Nova Scotia Stout
Brouwerij Strubbe

Shared 330 ml bottle, from CITTI-Markt Flensburg. ABV is 5.2%. Allegedly origins in The Queen Molly Brewery (which seems not to exist), Nova Scotia. Brewed by Strubbe for Hamburger Bier Import. Dark brown colour, nearly black, moderate beige head. Aroma of chocolate and moderately roasted malts. Medium sweet flavour, notes of white chocolate, minimal hops. Not great, but better than I feared.

Looks like this beer is back in production. Found some bottles at Bert's Bierhuis in Utrecht last week. Label reads as follows:

Nova Scotia Stout
The Queen Molly Brewery in Yarmouth, Nova Scotia, Canada

It's brewed under licence and distributed in Europe by Haus der 131 Biere in Germany.

Anyways. From a bottle into a pint glass.

APPEARANCE: Pours out a very thin and light brown and completely transparent. Yields a two finger, thinner looking, light beige head with decent retention. Clear, transparent brown body with no carbonation evident. A ring remains and leaves some touches of lacing down the glass. This is far too light and transparent to be considered stout looking.

SMELL: Caramel and toffee on the nose. No roasted or stout like qualities. Perhaps a light smoky note, but the nose tells me this is going to be a rough ride.

TASTE: Yup, this is awful. Sweet, sweet caramel malt and toffee flavors, with a touch of nuts. Candy and brown sugar notes as well, with a touch of dark grapes at the finish perhaps. Overly sweet aftertaste is relentless and makes this a real chore to drink. I understand this is a sweet stout, but there is no stout, only sweet. I hope Drain is thirsty.

PALATE: The only menial saving grace. Medium body and carbonation. A little light on the palate though creamy enough, goes down fine and finishes slightly sticky. Fine I guess.

OVERALL: As far as I am concerned, they can take this back out of production as soon as humanly possible. I am embarrased that this sweet, ugly excuse for a stout has a Canadian name. Please do us all a favor and avoid this abominal creation, unless your name begins with Drain.

Found at a specialty Delikatessen in downtown Vienna, the 33cl brown long neck bottle features a green and red plaid label with a big red lobster in front. Ingredients conform to the purity law. Best before 8/31/08, I opened it on 2/1/08.

Pours a clear cola brown under a fairly short-lived one finger beige head that settles as thick collar but can't muster any lace. The nose is barely discernible, with just a hint of cream and grain. The mouth is about medium density and mildly carbonated. The taste is also not particularly pronounced, with a bit of caramel and a touch of cream. The aftertaste reveals a trace of bitter, more a shadow than a sensation. Not offensive, but quite disappointing.