Yes, You CAN Have Your Cake Beer and Drink It Too. But the Clock Is Ticking.

Monday afternoon, as gray clouds rolled in and chill winds slashed their way through Dallas-Fort Worth, a crowd was huddled in the warm environs of a brewery aside the Trinity River.

Not our (Dallas') Trinity River.

The occasion was to imbibe simultaneously in two of Fort Worth’s finest darlings: Martin House Brewing Company and The Swiss Pastry Shop.

Black Forest Cake Beer is a nod to the Swiss Pastry Shop’s very famous cake, which is unique in its shameless use of meringue instead of cake flour. Egg whites, pure cane sugar and crushed almonds are baked to a crisp and layered with whipped cream then topped off with chocolate shavings. This gluten-free “uncake” has been around close to half a century, and it is loved dearly.

Loved so dearly, in fact, that Martin House Brewing released a Black Forest Cake Beer, a 10% Imperial Cake Ale brewed with vanilla, almond flour, sweet cream and a touch of cocoa powder.

At the release event, Hans Muller of Swiss Pastry Shop was doling out slices of cake like a proud papa at a baby shower. He’s very happy with how it all worked out and likes how the brewery was able to hit on the prominent notes of the cake: vanilla, almond and cream.

It is an absolutely lovely beer. With glass in one hand and fork in the other, I totally tasted the relationship.

The special release is only available in the Martin House taproom, where you can get a pint or buy a four-pack to take home and put under the tree for yourself. Because why not? You earned it. You’ve been fantastic all year. Go get some.

Hurry, though, because according to fuzzy beer math, they could be sold out by the end of the week.

Martin House Brewing Company, 220 S. Sylvania Ave., Suite 209, Fort Worth