Mint Chocolate Stout
Lagunitas Brewing Company

special edition stout here, i think perhaps high westified as the base, but jazzed up with mint and chocolate, desserty and strongly flavored, but with a high end sturdy stout underneath in support, and these flavors go rather well together, the mint hits natural and herbal and slightly sweetened, like a york patty or something, less like toothpaste or mouthwash, thankfully, even with the alcohol coming through it never goes there. deep dark brown, good viscosity, relatively lively from the keg. the nose on this has some balance, the mint is obvious, chocolate dipped too, milk chocolate and dark chocolate both, to me some nib type bitterness but also maybe some lactose in here sweetening it up, and that aspect is right on with the malt base, and the little bit of oak and char thats on this, i get some vanilla here as well, a barrel component perhaps, lots of roast, coffee warmth. the flavor is a little more restrained on the mint, its still there the whole way, but in better balance now, almost working to enhance the chocolate aspect. the chocolate comes across a little more fudge now to me, less bitter than it smells, still with some vanilla, charcoal and raisin too, lingering bitterness, a wood element, and some coffee as it sits too. strong, full bodied and palate coating, but not too sweet overall, and a real neat mix of flavors that work quite well together. lagunitas never gets enough credit for being experimental, but i think its just because their coolest beers get out in such limited quantities or not at all, a shame because they do some really neat stuff! this is further evidence of that.