When I drink beer I always drink it before dinner. It gives me something to do while I'm cooking and beer is a great aperitif so it all comes very natural. For this #Beersaturday I'm going to review two dark beers starting with a dessert Stout from Beaus Brewery. Let check it out!
Brewery: Beaus Brewing Co
Origin: Vankleek Hill, ON Canada
Style: Dessert Stout
Abv: 6.0%
IBU: Unknown
SRM: Unknown
Marketing: Cream colored can with black and copper accents. Crackle image meant to mimick the cracked sugar on a Crème Brulée. The label is a clever play on words, also linking the beer to the dessert Crème Brulée dessert. The name and the design of the can are all very fitting for the beer. Its clever and catchy and I quite like it overall. I found it to have an elegant quality to its appearance as well which is fitting considering that Crème Brulée is kind of a bougie dessert.
Color: The beer poured and opaqje black with a little amount of mocha colored head on top. It wasn't a robust foam but enough to make it's presence known for a while.
Nose: Huge amount of burnt sugar aroma, bitter dark chocolate and vanilla. A very fragrant smelling beer. Pleasant.
Taste: Sweet and tangy upfront with a good amount of bitterness to balance it all out. Strong cocoa and vanilla flavors and burnt sugar in the background. Very flavorful, bold tasting and true to its name and suggested character - that of being a dessert beer I mean.
Texture: Pretty standard mouthfeel. Nice amount of carbonation.
Impression: This was actually quite good to me overall. I liked it, which was a bit surprising given that it's a dessert beer. It wasn't too sweet though, which was key and the flavors weren't overly artifical tasting like so many other flavored beers. I would drink this one again, and certainly will because I bought two of them. The other is sitting in my fridge waiting patiently to be opened.
Brewery: Woodhouse Brewing Co
Origin: Toronto ON Canada
Style: American Stout
Abv: 4.7%
IBU: Unknown
SRM: Unknown
For this one I tried something a little different with the photo editing, as you can see. I went for a retro look.
Marketing: The can was black in color with brushed nickle accents and some white letter thrown in. Log cut into firewood imagery.
The colors of the can match the color of the beer perfectly, which is a smart design choice and the image fits for the style of the beer in my opinion. I can invision the connection between burning wood and roasted malts pretty easily.
A little blurb of info on the back of the can for some additional reading. The only minor negative is that the beer doesn't really have a name, it more of a generic description than anything. Otherwise I quite like the design and marketing.
Color: The beer poured black as ink with a mocha colored head of robust foam. I was surprised at how well the foam stood up and stuck around. I typically can't get much a head on the Beers I try these days.
Nose: Strong cocoa aroma with roasted malt and some smokiness coming through in the background. Pleasant overall.
Taste: The beer was dry, slightly tangy and had a mild bitter finish that stuck around for a bit. I found it to be well balanced. I noticed flavors of cocoa and coffee, some generic roasted flavors and some smokiness again.
Texture: Nice amount of carbonation with a very light bodied mouthfeel.
Impression: all in all a great Stout beer for me. Very simple, as it suggested, but enough flavor to make it interesting. I liked the dryness of it and would definitely buy it again.
