On Vacation with Crown and Hops's Island Anomaly Coconut Stout Craft Beer

What happens when Black people make craft beer? MAGIC. Enter Crowns and Hops.

Founded by Beny Ashburn & Teo Hunter, Crowns and Hops’s mission is to “create spaces that are community centric with underserved communities of color in mind, driving diversity, economic growth and influencing inclusion.”

They showcase Black history and culture, including their HBCU Hazy IPA, Urban Queen Imperial Stour, Miles Miles to Italy Italian Pilsner, and Royal Verses West Coast IPA. We used Crowns and Hops’s Island Anomaly, a toasted coconut stout with chocolate and coffee notes, to make a root beer-esque ‘beer-tail’ that has won a place on my summer cocktail roster.

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Ingredients:

• 1 oz. Montenegro

• 1 oz. LS Cream liqueur (or Bailey’s, if unavailable)

• 1/2 oz. simple syrup

• 3 dashes Angostura bitters

• 1 egg white

• 2 oz. Crown and Hops’ Island Anomaly Stout

• Root Beer, to top

Instructions:

1. Add all ingredients except the Island Anomaly Stout and root beer in a tin.

2. Dry shake until you can’t shake anymore!

3. Add ice to tin and shake again.

4. Strain over ice in a wine glass.

5. Fill the glass 3/4 full with the stout and then top with root beer.

6. Enjoy!

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Popular Craft Beers from Around the World

Craft beer is made by local brewers with unique ingredients and traditional fermentation methods. In each glass, you can savor the taste of a specially brewed beverage with a distinct flavor. Recently, a rapid increase in the number of craft beers made by microbrewers has provided a variety of delicious options for beer drinkers around the globe.

From India pale ale to American hops and Belgian inspired ale, local brewers have provided many refreshing alternatives to the well-known lager beers made by major brewers. Luckily for you, we've rounded up some of the most popular craft beers from different parts of the world.

Brasserie St. James Red Headed Stranger (U.S.)

This red saison is brewed by Brasserie St. James, the award-winning American brewery located in Reno, Nevada. Made from water drawn from a 285-feet deep artesian well and a combination of orange peel, coriander, grains of paradise, and a special Belgian yeast strain, this craft beer tastes like a mixture of a saison and red ale.

The aroma of spices and delicious malt flavor leave a refreshing taste in your mouth. After receiving the applause and recommendation of many beer lovers, the Red Headed Stranger won the silver medal at this year's Best of Craft Beer Awards, after winning the gold medal at the United States Beer Championships two years ago. 

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Feral Hop Hog (Australia)

Hop Hog is a regular award winner at craft beer competitions hosted in all major cities in Australia. Feral Brewing has successfully produced an American-style India Pale Ale that contains a high dose of American hops, which give this beer its name.

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It has a distinct citrus flavor and a strong pine needle aroma. Apart from the Hop Hog, which is rated as one of the best craft beers in Australia, Feral Brewing also provides a range of exciting options, from the strong Imperial Stout to the wild-fermented sour beers. 

Andechser Doppelbock Dunkel (Germany)

Brewed by monks at the German Kloster Andechs monastery in the city of Bavaria, this beer is made out of four main ingredients: yeast, hops, water and barley, in line with the Beer Purity Law in Germany. 

Note: In 1516, the German government passed a law called "Reinheitsgebot" that stated "only ingredients used for the brewing of beer must be barley, hops and water."  Water was often polluted so people drank beer, often in vast quantities, to quench their thirst.  By ensuring beer contained only high-quality products the law protected the public from poor standard, and potentially lethal, beverages. Reinheitsgebot also brought about a standardization in production well ahead of its time. 

But its distinct flavor has a mixture of figs, dates and cocoa. Doppelbock Dunkel has a unique reddish tint and aroma of malt and caramel that leaves a nice chocolate after-taste in your mouth. Very few craft beers have provided the same kind of satisfaction that the Benedictine brewers have provided since 1455.

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Collesi Imper Ale Ubi Rossa (Italy)

This strong Belgian-style dark ale is brewed at the Collesi family estate located in the central Italian village of Apecchio. Just like the beers produced in Germany, the four main ingredients used to make Ubi Rossa are hops, barley, yeast and water. The water used for this craft beer is from a pristine, untainted spring that requires no chemical treatment or purification.

Much like traditional Belgian beers, the ale passes through another stage of fermentation in the bottle. During this re-fermentation stage, the yeast creates an exceptional mixture of dried fruit, cherry and hazelnut flavors.

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Those are some of the most famous craft beers that you should strive to taste if you are a beer lover. Each beer has a unique taste that cannot be reproduced by any large scale brewer. You will cherish each moment as you savor the rich complex flavors created by award-winning microbrewers.

- Tony Bod