Salted Caramel Cavatica
Fort George Brewery + Public House

Poured into a Fremont small snifter. Pours a very dark mahogany brown, appearing opaque in the glass with a one finger khaki head with good retention and solid lacing. Aroma of dark toasted malt, caramel, chocolate and a hint of coffee. Flavor follows, with dark toasted malt, caramel, dark chocolate and some coffee in the finish. Medium bodied with light to moderate creaminess. A fine caramel stout. The base Cavatica character of chocolate and coffee are on display, but the caramel is the dominant flavor, although it still tastes quite well balanced. Only a light sweetness, much less than I 'd expect from a caramel adjunct beer. I liked this a lot; it even got me thinking I need to revisit the base Cavatica, which I reviewed over a decade ago (although I've had some variants and barreled versions since then. Nicely done, glad I found this one.

Poured from a 16 ounce can dated 1-29-26 into a snifter at 58.4 degrees F.

Appearance- Black, opaque, light brown frothy head, small visible particulate at the margins, above average head retention and lacing.

Aroma- Cocoa, roasted malt, slight caramel, between weak and medium strength of scent.

Flavor- Roasted malt, cocoa, coffee, slight salted caramel, between medium and high strength of flavor.

Mouthfeel- Full body, average carbonation, highly creamy, mildly mouth coating, highly bitter, mildly sweet, moderately mouth warming, velvety.

Overall- Black and opaque with above average head retention and lacing. The bouquet was a mix of cocoa, roasted malt and slight caramel with a strength on the weaker end of the spectrum. The flavor followed the nose with additional notes of coffee layered in and a noticeably higher intensity. The mouthfeel consisted of full body with a velvety quality and high bitterness and creaminess. Also, it had mild mouth coating properties and moderate mouth warming properties. Overall, this was a very solid and enjoyable beer. I ended up giving this beer the exact same rating as base Cavatica but got there in different ways. This beer had better appearance and mouthfeel, but the original had better aromatics and flavor with coffee playing more of a role and higher overall intensity of flavor and aroma. The salted caramel advertised in this beer was too understated, considering it’s part of the beer’s name.

Tap at Belmont Station. Colour is clear dark brown with a thin tan head. Nose is like burnt caramel and charred cotton candy with bits of chocolate cream. Palate is fairly frothy with a quick ashen hit and then a dry feel. The caramel is strong and carries with it notes of medium bodied coffee and toffee. The finish is long, gripping and caramello-y.

16-ounce can purchased at the Tanasbourne location of New Seasons Market. Date stamp reads "DOB 01/29/26 SWEET N SALTY". Enjoyed in a nonic half-pint glass (and also straight out the can).

Just like regular Cavatica, this "double American stout" is deep brown with burnt umber highlights and a buff-colored head. The nose is mostly milk chocolate and dark chocolate with some dark roasted malt, coffee, and a hint of char. Maybe a trace of caramel; it's a little hard to pull out from the generally sweet background.

However, this is not that case with the flavor. Like the nose, it opens very much like regular Cavatica: chocolate, coffee, some roasted malt and char. A little orange peel on the back end which plays nicely with the dark chocolate flavors. The salted caramel component comes through in the middle and adds the flavor of caramel without any added sweetness. It's a nice trick. I wish the caramel were a bit stronger, but I do like what it brings to the beer.

Overall, it's a tasty version of the regular Cavatica Stout. The base beer is a bit too sweet for me, though I do get a craving for it once or twice a year. The caramel is a low-key but welcome addition here which makes the sweetness worthwhile.

Canned 1/29. Builds on the base Cavatica, which is a solid performer all-around. The caramel comes in stronger in the finish than on the initial taste and the salt addition comes out as a mineral background to the stout's taste. In other words, don't worry - the beer doesn't taste salty. As with the base beer, good carbonation, sophisticated handling of the 8.8% ABV.