Milk Stout with banana, pistachio, cardamom, chocolate, vanilla, and cream
Profiled by Ken Carman
Nose- banana and slight banana peel-like, brown sugary sweet with cream sense, chocolate behind all that, no cardamon, slight vanilla. No yeast sense.
Appearance- obsidian black: no light shines through. Very creamy head that doesn’t last except around the edges of the meniscus. Head coats glass thickly with tan to light brown. The side of glass head lingers.
Flavor- firm alcohol right up front, slight higher alcohol sense. Also high in the balance. Slight roasted barley-like sense in the aftertaste. Again: banana but a slight sense of the peel. This may be hop related. Slight bitter, if so, no flavor. But I think, more likely, it’s the pepper sense from cardamom. I get no pistachio, but pistachio is a very gentle flavor. Not sure how anyone brewing would make that pop out. And I think it would be disguised by many of these additions. Just a hint dry. Balance is to the banana. Reminds me of a banana boat. No yeast sense.
Mouthfeel- the body is actually low side of medium. The pepper sense clings to the roof of the mouth. Banana coats the whole mouth. This quaff lingers FOREVER with banana and pepper/cardamom. Low carbonation tingles the palate. Slightly creamy. Slight warmth. As it warms the higher alcohol (slight) sense vanishes: odd. Slightest astringency due to pepper sense.
Overall- This is an incredible beer. If I were to brew this I’d do it just a little less dry, but worthy either way. The warmer it gets the sweeter it seems to be. IfI were in a competition I might pull a point or two off for lack of pistachio; but how do you get that into a beer? Mild flavor that mixes so magically with the other flavors it seems to disappear like some thing place in a mirror box.
A must try beer.
Untappd: 3.8 out of 5
BA 89% 5 stars
No Rate Beer rating found
4.5
Welcome to the PGA beer rating system: one beer “Don’t bother.” Two: Eh, if someone gives it to you, drink. Three: very good, go ahead and seek it out, but be aware there is at least one problem. Four: seek it out. Five: pretty much “perfecto.”
