Have Your Dessert and Drink it Too

What do cake, donuts and beer have in common? At Beara Brewing Co. they're one and the same

Michael Potorti of Beara Brewing Co. loves stout. Guinness, a dry stout, is the beer that made Ireland famous, and this Portsmouth brewer uses imported Irish barley for a touch of authenticity. Much to his chagrin, his IPA and DIPAs were selling faster than his beloved stouts. His solution — add 20 pounds of double stuffed Oreos to his stout base. It worked like magic. Cake Java Porter is selling like … well, like hotcakes. It has a wonderful aroma, a marvelous head and is not too sweet. It’s available in cans at many local beer stores and on draft at the Thirsty Moose Taphouse when available.

To fortify the Irish connection, Potorti makes regular trips to the Emerald Isle, and has collaborated with several Irish brewers, co-developing recipes and brewing separately across the ocean. His DIPA, Survivor, is a reference to the sinking of the Lusitania off the coast of Ireland in 1915. To make the story sweeter, 100 years later, the first draft was pulled by the great-granddaughter of a Cork survivor, May Barrett. A similar salute was given by collaborator Rising Sons at their Cork brewery at the same time.

“We originally started with a thought, and turned it into beer,” says Potorti. He keeps thinking and keeps building even more creative beers with local honey, coffee and even graham crackers, plus a bucket of marshmallow fluff. The latter is cleverly marketed as “I Want Some More.”

For St. Patrick’s Day, you'll also find donuts on tap at the tasting room. Yes, you read that right. Donuts. This new stout creation — Samoa — is infused with donuts from the folks down the road at Donut Love. We're pretty excited about this collaboration. After all, what's not to like about great local beer and amazing donuts? Live music, corned beef paninis and plenty of O’Sullivan, their flagship stout, round out the day.