Scandi Noir
Evil Twin Brewing

 

 

i have been bucking up and trying more of the evil twin stuff lately, always been a fan but the prices have gotten insane. i looked at this one a few times before finally biting the bullet, almost ten bucks i think i paid for this single, but i get it now. i wasnt sure how peanut and vanilla would be together, and ive been pretty up and down on peanut in beer, sometimes cool sometimes awful, i hate the powdered peanut butter thing, it was purchased on faith, but i am glad i did it, because this is pretty next level. pours shockingly thick and black, straight motor oil, like for real this time, a short but easily roused mocha head sits on top of one of the more viscous beers i can ever recall seeing. i pour a little too deep into the an and get some gloopy congealed sediment, but its not too bad, this is leggy and thick to the max. aroma is at first more peanut than vanilla, natural, and my wife rightly observes its a roasted peanut thing specifically, the little red skins too, extremely natural and more fragrant than in many beers that claim peanut. as it sits, the vanilla takes over, a boozy sort of vanilla extract vibe, but high end to me, just beneath the surface of all the roasty dark grain, luxurious even kind of sexy, and with the peanut its awesome, but the end of the glass its more vanilla in the aroma than anything else to me. the flavor is wildly complex, peanut up front, more of the vanilla in the second half, layers and layers of grain from a toffee thing in the center than almost plays peanut brittle with the nuts in here, to deep espresso crema, tanned leather, and booze soaked raisin, really compelling, and it all works so well together. the texture is so dense, palate coating and a little cloying, but lively enough for the style, and the gravity of it is kind of appealing, dead of winter kind of mouthfeels here with a little alcohol heat as it sits, fully appropriate. really interesting beer right here, and it serves to continue to reinvigorate my spark for evil twin stuff, i hate the prices but the beers have been great. they have always slayed the darker stuff, but this exceeded expectations!

Evil Twin Scandi Noir Imperial Stout, 12% ABV. Pours black with a 4-finger medium-brown head that left no lacing. Nose is nuts and vanilla, taste follows, plus roast malt, slightly sweet, equally bitter. Excellent mouthfeel with decent carbonation. Overall excellent to outstanding-adjacent..

16oz can poured into a snifter

A- pours jet black in color with a one-finger foamy dark brown head that reduces to a ring around the glass

S- smells of charred malt, toasted peanut shells, black licorice, peanut brittle, chocolate, walnuts and a hint of vanilla

T- dark roasted and charred malts gives notes of dark chocolate and coffee, followed by a light note of roasted peanuts and toffee. The finish gives more roasted barley, with a hint of vanilla sticking around on the linger

M- medium body with medium carbonation leads to a foamy mouthfeel that continues into a slightly creamy, warming finish

O- a solid base stout, but the peanuts and vanilla were a bit hard to find at times

 

 

Poured into a Fremont small snifter. Pours nearly black, appearing opaque black in the glass with a one finger brown head with great retention and nice lacing. Aroma of dark toasted malt, nuts and vanilla, slightly vegetal. Flavor is dark toasted malt with some dry biscuit, light roasted peanuts, bakers chocolate and vanilla. Peanut and high cacao chocolate on the finish. Medium bodied with moderate creaminess, nice mouth feel. I never knowingly pass up the opportunity for an Evil Twin stout and a peanut one is quite tempting. This was somewhat different than what I expected. The malt is deep and flavorful, but drier and almost like a hyped up dry stout and the peanuts are fairly subdued. Most peanut stout are semisweet and the peanut flavor is more like commercial peanut butter; slightly sweet too. This has more of a roasted peanuts in the shell flavor, which the drier malt enhances. Vanilla is also subdued and I'm getting more chocolate notes than vanilla. After the initial realization that this is not a typical peanut stout, I realized that I liked it quite a bit. Definitely a unique take on the style and a rich, luxurious stout to boot. Worth a try if you can still find it. Looks amazing too.

 

 

 

Served from the can in a Lagunitas mason jar.

I know it's only been a few days, but I'm diving into another peanut butter-flavored stout. Fingers are always crossed, kids. This stuff pours a straight obsidian topped by a finger of light brown foam. The nose comprises roasted malts, mild peanut butter powder, and a touch of what may or may not be cocoa powder. The taste brings in more of the same, the richness of the cocoa coming through better, the peanut butter coming across more like actual peanut butter (rather than powder or extract), and a touch of vanilla and coffee rounding things out. The body is a hefty medium, with a light moderate carbonation and a feel that is just shy of chewy. Overall, a pretty nice PB stout, one where the PB aspect is nicely subtle and the flavors are allowed to combine and warp and cooperate. Not bad.

 

16oz can poured into a tulip glass. The beer pours completely opaque and as dense as motor oil with a dark mocha-colored head. Strong aromas and flavors of peanuts and moderate vanilla sweetness, with a roasty malt backbone. To me this has the impression of lactose as well, though the can doesn't mention it. Within the thick body, nutty flavors and vanilla sweetness, there are some flavors of chocolate and coffee that blend well with the rest of the brew. Sticky, viscous full body with minimal present warmth and a dry finish.

I picked up 8 or so different huge stouts today, including this one and several more from Evil Twin. So lets get to it!

This opens like an Evil Twin (high end) stout. Nice brown head - very appealing. The aroma is not overly pronounced - malty stout with vanilla (can barely smell the peanut). It's a boozy, funky smell for a stout. You don't taste the peanut much either, but it is there underneath the vanilla and huge malty stout. It all works very nicely. The flavorings add to the great, huge stout but they don't (can't) dominate it.

Highly recommended. Evil Twin = excellent stouts.

 

dark creamy stout - nice malt flavor all thru the drink

From the bottom of the can: "03/17/21 01:01"

Appearance: It is a black bodied beer with an extremely dark brown head. The head is very noticeably dark in color. It has decent retention but it takes a vigorous pour to accumulate, and it pours like old oil from the can. It fades out to a sloped ring at the edge. No lacing.

Aroma: It smells like a brownie. There are substantial notes of chocolate, peanut brittle, and walnut. It smells exactly like a Little Debbie Fudge Brownie with English Walnuts. It also smells exactly like peanut butter fudge. There's so much to love that is going on here aromatically.

Taste: Up front it tastes like roasted grains and burnt coffee mixed with heavily roasted peanuts. The flavor carries though the entire drinking experience and stays mostly consistent, depending on how you consume the beer. When sipping the beer it is experienced best, but drinking it a bit faster there is a little more acrid smoke character to the beer. It might seem like the flavor profile is simple but it nails every single flavor without any off flavors or negative characters at all. Truly a world-class tasting beer.

Mouthfeel: Thick and luxurious with a wealthy, full, complete body. To a point it doesn't feel overly thick or chewy, but it feels complete.

Overall: This is an ace of a beer, and there aren't many like it. The can states that this is "12% ALC/VOL" and it does a great job of attenuating while maintaining a fantastic body. On the side of the can, it states that this is an "IMPERIAL STOUT WITH PEANUTS AND VANILLA." The peanut character is great but the vanilla isn't readily apparent. As a whole the beer works wonderfully. There is a margin at the upper echelon for actual world-class beers and this one is well within that margin. I highly recommend it and I wish that I had purchased more. It's absurdly fantastic and I would greatly recommend it.