It can be difficult to agree on any particular types of food that could be considered iconic to Bend, but any such list would certainly include the Ocean Roll from Sparrow Bakery. The Ocean Roll is the company’s signature item, similar to a cinnamon roll; Sparrow creates it using a traditional croissant dough layered and rolled with cardamom, sugar, and vanilla.

Recently, Boss Rambler Beer Club teamed up with Sparrow Bakery and Horus Aged Ales of Oceanside, California, to collaborate on an imperial pastry stout inspired by the confection. The result is Ocean stRoll, a massive ale that weighs in at 15.5% alcohol by volume, brewed with actual Ocean Rolls and conditioned on Mexican vanilla beans and cardamom.

While Boss Rambler is best known for its lineup of IPAs and fruited sours, the brewery doesn’t shy away from unusually themed beers. Two years ago, the company released The Maine Dish, an imperial stout brewed with maple syrup and live lobsters, and it regularly dabbles with coffee, nuts, chocolate, chilis and more.

With Ocean stRoll, I was curious if adding the actual pastries was part of the original plan, so I reached out to the brewery to find out more.

“We did plan to add Ocean Rolls from the start!” said founder Matt Molletta via email. “After Kyle (Harrop of Horus) got his first taste of the Ocean Roll (and was unsurprisingly blown away by it), we ‘dreamt’ up this crazy concept and planned to go all in on the Ocean Roll theme (including using the actual pastry).”

For a 10 barrel-sized batch, a couple of dozen Ocean Rolls were added, according to Molletta. “We used (them) in both the boil and the mash.” They were added whole.

Cardamom is the distinctive flavor profile of the pastry. It’s a versatile spice found in a wide variety of food and drink, including Indian cuisine, Nordic baking and chai tea. Sourced from the seed pods of several plants native to Asia, it has an exotic, distinct taste and fragrance that tends to work well with other spices and flavors (think coffee, cinnamon, and ginger).

Sparrow’s Ocean Roll is a good showcase for the spice, highlighting warming flavors that I would describe as similar to nutmeg with a touch of menthol and a mild pepper-like fruitiness.

In beer, cardamom is used infrequently, and often in conjunction with other spices and flavors. Several years ago, Deschutes Brewery introduced a Tangelo Cardamom Sour Ale in cans, and each year Monkless Belgian Ales brews its Friar’s Festivus holiday ale with mace and cardamom.

The spice can be polarizing, but Boss Ramber leaned into it. “We were confident with the Ocean Roll’s popularity that it would generally be enjoyed by those searching for the true Ocean Roll flavors,” Molletta said.

I acquired a can of Ocean stRoll to try it out for myself, with the namesake pastry on the side.

It pours thick and opaque, black and oily in color with a thin brown head of foam. The cardamom is the dominating element of the aroma, a full spice which seems exotic and reaches your nose as you pour. There’s also a bit of vanilla, dark chocolate, pastry cream and cardamom liqueur.

The flavor is also full of the spice, so much so that it almost takes on a smoky character, with a peppery spiciness that’s almost chili-like. It’s quite sweet with a deep chocolate roastiness and a floral, prickly heat from the alcohol.

It’s big, sweet, smoky and syrupy, and all of the elements do indeed evoke an Ocean Roll. It pairs well with the actual baked confection, with the sweet components tempering a bit of the spice.

With a beer as strong as Ocean stRoll, it’s tough to find a balance in the flavors, and I’d say while that balance skews heavily toward the cardamom, I enjoyed it.

I asked Molletta how the response has been. “So far the response has been great, but if you’re not a fan of cardamom this one’s probably not for you!” he said.

Ocean stRoll is available on draft and in cans now, and watch for a future release of a limited-edition version aged in whiskey barrels.

Devil’s Cabbage Dank IPA — Bend Brewing Co. 

The Trinity — Monkless Belgian Ales 

Canadian Lager — pFriem Family Brewers 

Carnival Ride Sour Caramel Apple Ale — McMenamins Old St. Francis School

Dark Star Imperial Oatmeal Stout — Fremont Brewing