Last year Firestone Walker Brewing introduced new winter seasonal Cinnamon Dolce, a nitro stout that was a big hit with fans and ranked as one of our top winter seasonals of 2021. For this chilly holiday season the brewery is bringing back the same base beer but with mocha flavors from vanilla beans, cocoa nibs, and fresh-roasted coffee instead of cinnamon.

“We enhanced our classic nitro stout and took it to the next level with the addition of premium Madagascar vanilla beans, whole-roasted coffee beans and cocoa nibs—all of which meld perfectly with the beer’s rich, chocolaty character,” said Brewmaster Matt Brynildson. “The result is a smooth, creamy beer that reminds you of your favorite latte.”

Mocha Dolce Nitro Stout is a limited fall-winter seasonal that is rolling out to all Firestone Walker markets in six pack (12-ounce can) formats. Mocha Dolce is also available in draft in a non-nitro version for a limited time.  

Curated Flavors

To create Mocha Dolce Nitro Stout, the brewing team partnered with three of their favorite local and California purveyors: HoneyCo Coffee Roasters in San Luis Obispo; Cooks Flavorings in Paso Robles; and TCHO Chocolate in Berkeley.

“For the coffee beans, we landed on HoneyCo’s single-origin Columbia Granadilla medium roast,” Brynildson said. “We tried a bunch of different coffees and ultimately landed on their Columbia Granadilla as a perfect complement to the beer with its nougat and spun caramel flavors.”

He added, “We don’t grind the beans at all—we circulate the beer through the whole beans. It’s a less efficient way to gain flavor, but it prevents any of the bitter qualities that you might get from over-extraction.”

The Madagascar vanilla beans were sourced from Cooks Flavorings, a third-generation family enterprise renowned worldwide for its vanilla and other spices. Finally, the cocoa nibs came from TCHO Chocolate, with whom Brynildson has worked for several years.

“These are all amazing ingredients that work really well together,” Brynildson said. “We never want any one flavor to stick out—we want them to work in concert together to create this seamless Mocha Dolce character.” 

 Founded by brothers-in-law Adam Firestone and David Walker in 1996, Firestone Walker Brewing Company is a California beer company with three innovative brewing facilities. Firestone Walker’s main brewery in Paso Robles produces a diverse portfolio ranging from iconic pale ales to vintage barrel-aged beers. The Barrelworks facility in Buellton makes eccentric wild ales, while the Propagator pilot brewhouse in Venice specializes in R&D beers and limited local offerings. Firestone Walker is also the brewery behind 805, one of the nation’s fastest-growing beers. Firestone Walker was recently named “Best American Brewery of the Decade” by Paste Magazine.