Peppermint Stout
2nd Shift Brewing

16oz can pours completely black with a small, fizzy head of medium brown-colored foam that quickly recedes to a thin ring. Smells sharply of mint with a light chocolate note and a bit of booze/syrup. Rich flavor of dark roasty malts with plenty of coffee and dark chocolate notes accompanied by an almost medicinal peppermint flavor. Small amount of alcohol heat but an excessive amount of alcohol in the flavor. Sharp bitter-sour finish with the medicinal menthol all throughout. Mild to moderate sweetness, medium to heavy body, syrupy and slightly bubbly mouthfeel, and a sour minty aftertaste.

I absolutely love everything mint chocolate flavored, and I picked this can up with high hopes, but this beer was pretty awful. It's the complete opposite of balance and harmonious flavor pairing. The excessive alcohol flavor and one-dimensional medicinal menthol makes it taste like cold medicine in a very bad way. It feels like something I need to choke down for its benefit rather than something I enjoy the flavor experience of. The only other mint chocolate stout I've tried was similar, so I can only hope there's some decent examples in this style.

 

16oz can. Poured out an opaque, jet-black color with a small, khaki-colored head of foam. It left minimal lacing on the glass. It smelled of peppermint, mild chocolate and toffee. Strong minty taste with chocolate and caramel.