Acadiana based Bayou Teche Brewing has a definitively Cajun concoction on their hands with the creation of a breakfast stout. It hits the market this weekend.
The Cajun Breakfast Stout is brewed with boudin, coffee, and maple syrup.
Brewery founder Karlos Knott says to his knowledge it’s the first time in the sausage’s over 200 year history that it’s been tossed into beer, and not just eaten alongside it, and taste like nothing you’ve sipped before.
“You’ve got a nice play on the hops from the sage and the different spices in the boudin we’re using, and the red pepper and the black pepper as well really play on the grassy flavor of the hops as well.”
The sausage comes from Russell’s Grocery in Arnaudville.
Knott says like most good ideas, the plan started with a few drinks to get the team in the right frame of mind to think up their next great beer. The owner says they’ve been wanting to take on a breakfast stout, but do it with a bayou twist.
“There’s a lot of them (breakfast stouts) around the country with like maple syrup, oatmeal, bacon, different kinds of breakfast flavors. We thought, what’s really Cajun? And the idea of putting boudin on beer came up.”
They don’t just brew up a stout, toss some sausage into the bottle and call it a day either. The boudin is introduced early in the process, during mashing, when the grains that will become your drink get converted to sugar.
“We put some of the boudin there, in like a big kettle, so it cooked in there with the grains, and then a little later at the very end of that date, that first day, we bring that same liquid to a boil and we added some boudin there.”
The beer is available at the brewery’s Arnaudville location, on draft and in four packs. Knott says if the beer takes off locally, they’ll look to getting it sent out statewide.