The beer represents the first in the brewery’s Maker Series, a food-based
collaboration series that highlights integrity in process and ingredients

Little Beast Brewing is releasing their first "pastry stout" with Merit Badge S’mores Imperial Stout. Merit Badge is the first beer in the Portland-based brewery's Maker Series and will be released in 16oz cans and on draft on October 26th at the Little Beast Beer Garden.

Merit Badge is brewed in collaboration with Hot Cakes Molten Chocolate Cakery in Seattle, and made with their caramel syrup. Merit Badge will be released in Seattle on November 1st at both Hot Cakes locations and sold to-go exclusively at both Chuck’s Hop Shop locations.

More from a press release:

A full-bodied and luscious confection ale, Merit Badge is 11% ABV and is brewed with whole ingredients including 1.5 pounds of Meridian Cacao Co.’s Tanzanian cacao nibs per barrel, graham flour, cinnamon, vanilla, and organic dry-burned caramel syrup from Hot Cakes in Seattle for an extra layer of complexity. The malt bill includes Briess cherrywood smoked malt and German beechwood smoked malt for extra campfire flavor. 

Merit Badge represents the first beer in Little Beast’s new food-based Maker Series, which aims to highlight, through quarterly collaborations, the exquisite craftsmanship of specialty food artisans. The first in the series is a collaboration with Hot Cakes, a Seattle dessert restaurant founded by confection maker Autumn Martin, and is directly inspired by the organic s’mores molten hot cake served at Hot Cakes. 

“Before starting Little Beast my career and passion was in specialty food. I worked directly with food artisans that inspired me with their integrity of process and ingredients,” said Little Beast co-founder Brenda Crow. “Autumn is one of those artisans, and she is one of the most creative people I know. She was a chocolatier, she runs a plant-based ice cream shop called Frankie & Jo's, and she opened up Hot Cakes, which serves extraordinary desserts, packaged confections, and other sweet things. When we dreamed up the Maker Series, Autumn’s Hot Cakes was always going to be our first collaboration.”

Beer release information

Portland, OR - On October 26 at 12:00pm Little Beast will release Merit Badge to the public at their year-round beer garden in SE Portland. The brewery produced only a couple kegs and 75 cases of the beer, fourteen of which will be sent to Seattle. 4-packs cost $22 and are limited to six 4-packs per customer. During the beer release, Little Beast will also serve Hot Cakes S’mores molten chocolate cake until sold out. The dessert is made with smoked chocolate, marshmallow, and graham crumble. Alongside Merit Badge, Little Beast will release the 2018 vintage of Radical Forces, a 10.7% adventuresome beer with loads of 2018 whole cluster Pinot Noir grapes from Echo Hill Vineyard in North Plains, Oregon.

Seattle, WA - On Friday November 1, Little Beast will release Merit Badge for on-site drinking at both Hot Cakes Molten Chocolate Cakery locations in Seattle. Both restaurants will receive two cases and will serve a specialty dessert to pair with the decadent S’mores beer. Little Beast co-founders, Brenda Crow and Charles Porter, will be at the Capitol Hill location to say hi to sweet-toothed fans beginning at 4:00pm. 

In Washington, to-go 4-packs of Merit Badge are available exclusively at Chuck’s Hop Shop beginning November 1. Both Chuck’s Hop Shop locations will receive five cases of the beer.

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About Little Beast:

Founded by partners in life and work, Charles Porter and Brenda Crow, Little Beast is a family brewery with a passion for making great beer and sharing it with others. We craft wild, wood-aged, and blended beer naturally with diverse cultures, including Saccharomyces, Brettanomyces, Lactobacillus, and wild flora. By harnessing the little beasts that ferment our beer, we capture their untamed beauty and produce farmhouse beers that are diverse in flavor and rare in character.

About Hot Cakes Molten Chocolate Cakery:

Founded in 2008 by Autumn Martin, Hot Cakes Molten Chocolate Cakery is two dessert restaurants in Seattle, WA, and a line of organic retail desserts sold nationwide. Rooted in the PNW, we inspire and nurture our community by creating beautiful, organic desserts. We are dedicated to our employees and partnerships, and advocate for the preservation of wild and farm lands. https://getyourhotcakes.com/