CEREAL BEER

BREAKFAST cereal-inspired craft beer. Yep, it’s a thing and a big one at that. First there was Hefe-Wheaties – a limited edition craft beer from Minneapolis brewer Fulton. There aren’t actually any Wheaties in the beer. The connection is the wheat, which is a trademark of Hefeweizen brews. The south German-style of beer is typically brewed with over 5O% malted wheat. Now, San Francisco brewer 21st Amendment is upping the ante with Toaster Pastry, an India Red Ale that’s an homage to Pop-Tarts. Before the brewer moved into its current facility it was the Kellogg factory where Pop-Tarts and Frosted Flakes were made. And if none of that works for you there’s always Count Chocula beer. Colorado’s Black Bottle Brewery is working with General Mills to bring back the popular beer which debuted last year. At the time, Black Bottle employees bought pretty much every locally available box of the cereal to make the inaugural batch. (General Mills will supply the cereal to the brewer this year.) No stranger to the cereal-beer concept, Black Bottle Brewery actually has a Cerealiously line that has previously included Honey Bunches of Oats, Golden Grahams and Cinnamon Toast Crunch. The brewer puts the cereal in a bag to prevent pieces from getting into the beer – in a procedure that’s similar to dry hopping.