What a busy day! Got the grocery shopping done, got videotaped delivering a sermon, had a great visit with a former boss and her husband, made some chicken tikka for dinner (including naan and pappadums), hosted Totty plus my nephew plus Glory's bestie for supper, watched Return of the Jedi (in preparation for The Force Awakens) (and also because I only discovered this fall that Mark hadn't seen the movies before(!)-nerd uncle fail!)), and played a bunch of games on the new Jackbox Party Pack! (Which is on sale for the PS3 this week at $12.50, by the way; highly recommended.)
Oh, and after dinner, for the second year running, Totty and I got to enjoy one of our advent beers in each other's company!
Today's selection (which I discovered prematurely due to the unfortunate #cbacboxfail) is Saint Beatnick Chocolate Stout, from Flying Monkeys Craft Brewery in Barrie Ontario.
I was looking forward to this beer, despite the singularly unappetizing label, as I am a big fan of stouts in general, and chocolate stouts in particular. Saint Beatnick pours a luxurious deep brown, bordering on black, as is appropriate, with a moderate amount of beige head (more on Totty's than on mine though; has to be the pour, right? Damn my inconsistency!). A few sniffs reveal a little bit of burnt biscuit, traces of coffee, but more bittersweet chocolate than any other element.
The very first sip confirms this; Saint Beatnick may be the chocolatiest beer I have ever imbibed. Seriously, this beer needs a Hershey or Cadbury's sponsorship stat. To my palate at least, it barely tasted like a stout, because the taste of bittersweet baker's chocolate is so pervasive. There is some following bitterness, assumedly from the hops, but they balance out the chocolate really well, and prevent any lingering sweetness that would impede the beer's finish by making it cloying instead of sharp.
Smooth, flavourful, and a great representative of the style, the only thing preventing Saint Beatnick from being a great session beer for Christmas (or possibly Easter!) is the fact that it has a 7.7% alcohol by volume; ouch.
I will definitely be checking the shelves at Sherbrooke for this offering from Flying Monkeys!
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