From the archives: Muskoka Cottage Brewery Double Chocolate Cranberry Stout (2010)

Review from the archives: Muskoka Double Chocolate Cranberry Stout from December, 2010. The beer is now known as the Winter Beard Stout

This week's selection is Muskoka Cottage Brewing's Double Chocolate Cranberry Stout (2010 Vintage), which is a 750mL stout with 8% alcohol. It retails for a bit over $10/bottle, so it's a bit pricey.

I'm continuing the Christmas theme yet again, as the Liquor Mart has a vast supply of Christmasy beer, which I love.

One thing interesting about the bottle (either than it reminding me of a wine bottle, even on the bottom)  is that it has a swing top, just like a Grolsch beer. However, Muskoka needs to work on this, as the swing top is near impossible to open, and it nearly came apart.

Pouring the beer into glass - you get a strong whiff of roasted coffee beans, ah the smell of morning. It has a nice golden brown (slightly carbonated) head. Very much has a roasted coffee bean aroma, mixed with a Tim Hortons' mocha-all-in one in the beer. It has a very dark chocolate/coffee colour to it.

Taste wise, bit of a creamy texture on the tongue, a nice sweet zing hits your tongue, with a hint of a mixture of cranberries and (dark?) chocolate. This is actually a better mixture than I thought. I expected a chocolate+jam sort of taste, which is disgusting. It's quite nice.

Wow, I can feel the alcohol slowly hitting me, which would be great.. if it was Christmas dessert. This is exactly what this beer would be good for!

Very interesting stout, one thing I love about it is the Tim Hortons mocha aroma to it, as that's one of my favourite winter pleasures.

It's very pricey at over $10/bottle for 750mL, but if you want something for a Christmas desert, or even for a boxing day snack, give it a try. If you like Half Pints' Stir Stick Stout, you'll like it, but it's not as coffee-ish as SSS. I'm just happy it tastes better than I expected, but don't expect an overly chocolate stout, even with "Double Chocolate" in the name.

No comments: