Brodies: Mocha Milk Stout (Rum Barrel) (England: Imperial Stout: 9% ABV)
Visual: Very dark brown to black. Dust of off white head.
Nose: Very roasted coffee. Spicy undertones. Roasted nuts. Cloves. Mulled touch.
Body: Spicy. Rum and raisin. Bitter chocolate. Red wine. Glacier cherry. Very smooth. Cream. Lots of spices and mulled wine.
Finish: Bitter coffee. Spice again. Cream. Bitter chocolate. Greenery. Rum and raisin.
Conclusion: A very odd nose to body combination on this one. The nose is roasted, very much so, and gives very little hint to the rum.
When you sip the base stout below is detectable as smooth chocolate and very creamy but it doesn’t take long for the spiced warmth to start pulling through. The mix of smooth chocolate and spice could not be more different to the dry roasted aroma.
It runs on a hair line balance between the spice and the stout and it manages it will. There is an eternal warmth of character to it that reminds me of chilli or ginger aged stouts but here the heat is just implied with flavor rather than being actually fiery kick. To me this is the best of both worlds, the great flavours but without making it hard to drink from the heat.
I had the beer in a third and more than that would probably have hurt it. The huge delicious spiciness was growing throughout the drink but never reached a point where it overstayed its welcome. I have a feeling by a half pint it may just have been doing so, but that is a guess.
Very well done, with great emphasis of the creamy chocolate and full use made of the benefits of barrel aging. Maybe a bit simple in the nose but it makes up for that with the rest of the beer. Very much worth trying.
Background: Drunk at the Brewdog Bristol, Brodies night where we got to meet the brewers. Apparently made with actual milk and chocolate rather than cocoa nibs or similar. Also apparently a total shit to clean up after brewing. There was both a rum and port version on offer. I grabbed and reviewed rum, my mates grabbed port, but we pretty much shared the two between. For comparison Port was sweeter and seemed less roasted on the nose. I preferred the rum, if I remember rightly James Brodie said he thought he would prefer the port as the temperature warmed up. I could be wrong. Drink was involved. Due to rum being quite a navel drink the slightly piratical looking photo of my good friend local stand up comedian Dan “Dagger” enjoying the beer seemed appropriate so I have shared it below.
