A Look Into 'Couch Funding:' Spiteful Brewing Cherry Stout

By Ben Kramer in Food on Mar 10, 2015 6:30PM

Via Spiteful Brewing's Facebook

Beer is like music in that there are sub-genres and fusion. There’s fusion of jazz and rock, hip-hop and metal, dub and step. While there are countless experimental beers out there, there are some simple fusion beers in the world like the cherry stout. It's easy enough. Cherries + Stout = Cherry Stout. Spiteful Brewing isn’t the first to try the style, but their Couch Funding Cherry Stout is a brew that is still good on the taste buds.

In a press release for the beer, Spiteful Co-Founder and Player-Coach Jason Klein describes it as something, “reminiscent of a chocolate covered cherry.” That probably is the best way to sum it up, as the tiny tartness of the cherries blends well with the bitterness of the chocolate. A sweetness is present, but not overwhelming which allows the two main players to shine.

There’s no complex story as to why the guys at Spiteful wanted to do this style. Klein simply says, “we just happen to like cherries and their slightly tart and sweet flavors combine well with a dark stout that has notes of chocolate.”

The cherry adding process is just as informal as Spiteful’s reasons for making the beer. As Klein explained to Chicagoist in an email, the crew receives buckets of frozen tart Michigan cherries from Seedling Farms while the beer is still fermenting. Once fermentation is done, the cherries are thawed and broken up in a large hand held blender. From there the cherries are put into the fermentation tank with the beer for 12 days, where the stout absorbs some of the fruits flavor. Once the 12 days are up, the beer is separated from the cherries and then packaged.

For those looking for a roasty stout that’s slightly sweet and slightly tart, Couch Funding is worth finding the funds for. Packaged in 22-ounce bottles and at 7 percent ABV, Couch Funding can be found at Warehouse Liquors (634 S. Wabash Ave.) and Bottles and Cans (4109 N. Lincoln Ave.)