Eagle Rock Brewery working on 'Red Velvet' ale

Eagle Rock Brewery seems to be hitting all the trendy notes. First, it announced a coffee beer with Intelligentsia. Now it has an Imperial Red Velvet Ale. What's next -- a mobile gastropub?

Last night, the folks at the brewery got together with Donny Hammel, a home brewer from Camarillo, and started working on an Imperial Red Velvet Ale. Hammel's recipe won  the Doug King Memorial Competition in January, landing him a chance to brew in ERB's commercial brew house.

There's none of the jones-inducing cake batter in the blend; the name is a reference to the mouth-feel of the Imperial Red.

“The rye in the Imperial Red lends this very silky texture. It's a really velvety, smooth beer that's totally indulgent,” says Eagle Rock Brewery's co-owner, Jeremy Raub. "Rye is not a common ingredient in larger-scale production because it lacks a husk, which creates gummy-ness. But the rye in this blend adds a unique complexity in this one."

Raub estimates that the Imperial Red Velvet Ale will be available in the brewery's tap room for tasting in about a month.

-- Krista Simmons

Photo: Red velvet cake at Gus's. Credit: Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times