It sounds like a mystery worthy of Nancy Drew and the Hardy Boys: The Case of the Missing Count Chocula!
Fans of the sugary seasonal cereal in Fort Collins, Colorado were not amused when they could not find any boxes of Count Chocula at their local grocery store. In the past, General Mills’ Monster Cereals have had a limited availability, and last year was the first time since the 1980’s that the entire General Mills Halloween cereal line-up was on-sale to the public.
One patron was so upset, she wrote a letter to the Coloradoan to share her love for the Count and his chocolate and marshmallow cereal goodness.
“Every year I greatly look forward to the month of October when I can purchase a few boxes of this delicious chococlatey (sic) goodness,” Kristen Clark wrote in a letter to the Coloradoan.
Clark is a “vegetarian and organic food eater for the most part,” but said she makes an exception once a year at Halloween for the 43-year-old General Mills cereal.
As it turns out, the inventory of Count Chocula cereal had been bought out by the Black Bottle Brewery, a craft brewery in Fort Collins. The brewery will be using the cereal for the next beer in their Cerealiously beer series, Cerealiously Count Chocula, which is scheduled to go on sale October 30. Previously, the brewery had used Golden Grahams, Reese’s Puffs, and Cinnamon Toast Crunch to produce specialty beers, and they are also planning a Cap’n Crunch brew and a Lucky Charms variety for St. Patrick’s Day.
I love a good chocolate stout, but Count Chocula beer seems a bit gimmicky to me. Couldn’t the brewery get the same effect if they mixed the marshmallows from Lucky Charms with one of the other chocolate cereals that available all year round? I am genuinely curious about the Golden Grahams and Cap’n Crunch brews, though. Does anyone want to make the longest beer run ever to Fort Collins, Colorado and pick me up a six-pack?
Source: The Coloradoan