Vanilla Citrus Stout
Eel River Brewing Co.

Lucked into this in the fridge of a friend who has a BiL that sent him a box of beer from California.
Poured stout black and was capped with a dense, light brown head that stayed until I finished it and then coated the bottom of the glass.
The taste was not what I expected, they used the additives very lightly so they didn’t overpower the base stout. The citrus came through as one of those chocolate oranges that you find at Christmas time. Subtle and flavorful. The vanilla came in more as lactose and chocolate, which works quite well.
They pack a lot of flavor into this sub- 7% stout. I would gladly buy a 6 pack for myself.

Poured into a Fremont small snifter. Pours a very dark mahogany brown, appearing nearly opaque black in the glass with one finger khaki head with great retention and nice lacing. Aroma of dark toasted malt, milk chocolate and orange zest. Flavor is dark toasted malt, bakers chocolate, vanilla and orange zest. Orange, milk chocolate and vanilla finish. Medium bodied with light to moderate creaminess. A pleasant mild stout that leans in the direction of a milk stout profile due to the vanilla and low-key toastiness of the malt. The vanilla adds some creamy flavor, but not intrusive flavor character. Orange is also handled quite well, with a touch of orange peel, but does not overwhelm the malt body. I'm on the fence with fruit flavors in stouts, but this deft use of orange was quite good. Haven't had anything from Eel River in a long time and this was a satisfying reintroduction.

great lightly sweet stout nice vanilla after taste