Brewing’s 6th Anniversary limited release is a GLUTEN FREE Triple Chocolate Layer Fudge Cake Pastry Stout. You heard that right. And yes, there’s a lot to that, so feel free to read it again and pinch yourself if you must.

Before I go any further, I want to draw attention to the fact that this beer does have lactose. As many of you know, I do not tolerate lactose well at all, so I invited my friend Randy (a BJCP Grand Master IV Beer & Mead Judge) to guest review this luxurious stout. And yes, my heart did break a little when I had to hand this one off.

The Triple Layer Chocolate Fudge Cake Pastry Stout is brewed on a base of millet, rice, and gluten free oats. They added lactose and molasses for a “baked good-like” sweetness. Then this gluten free pastry stout was conditioned with liquid cacao and maple syrup oak barrel chips. It has a 7% ABV and a 26 IBU.

Feast your eyes on the luscious pour of this gluten free pastry stout in the video below. Keep scrolling to find out what Randy thought of this special release. I’d love to hear YOUR thoughts as well, if you were lucky enough to taste one of these cake beers. :)

The Taste Test

Triple Layer Chocolate Fudge Cake Pastry Stout

Reviewed By Beer Judge, Randy Scorby

The beer pours a very deep brown and opaque like the color of bittersweet chocolate. The big brown rocky head leaves a thick stand on the beer that falls quickly. Sheeting on the side of the glass gives the impression of a full-bodied beer.

The aroma is prominent roast and dark bittersweet chocolate, with light graininess from the base grains with a slight nutty character and light resiny hops. The aroma blossoms is it warms, with a shot of espresso from the roast millet. Overall, a rich and complex aroma.

The flavor follows suit with a prominent roast component that turns a bit burnt and astringent in the aftertaste. Dark cocoa powder hits mid-palate along with a high, and pushing aggressive, hop bitterness.

Light graininess, light espresso and light resiny hops sneak in behind the roast and chocolate to help create a complex flavor profile.  As it continues to warm, some dark fruit esters begin to develop.

This is a full bodied beer with medium low alcohol warming. Light residual sweetness hits in the middle but dries out quickly in the finish. Overall, this is a complex beer full of roast and chocolate. It is a full bodied stout with enough hop bitterness to make NW hop heads really, really happy.

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Thanks for your review Randy!

P.S. Like what I do for the gluten free beer community? Consider buying me a beer for my efforts! ;)