Salted Caramel Stout
Breakside Brewery - NE Dekum

Salted Caramel StoutSalted Caramel Stout
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From:
Breakside Brewery - NE Dekum
 
Oregon, United States
Style:
Sweet / Milk Stout
Ranked #501
ABV:
6.8%
Score:
85
Ranked #21,403
Avg:
3.76 | pDev: 9.04%
Reviews:
67
Ratings:
276
Status:
Active
Rated:
Oct 28, 2023
Added:
May 03, 2013
Wants:
  30
Gots:
  55
A dessert stout brewed with lactose, caramel and fleur de sel, inspired by our friends Tyler & Kim Malek at Salt & Straw. Tyler has been working on perfecting a lactose caramel syrup that mimics the flavor in his sea salt and caramel ice cream. After a few test blends, we’re worried that this might be the most addictive dessert beer ever made.

Malts: Two Row, Chocolate, Roasted Barley, CaraMunich, Flaked Barley
Hops: Newport
Special ingredients: Salted caramel; sea salt
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
Ratings by vermilcj:
Photo of vermilcj
Rated by vermilcj from Ohio

3.85/5  rDev +2.4%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75

Feb 20, 2015
More User Ratings:
Photo of colts9016
Reviewed by colts9016 from Idaho

3.09/5  rDev -17.8%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.25 | overall: 3
Name: Salted Caramel
Brewery: Breakside Brewing
Location: Portland, OR
Style: Milk/Sweet Stout
ABV: 6.7%
Date: 11/16/2020
Salted Caramel is next on the review table. I served it at 48 degrees. I used tulip glass; the pour created a creamy, frothy, foamy, light tan two-fingered head with average retention. The slow dissipation left lots of lacing on the sides of the glass. The color charts around SRM 38 are dark brown, nearly black, with reddish hues. The clarity is opaque. The beer could have a longer-lasting head.
Nosing the glass, I smell burnt sugars, light caramel, slightly bready, a touch of honeysuckle, and raisins. I am struggling with aromas. I was expecting a candy-like caramel, hints of chocolate, and dark roasty notes. I did not get any of that.
These flavors are odd! I wanted to taste silky smooth caramel with vanilla and bready maltiness. The sip of beer was burnt malts, unrefined chocolate, diner coffee, and overcooked bread. There are hints of vanilla, raisins, and caramel.
The mouthfeel is acrid, bitter, and slightly tannic. The body is chewy and has medium carbonation.
Disappointing is the only word I could use to describe this. Several IPAs they brew are far superior to this mess. I had high hopes, considering I had kept it in optimal conditions. The beer did not have aging or other off-flavors. Did they mislabel the can?
Oct 28, 2023
Photo of RyanK252
Reviewed by RyanK252 from California

3.81/5  rDev +1.3%
look: 4.25 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75
Bottle poured into a Mountain Rambler Brewery snifter

A: Pours basically black with a frothy tan head that settles to a light layer and laces nicely.

S: Roasted malt, char, earthy, dark fruit, coffee and bittersweet chocolate, faintly toasty, and a touch of caramel and burnt sugar.

T: Roasty, light char, bittersweet chocolate, coffee, dark fruit, date, fig, and plum, slightly earthy, toasty bready malt, and a little salted caramel on the finish.

M: Medium body, moderate carbonation, slightly creamy.

O: Not a bad stout, but the namesake salted caramel doesn't really pop like I wish it did.
Feb 06, 2023
 
Rated: 4.6 by Beecham from California

Oct 17, 2022
 
Rated: 4.02 by sbuck from New Mexico

Apr 11, 2022
Photo of Roguer
Reviewed by Roguer from Connecticut

3.84/5  rDev +2.1%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75
Good head production and retention.

Nose definitely features caramel, blending nicely with the toasted malt base. Caramel, toffee, toast, chocolate.

Quite roasty on the palate: coffee, char, toast, raisin, dark bread, caramel, blackstrap molasses, cola. The caramel doesn't come through particularly strongly at first, but it definitely builds through the sip, including a nicely salty middle. Still, for what is described as a "dessert" beer (in collaboration with an ice cream shop), it significantly lacks in sweetness - not necessarily a detriment to the overall flavor, but definitely a knock on the execution. Just a bit more sweetness, and a richer, more chocolatey malt base to go with the roast, would elevate this beer to greatness. As it is, it's very good. Mouthfeel is nicely thick and sticky despite the modest ABV.
Sep 04, 2021
 
Rated: 3.73 by KT3418 from Colorado

May 31, 2021
Photo of Victory_Sabre1973
Reviewed by Victory_Sabre1973 from Minnesota

3.78/5  rDev +0.5%
look: 4.25 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
This beer is a dark brown pour. It is heavily carbonated, with a 4 finger tan head. The retention is pretty good, and because of that, it takes a bit to pour it all into my glass. There's some nice spiderweb looking lacing on the glass.
The nose is caramel, a hint of a nutty aroma.
Taste - Up front I get a dark chocolate flavor, probably from the malts used. This changes on the backside to a caramel flavor. Not really getting the salted part of it.
Body is a bit lighter than expected, though not watery at all.
Very interesting beer, and glad to have tried it.
May 02, 2021
Photo of MaltsOfGlory
Reviewed by MaltsOfGlory from Oregon

3.57/5  rDev -5.1%
look: 3.25 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.5
22oz bottle

Pours over a finger of tan head into my snifter. Retention is pretty average and the head fades within a few minutes. Initial lacing looks very thick. Body is pitch black, even when held to the light. Despite the lackluster head, the lacing looks really nice, and this looks pretty good so far.

Nose has maybe the faintest salted caramel aroma, mostly a dry & bitter roasted malt presence. This is perfectly fine, but given the lack of complexity, and its inability to deliver on what’s advertised, it’s only fine.

Flavor is much the same, roasted malt, a little dryness, not much in the way of caramel at all. Pretty bland, really not much going on here.

Carbonation is on the higher side. Body is medium, drinks pretty easy. Not super dry, but on the drier side, with little to no sweetness. Bitterness is medium, surely a lot comes from the malt. Odd to have a “desert” beer be this dry, but not bad outside that vacuum.

Drinkability is ok, but It’s a little abrasive at times, with not a lot of a payoff.

Appearance turned out pretty meh. Lacing was basically nonexistent.

Overall this is ok, but pretty lackluster.
Apr 01, 2021
Photo of Stevedore
Reviewed by Stevedore from Oregon

3.53/5  rDev -6.1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.5
Dark black body. Needs to warm up, but the caramel gets a bit more distinct. Otherwise, a solid milk stout with a nice mild roast, grainy bread and milk chocolate sweetness to it. The salt doesn't really come through but that's okay with me. Medium body
Feb 22, 2021
Photo of SushiSakeBeer
Rated by SushiSakeBeer from Oregon

4.17/5  rDev +10.9%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25
Drinks more like a Porter than a stout.
Feb 01, 2021
Photo of mintzmeet
Reviewed by mintzmeet from Washington

4.06/5  rDev +8%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25
Nice thin persisting head. Smells of roasted coffee and salt. Delicious desert beer. Nice roasted maltiness on backside. Saltiness of tongue throughout. Some milk chocolate/espresso flavor.
Jan 17, 2021
 
Rated: 3.71 by buzzy from Pennsylvania

Aug 12, 2020
Photo of ManWithTheCigar
Reviewed by ManWithTheCigar from Oregon

3.35/5  rDev -10.9%
look: 4.25 | smell: 2.25 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4
500 ml bottle poured into a muffin top pint glass. I can smell a bit of chocolate, one finger tan head, a darker cola look, very smooth mouthfeel that I love; however I did not found the taste of the salted caramel ice cream
Jul 25, 2020
Photo of dunkel_weizen
Reviewed by dunkel_weizen from Oregon

3.8/5  rDev +1.1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75
Unknown age big bottle poured into 2 pints. The color is not totally opaque, very dark brown to black, and the head was OK (2 finger) but not as aggressive as I would normally expect for a stout, and it fell rather quickly into decent lacing. The nose is nothing fancy, typical stout. The mouthfeel is moderate to dry, but the body is rather thin for my taste in stouts. The taste, however, is exceptional: sweet malt and slightly rasted wood up front, shifting into some lactic carmel, finishing on a salty sweet creamy note that lingers and sits tart on the back of the mouth. Well done.

This is a good dessert milk stout, and although I have had better, this is definatley unique in its attempt to imitate a caramel ice cream.
Jun 26, 2020
Photo of Troy-Hawaii
Reviewed by Troy-Hawaii from Hawaii

3.33/5  rDev -11.4%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 3.25 | overall: 3.25
Bought a 22oz bottle $7.59 Tamuras
Smell of caramel, coffee
Dark black color
Heavy mouthfeel
High carbonation
Salted caramel taste, creamy, burnt taste
Overall just ok. The burnt taste seems to dominate it. Wouldn't buy again
Apr 23, 2020
 
Rated: 3.75 by khargro2 from Tennessee

Mar 26, 2020
 
Rated: 3.98 by OtisCampbell007 from Tennessee

Mar 25, 2020
 
Rated: 3.75 by Griffith from Connecticut

Jul 12, 2019
Photo of Jeffo
Reviewed by Jeffo from Netherlands

3.47/5  rDev -7.7%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
Doopie brought this one out for beer night a while back. Cheers!

From a bomber into a snifter
Collaboration with Salt + Straw Ice Cream

APPEARANCE: A clear brown pour yields a three finger, looser, foamy, light tan head with okay retention. Dark brown body with medium levels of carbonation. Head fades to a full cap and clings to the sides of the glass. Splotchy wisp remains until the end leaving some lacing down the glass. Lousy start but decent finish.

SMELL: Roasted notes, milk chocolate, caramel notes and some hints of salt on the nose.

TASTE: Caramel, milk chocolate, lightly roasted flavors and some bitter chocolate at the swallow. Roasted finish and a bold aftertaste of milk chocolate, bitter pure chocolate, roasted flavors, vanilla sweetness and some notes of salt linger on the palate.

PALATE: Medium body and medium carbonation. Creamy enough on the palate, goes down fine and finishes slightly dry on the palate.

OVERALL: Good stuff. A little lighter in color for the style but this is certainly a well-made stout with balanced nuances of caramel and salted notes. Enjoyable and worth picking up if you see it. Thanks again, Doopie!
Jun 18, 2019
Salted Caramel Stout from Breakside Brewery - NE Dekum
Beer rating: 85 out of 100 with 276 ratings