Peppermint Double Bass Double Chocolate Stout
Starr Hill Brewery

 

 

A bottle poured into a pint glass. Pour had a slight brown foam head with a dark brown body. Scent is a delightfully strong peppermint with a solid, rich chocolate backbone -- truly living up to its double bass and peppermint background. Taste follows with a 70% peppermint and a 30% chocolate balance, along with a bit of the ABV coming across. Feel is on the smoother side, a bit of ABV lingers in the aftertaste but in general it is more of the peppermint! If you like peppermint (and I do), then this is a winner -- just don't look for too much in the way of subtle flavors.

 

12oz bottle poured into a snifter

A- pours a deep black color with a one-finger foamy khaki head that has pretty good retention and reduces to a ring around the edge, leaving some lacing behind

S- big peppermint toothpaste aromas up front, along with some peppermint mouthwash. Undertones of charred malt, sweet chocolate & caramel

T- on the taste, the mont comes off as more of a peppermint gum. It's light at first but more noticeable on the finish. The base beer is roasty and chocolatey, and has some dark fruit notes that try to pop through but are covered up by the mint for the most part. The finish gives sweet chocolate and more peppermint toothpaste

M- medium body and carbonation leads to a foamy mouthfeel that turns creamy into the finish

O- mint is typically a hit or miss ingredient, this one tended to lean on the toothpaste tasting side, rather than fresh mint leaf. Still worth a try though if you're a mint fan

The smell of this beer is impressive. Very similar to Thin Mints. After that, it goes downhill. The taste of Jagermeister is very off-putting, and the carbonation is reminiscent of soda. Fahhhk. Not something that I will revisit.

 

 

 

I was so excited to receive a Box of Chocolates in advance of Christmas that I did everything to speed the plow, from adding the beers to the database; taking, resizing & submitting a picture; and now, being the first to review it.

From the bottle: "Bittersweet aromas arise from cocoa additions while fresh mint and chocolate notes lead into a smooth finish."

I Pop!ped the cap & gave it a heavy-handed aggro pour for a couple of reasons: 1) I wanted to try to get a pseudo-cascade going, which worked perfectly & 2) I wanted to be able to smell the peppermint, which also worked well. I ended up with three-plus fingers of dense, foamy, deep-tan/light-brown head with good retention. Color was Black/Opaque (SRM = 44), allowing very dark brown highlights only at the edges. Nose was very minty with notes of chocolate & smoke to accompany its mintiness. Mouthfeel was medium, a little thin for the style, plus it had a graininess, like something was in suspension. Hmm. The taste was good, more like a Girl Scout Thin Mint than a York Peppermint Patty, which is what I had been expecting. It had a cookie/biscuitiness to go along with the mint and dark chocolate flavors. Finish was semi-dry, lingering with the mintiness.