The TicketyBrew Company Salted Caramel Coffee Stout Milk / Sweet Stout at 5.4% ABV (2017 Craft Beer Advent Calendar #18, 330 ml, best before 1-Jul-2018, acquired 20-Nov-2017, reviewed 18-Dec-2017)
Appearance: near opaque black with a huge loose fluffy beige gusher head, excellent retention and chunky lacing. (4/5) Aroma: dark chocolate nibs, red berries, black coffee, liquorice. (7/10) Taste: moderate-high sweet, moderate-high bitter, light tart. (7/10) Palate: medium body, moderate-high carbonation, off-dry medium duration finish. (3/5)
Despite the aggressive gusher upon decapping, the overall carbonation level on this isn’t ridiculous in absolute terms – but it’s higher than I’d like to see for the style, and the body is lighter. The coffee aroma hints at just slight overextraction, but isn’t the full-on coffee grounds in the garbage can I’ve seen from some other brews. I’m kind of on the fence regarding the red berry tartness, which tends to feel a little extraneous to me, but doesn’t actually detract overall. All in all, I’m not unhappy with this one, but there’s lots of room for improvement. (14/20)
7/10 #craftbeeradvent2017 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com
