Meltaway
Flying Monkeys Craft Brewery

At my lady Pamela's house on her birthday; canned and chilled, 473mL in a pint glass. From their Box O'Chocolates Stout Sampler at the University Ave. West LCBO in nearby downtown Windsor. Canned November 15/24. My 19th beer from the Barrie, Ontario brewery, and seventh for 2025. Guarded for me lovingly by Gracie the cat...

473 mL can from the LCBO, included in Flying Monkeys' Box O' Chocolates mixed pack. Dated Nov 15 2024 and served barely chilled.

Pours an opaque black-brown colour, graced with nearly two fingers of creamy khaki-coloured head that holds together for the better part of five minutes. A smooth, filmy cap and narrow collar manage to survive, with stringy swaths of lace left behind after each tilt of the glass; looks good so far. It smells a lot like mint chocolate chip ice cream: the peppermint is most prominent, but there's also plenty of dark chocolate & chocolate syrup.

I must concur with the previous reviewer: this is basically a thin mint in beer form. Cocoa and dark chocolate flavours work very well with the peppermint - it's a proven combination, after all. My biggest gripe with this brew is that the flavouring covers up the base stout, masking any sense of roastiness - but still, it works well enough. Chocolate chips and mint last through the finish and into the aftertaste; the mint does have a mild cooling effect on the tongue and throat. Medium-full in body, with low carbonation that weakly brushes along the palate; the mouthfeel is smooth and a little silky. Decent drinkability for what it is, but one serving should be enough for most people.

Final Grade: 4.04, an A-. I'm not sure if Meltaway is the best mint beer I've ever had, but it's certainly up there. I think this comes together waaay better than the orange creme stout (Joy) that was also included in this mix pack. I can't precisely say why that is - they come off equally artificial and not at all beer-like, but somehow the mint just works, whereas the orange stuck out like a sore thumb. I think it's mostly personal preference: I'm accustomed to the inauthenticity of mint flavouring in candy, ice cream, etc. and have become tolerant of it, whilst "natural orange flavouring" has always been a turn-off. Good work, Monkeys!

16 ounce can, canned on date of NOV 25 2024 stamped on the bottom of the can. Part of the Box O' Chocolates stout sampler 4 pack. Served in a nonic pint glass, the beer pours dark brown/black with about an inch and a half tan head that stuck around a while. There's also a good amount of lacing. Smells mostly like spearmint, peppermint and dark chocolate, along with some vanilla and dark breadiness. I think the taste pretty much follows the aroma here. To me it smells and tastes like Thin Mint cookies, although I have no idea if Girl Scout cookies are as big in Canada as they are here. Mouthfeel/body is medium, there's a nice amount of soft carbonation that makes this feel creamy. I liked this one a lot, definitely worth trying especially if you like Thin Mint cookies or minty stouts!

 

473 mL can
Served in a snifter

This beer pours black and is topped with an inch of mocha head that leaves decent lacing.

Strong peppermint aroma that leaves the chocolate as a minor character.

Pronounced peppermint flavor with underlying chocolate. Chocolate mint

Medium bodied with a smooth mouthfeel

Minty and refreshing

A- Solid dark brown in colour, borderline black in nature. The head is light caramel in color, starts out around a solid two fingers in thickness, while slowly settling into a thick patchy layer over top the liquid. The lacing is impressive as well, with a good thick layer covering over the inside of the glass, while also leaving some spotty foam balls to cling as well. Overall a very decent looking milk stout!

S- Well this one smells almost right to a tee, like an After Eight mint wafer! Peppermint extract, perhaps with some softer underlying Spearmint, all wrapped up in splendid milky and semi sweet chocolates! There are some chocolate malt aromas about it as well, and the finish is simply dessert like and is making my mouth water!

T- While not as intense or as sweet as the aroma would imply, this has all the character that the style is going for in my opinion. The mint is definitely softer, and while I do taste the peppermint, I think Spearmint is more the dominant leaf on the palate. There are underlying notes of milk and semi sweet chocolate, some vanilla creme sweetness, some beer like charred chocolate malt, dry raw grains and a finish that is refreshing, and cooling on the palate. I love mint, so I have no problem with the flavors happening here, and think the balance between refreshing, savoury, and grainy cleanliness are all in check...very nice!

M/O- This has less body than the raspberry, but is definitely medium, leaning into a full mouthfeel, with super creamy carbonation keeping everything delicate on the palate. I would say that the drinkability is good, and I think would make a nice finish to a session, leaving the palate with a cool clean feel. The aromas are bang on, the flavors follow in very close, and would pair well with a piece of chocolate cake! Another winner from Flying Monkeys

Dec 18 2024

 

Review from notes. Served cold into a chalice. Part of the Flying Monkeys mixed winter stout pack in 2024. Canned early November.

Appearance - Nearly black and pours a finger of loose light tan head. Good retention time.

Smell - Chocolate, mostly dark chocolate with some roasty bits and aplenty of mint, which is intense and doesn;t come across as too additive.

Taste - Spearmint more than anything with heavy roasty dark chocolate flavors in behind. The mint seems a bit disparate, this isn't quite as seamless as other mint chocolate collabs (which I love when executed to a T). Good intense flavors and ABV is disguised.

Mouthfeel - A bit disjointed and not a velvety luxurious experience, however with medium-low carbonation, fairly full body, Meltaway still strikes a nice balance.

Overall - As someone who adores a good chocolate mint beer, this is approaching the awesome territory but not quite there, the Orange chocolate stout was better as the flavors seemed to meld together a little better. Still this has been a great winter pack thus far with just a raspberry chocolate stout to go.