Brewdog: Dead Metaphor (Scotland: Stout: 6.5% ABV)
Visual: Black. Darkened brown froth that leaves rings.
Nose: Smoke. Bitter coffee.
Body: Flap jacks. Honey. Bitter coffee. Milk. Condensed cream. Bitter chocolate. Cinnamon. Frothy sweeter chocolate.
Finish: Bitter coffee and condensed cream. Honey and oatcake. Cinnamon. Strawberry cereal. Malt drinks. Lactose.
Conclusion: Smooth. Very smooth. This is a mash up of pretty much everything you can do with the style. Ok, I exaggerate, but still, you get the point. Oatmeal, honey (in flavour, not sure about in ingredients), lactose, bitter chocolate, bitter coffee, and of course smooth. Very smooth.
I’m repeating myself, a bad sign, but I feel it is worth emphasising.
The mainstay of the beer is the bitter coffee and chocolate, harsh edged when compare to the texture and that is what is needed. They alternately take the edge off, and liven up the opposite aspect. There is so much behind that front to enjoy, and that punch of bitterness up front means the sweeter flavours behind don’t get sickly.
This is a very competent and very drinkable beer. The sweetness and texture sooths it down your throat with ease, the bitterness keeps the flavor hanging on your lips after you have swallowed and brings you back for the next sip.
The lactose is very noticeable, and it is that which I guess the soothing edges that make this beer can be attributed to. No element gets a chance to be too harsh before soothing milky chocolate soothes it back down.
Overall a very drinkable beer, and one that reminds me of Aberdeen’s Flapjack Stout, no one element makes it a great beer, but is still very high quality and the fact it has no real discernable flaws means I can highly recommend it despite that. Very goo.
Background: Made by people from the Hopzine and Beer Cast blogs at the Brewdog brewery this stout was made with coffee, chocolate and oatmeal into a milk stout and last I checked its keg only. This was found at Brewdog Bristol, where I sipped a half before going to see Ed Byrne do a stand-up comedy gig. Good times. As always I am not an unbiased actor on Brewdog beers.
