Now There’s a Fernet Beer

Drink Features Fernet-Branca
Now There’s a Fernet Beer

Now there’s a Fernet beer.

Chicago’s Forbidden Root has brewed up a collaboration beer between the brewery and the producers of Fernet-Braca. For the beer, the brewery deconstructed the classic digestif and then reconstructed it into a brew they think will be a favorite of both beer and Amaro lovers.

“I am extremely proud of Fernetic, a craft beer inspired by my family’s Fernet-Branca recipe that dates back to 1845,” says Edoardo Branca, the sixth generation Branca family member now managing the Fratelli Branca business in the U.S. “Our goal was to find a way to translate the Fernet-Branca experience into beer and Forbidden Root was the natural partner to make this happen. Amaro and craft beer fans alike will now get to experience something that has never been done before – the first collaboration of this kind for both Fernet-Branca and Forbidden Root.”

The brew clocks in at 8.4% and includes things like saffron, rhubarb root, wormwood, and a number of other herbs and spices typically found in Fernet-Branca.

“Collaborations are always an opportunity to step outside your comfort zone and build off someone else’s creative energy,” says Forbidden Root head brewer BJ Pichman. “With Fernet-Branca, we were working with a nearly 175 year-old recipe, a body of very distinct flavors and a bitterness factor that is not usually present in beers. Our team really enjoyed the creative challenge of working to make a delicious, uncommon beer while keeping true to the flavors and history of the Fernet-Branca recipe.”

Here’s how the brewery describes the beer: “With hints of coffee and peppermint on the nose, Fernetic offers complex flavors and a soft roastiness in its dark-colored finish. Bitter notes build to a spicy, creamy middle and dry woody finish.”

The beer will be released January 19th at Forbidden Root’s West Town location. It will also be available on draft at the brewpub and in 22 oz. bottles, dipped in black wax, for $14.99.

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