Out this week, my latest article for The Bulletin examines the specialty Herd Mentality series from Sunriver Brewing, in which Sunriver has been playing with variants to its popular Cocoa Cow Chocolate Milk Stout. I write about the current release, Cherry Vanilla Cocoa Cow, and touch upon the previous two.

With the Herd Mentality variants, the brewery is keeping the stats the same while it explores different ingredients with each variation. Raspberry Thorns & Udders, released in March, introduced raspberries to the recipe. May’s beer release, S’Mores Cocoa Cow, incorporated graham crackers, marshmallows and vanilla.

“The idea for the series came from our Head Brewer, Patrick Raasch,” said Brett Thomas, director of brewery operations, via email. “He wanted to get creative and touch on the popularity of pastry beers, without making extreme examples of said beers.” Thomas and Raasch together came up with the recipes.

The Herd Mentality stout available now is Cherry Vanilla Cocoa Cow, brewed with vanilla and two varieties of cherries from Michigan (Montmorency and Balaton). Montmorency is a popular sour cherry variety often used in cherry pies, while Balaton is a darker fruit with a sweet-tart flavor.

These are some pretty tasty beers worth picking up, especially if you enjoy pastry stouts.