Ingredient Insight: Anticipated collab between Forbidden Root Brewery, Fernet-Branca

Fernetic, a collaboration between Chicago’s Forbidden Root Brewery and Fernet-Branca, will be the Italian amaro’s first foray into craft beer and see limited distribution throughout the state of Florida. With help from the Branca family, the Forbidden Root team deconstructed the beloved Italian digestif and reconstructed the legendary family recipe into an unforgettable craft beer for Amaro and beer lovers alike.

At 8.4 percent, Fernetic is an exotic, spicy and complex beer from ingredients such as rhubarb root, saffron and wormwood, among the selected botanics of the 27 herbs and spices found in Fernet-Branca. With hints of coffee and peppermint on the nose, Fernetic offers complex flavors and a soft roastiness in its dark-colored finish. Bitter notes build to a spicy, creamy middle and dry woody finish.

Forbidden Root was the perfect partner for this venture. Inspired by nature, Forbidden Root uses traditional ingredients as a base as they explore a rich world of wild botanicals to create an exciting range of beers both familiar and eccentric. Forbidden Root’s year-round beers include: Wildflower Pale Ale (WPA), Sublime Ginger and Money on My Rind, in addition to several limited releases and brewpub-only offerings.

“I am extremely proud of Fernetic, a craft beer inspired by my family’s Fernet-Branca recipe that dates back to 1845,” said Edoardo Branca, the sixth generation Branca family member now managing the Fratelli Branca business in the U.S. “Our goal was to find a way to translate the Fernet-Branca experience into beer, and Forbidden Root was the natural partner to make this happen. Amaro and craft beer fans alike will now get to experience something that has never been done before — the first collaboration of this kind for both Fernet-Branca and Forbidden Root.”

“Collaborations are always an opportunity to step outside your comfort zone and build off someone else’s creative energy,” says Forbidden Root head brewer BJ Pichman. “With FernetBranca, we were working with a nearly 175 year-old recipe, a body of very distinct flavors and a bitterness factor that is not usually present in beers. Our team really enjoyed the creative challenge of working to make a delicious, uncommon beer while keeping true to the flavors and history of the Fernet-Branca recipe.”

Fernetic will be launched at the Ice Plant Bar in St. Augustine, Fla., on June 21. A cocktail competition will run from 3-5 p.m. preceding the 5 p.m. Fernetic tapping.