Narrow Gauge makes great beer. Great enough to be voted in the top 34 new breweries of 2016 by Beer Advocate. Great enough to be voted Best New Brewer in Missouri for 2016 by Rate Beer. Even great enough to be included in the USA Today's 10Best Reader's Choice vote for Favorite New Brewery (VOTE DAILY UNTIL MARCH 13!). All of this acclaim comes courtesy of the deliciously hoppy Northeast Pale Ales and IPAs they produce. So it's somewhat surprising that the beer that's been their most requested since they've been open isn't a Pale Ale or IPA at all. In fact, this beer has never even flowed through their taps: Zavtrak.

Here's what Narrow Gauge's Head Brewer Jeff Hardesty had to say about this beer:

The beer itself started as a Mexican Chocolate stout back in 2011. Cigar City's Hunahpu was a big influence because the first time I drank it I said "Holy shit, I need to make a beer like this." After 4 or 5 batches of tweaking it, trying to getting the flavors blend together rather than have something single noted, I changed up the recipe. The 2nd to last time I brewed it at home, I split it in half and added maple syrup and coffee to one half and decided I wouldn't use the habaneros in it. Brewing it, I didn't think the maple/coffee version would please me more than the Hunahpu clone. When I had them side by side after they were done fermenting, there was so much more flavor in the maple version. The final time I made the beer it was all the coffee/maple version without peppers and that was what was served at the STL Hops Anniversary Party that people still remember it from. We were the first taps in the door at that party but then by the end of the night, people were circling back for it which let us know it was a hit. I'm excited to make it one of the first big releases of the year.

Below you'll find our thoughts on this beer but if you'd rather take your word for it, Zavtrak is being released at the brewery on Saturday, 2/18 at 11 am in crowlers.

Cheers!