BrewDog Cake Cartel

Ooh I wanted to try this hazelnut stout from BrewDog as soon as I heard about it and it did not disappoint.  This is definitely one for the sweet toothed beer drinker.

It's a very dark brown stout with a small, rapidly vanishing tan head that doesn't leave a single bubble behind, giving it a very disappointingly flat appearance.  It makes up for it in the wonderful aroma though - it's as sweet as candy with notes of malt, caramel, milk chocolate and raspberry jam.

It tastes like liquid chocolate cake with a huge helping of malt, a dash of candy floss and a sprinkling of nuts.  It leaves a lovely sweetness of the lips and it's very moreish, although it doesn't taste as nutty as I expected.  Brewed with lactose, it's a very smooth stout with low carbonation and a full body.

This is a lovely rich, dark, sweet pastry stout and it tastes exactly as would expect from the can.  If it hadn't lost its head so quickly and tasted a bit more nutty, it would've been a five star beer but for taste alone, Ale Be Seeing You again!

Brewed by BrewDog, Ellon, Aberdeenshire 
6% ABV

My rating:

My Untappd score: 4.25/5

Find out more at BrewDog Brewery

To ØI Nocturnal Stout

I am very impressed with this pastry stout brewed exclusively for Beer52 by Danish microbrewery To ØI.  It ticks all the boxes for me: it's dark, sweet and malty.

It's a very dark brown stout with a small, loose beige head that disperses to a thin layer.  As soon as you open the can, the smell is mouthwatering - it's like a warm pain au chocolat with notes of chocolate, flaky pastry, sweet candy, malt and a similar tang of hops that you get in a trappist ale.  

The taste is a sweet toothed person's dream: it's malty and sweet and I was in sweetie heaven with a tasty combination of chocolate, pastry and treacle toffee.  It's a full bodied stout that's lightly carbonated to give a beautifully smooth mouthfeel.

I absolutely loved this Nocturnal Stout.  It's sweet, tasty, malty and smooth: everything I want to experience in a pastry stout.  Without a doubt, Ale Be Seeing You again.

Brewed by To ØI Brewery, Denmark
5% ABV

My rating:

My Untappd score: 4.5/5

Find out more at To Øl Brewery

Vocation & Yeastie Boys - Breakfast Club

 

I have a sweet tooth so this collaboration between Yorkshire's Vocation Brewery and New Zealand's Yeastie Boys caught my eye.  

It's a stout so it's an unsurprising dark brown colour but what is surprising is the head: it's light brown but it has a hint of pink from the blueberries.  The smell of blueberries bursts out of the can the minute it is opened, along with sweet caramel, roasted malt and a little smokiness.

The taste is candy sweet, predominantly blueberries and pastry but there's an underlying smokiness that I found a bit odd.  It's so softly carbonated that it's as smooth as silk when you drink it and it has a lovely full body that I love so much in a stout.

As much as I loved the blueberries in this, it was spoiled by the smokiness that really seemed to take over.  Although I quite enjoyed it, I really wish I had drank it fresh as I think I had left it a bit too long (even though it was well in date).  If I try one again, I'll definitely drink it straight away so there's every chance that Ale Be Seeing You again!

Brewed by Vocation Brewery, West Yorkshire and Yeastie Boys, New Zealand
6.9% ABV

My rating:

My Untappd score: 3.75/5

Find out more at Vocation Brewery and Yeastie Boys