CAMBRIDGE, Mass. — Sandwiched in between Hanukkah and Christmas is the release of Cambridge Brewing Company’s newest collaboration with Mamaleh’s Delicatessen – Chocolate Babka Stout! On Friday, December 22nd the Kendall Square brewpub will tap into its second collab with this neighboring modern Jewish deli. Chocolate Babka Stout follows their first partnered effort, The Bagel Bock, which is a strong rye lager brewed with Mamaleh’s handmade bagels. This seasonal release followed suit in incorporating the beer’s namesake into the mash. The fresh pastries were brought over by the deli’s team, and they helped the CBC Brew Crew in kicking off the collaborative brewday.
Commenting on the partnership, CBC Brewmaster Will Meyers “felt that it was only natural to continue collaborating with our neighbors and pals here at One Kendall Square.”
This little corner of Cambridge packs a punch culinary-wise, with restaurants tucked away along with the brewpub and deli. It provides the perfect environment to work with a fellow small business in creating something unique to offer the local community.
“At Mamaleh’s we’ve really tried to incorporate the flavors and traditions of Deli culture into our bar program as a whole,” said Evan Harrison, Manager and Co-Owner of Mamaleh’s. “So it’s beyond exciting to have our neighbors – who happen to be a world class brewery – joining in on the fun with these collaboration brews! And the funnier the idea, the better, so why not a ‘series’ of two babka-inspired stouts?”
Chocolate Babka Stout, and its follow-up, Cinnamon Babka Stout, are an ode to the Seinfeld episode “The Dinner Party” where purchasing a chocolate babka snowballs into a whole affair. Not only is the memorable episode a classic, but its focus, the babka, provides the perfect vehicle for this collaboration between CBC and Mamaleh’s.
Chocolate Babka Stout debuts as stout season, and colder weather, settles in, and one could argue that the holidays have ushered in pastry stout season. The term “pastry stout” is somewhat new as Meyers remarks, “Pastry Stouts have become a thing amongst the new beer crowd, but we’ve been entertaining ourselves with these inspired brews since way back when they were just called Extreme Beers.”
This “extreme beer” was brewed with malted wheat, flaked wheat, chocolate wheat malt, and, of course, actual chocolate babka pastries. The CBC Brew Crew also added brown sugar, lactose, vanilla beans, and cacao in an effort to replicate the ingredients in the traditional sweet yeasted bread. This limited release comes in at 6.75%, and will get tapped at the CBC brewpub, Mamaleh’s Delicatessen, and around Cambridge.
The Cinnamon Babka Stout will complete this series and will unquestionably live up to its chocolate counterpart. As Meyers notes, “some people may consider cinnamon babka to be a ‘lesser babka’, but they’ve never had Mamaleh’s”, and they’ve never tried it in liquid form! Locals and visitors to the Kendall Square brewpub will be able to try the Chocolate Babka Stout collaboration when it gets tapped on December 22nd.