Chocolate Cherry Stout
Suds Brothers Brewery

a strong but light bodied stout with chocolate and cherry, decent little beer here, my first from these guys. its sort of an amateur effort overall, but the kind thats endearing, like the technical proficiency is not amazing, but the recipe is clever, the proportions are good, and there feels like a lot of love in the glass, and in this instance that counts for a lot. shared from the growler by a new friend, surprisingly brown for a stout, does indeed look more like a brown ale, none of that dark roasted barley color at all, and just a short tan head, a little murky with haze but not too raw looking. the nose is the best part, some sweet and tangy cherry character, natural enough to me but a little candy-like too, with dry cocoa chocolate character and of course some chocolate malt behind it, a slightly english yeast thing to me thats a little bready, and then some slightly deeper grain character, but more toasted than roasted, not getting as dark as coffee and dark chocolate. the flavor is similar, but more balance between the chocolate and the cherry, definitely a milk chocolate thing, with some sweetness through it balancing the tartness of the fruit, a bit desserty, but also kind of sexy and valentines day vibey. its also a bit sloppy in the finer points, mouthfeel and carbonation, clarity and cleanness overall, and frankly not getting deep enough with the dark barley for the style, but there is lots to like here too, and even if its somewhat homebrew-esque, i say that as a compliment not a dis, this is fun beer, and beer is supposed to be fun! hope to check out the brewery when i am out that way next month!