Flossmoor Station Restaurant & Brewery brewmaster Jake LaDuke’s stout infused with chocolate and cherries won the Best Overall and People’s Choice Awards at the Journeyman Distillery’s Barrel-Aged Brewfest in October.
Brewery, proudly displays his bourbon barrel prize for his
award-winning chocolate and cherries stout.
(Provided photo)
His efforts are continuing the brewery’s winning streak, according to Sandi Nelson, manager at Flossmoor Station who said the business has won more than 100 industry awards for brewing over the past 28 years it’s been in business.
LaDuke, who is a chess enthusiast, created Pawn & King Stout when he arrived at the brewery about 14 months ago. It was the base beer for his award-winning entry “Double-Barrel Aged Chocolate Cherry Pawn & King Stout.”
LaDuke brought his talents for barrel aging beers from his previous employer, Werk Force Brewing Co. in Plainfield. He developed his own beer for entry in the Journeyman competition. The one major requirement was the beer had to be aged in bourbon barrels from the Journeyman’s facilities in Three Oaks, Michigan.
LaDuke said he started with his Pawn & King Stout being aged for eight months in Willett barrels that are meant for bourbon. He then transferred the stout to bourbon barrels from Journeyman, brewing it for another four months.
“Once I pulled it from the barrel, I infused it with chocolate and maraschino cherries. It’s very like dessert, decadent,” he said.
It wasn’t the first time LaDuke has used flavors in his brews. He said for this competition he wanted the interesting flavor, but he didn’t want it to be excessively cherry.
“I always try to make the beer the star of the show and anything else is like the supporting actor. I wanted to make sure the cherry was subdued in the background supporting the beer,” he said. “Same with the chocolate. It had to be a balanced beer.”
LaDuke was awarded a special barrel as his prize. “It was a fun event,” he said.
The award-winning beer isn’t available at Flossmoor Station, but the Pawn & King Stout is on tap. It has a 10% alcohol content, very high for a casual beer drinker, which is why LaDuke calls it a “nightcap” drink.
Next up, LaDuke is entering the Festival of Wood and Barrel-Aged Beer competition in Chicago later this month. He calls it “one of the highest regarded competitions in the United States” for brewers.
He’s taking his Pawn & King Stout and making two batches – one in a bourbon barrel and one in a rye barrel. This time he’s adding chocolate and some vanilla for flavor. He may even try to bottle the entries.
While there’s no cash prize with the beer competitions, LaDuke says “it’s fun to win awards. Amongst industry people you get to brag about it.”
