Caramel Current
Coronado Brewing Company

 

Type: 16-oz. can
Reviewed as: American Pastry Stout
Glass: Revision 12-oz. tulip
Price: $13.99 for a 4-pack (I think)
From: Trader Joe’s in College Area (San Diego), Calif.
Purchased: Dec. 3, 2020
Consumed: Dec. 3, 2020
Misc.: Canned on Nov. 2, 2020

Grabbed this on a recent trip to Trader Joe’s. This was the first time I saw this and I was psyched. It was right up my alley as the can was described as a “stout with cocoa, caramel, coconut, Tahitian vanilla and lactose.” Coronado’s website called it, “Developed with a classic chewy caramel chocolate bar in mind, this imperial pastry stout is bolstered by smooth caramel, decadent cocoa, coconut, Tahitian vanilla, and creamy lactose. Dive in and ride the current of candy bar like flavors while enjoying the wavy caramel vibes.” Nice.

Poured a black color with two fingers of frothy-to-fizzy khaki tan head, which quickly dissipated. Calm setting underneath the head with no noticeable bubbles. Bad spotty lacing. Below average retention. (Sight - 2.75)

Smelled caramel, toffee, cocoa, rich milk chocolate, Caramello candy bar, vanilla, hints of black coffee, roasty malts and semi-char wood. Nowhere as good from the can. (Smell - 4.25)

Tasted almost as good as the nose. In order got caramel, toffee, milk chocolate, Caramello candy bar, vanilla, roasty malts, hints of bitter black coffee and semi-char wood. (Taste - 4.00)

Full body. Sticky-to-slick texture. Average carbonation. Long, smooth finish. (Feel - 4.25)

Liked this one. Not quite as good as I hoped it would be, but still outstanding. (Overall - 4.00)

4.01 | 90 | A-

It smells sweet and malty. I am getting a little hint of the kind of charred sugars in caramel. It also hits you in the face with the scent of alcohol.

When I taste it, it is sweet but not overly sweet.  It has coffee or cocoa flavor but the sweetness makes it pretty melo. 

It's thick and smooth in my mouth with hardly any fizz.  The finish is dry with a rich bitterness that reminds you that it's a stout. The warmth in your belly reminds you of the high abv.

Really good.  Bold and rich. Overall I give this one a solid 5.2 out of 6.

Pours black with a 1/2 inch tan head, which dissipates. Moderate lacing.

Aroma of brown sugar, figs, dates, chocolate, roast malt.

Taste is molasses, currants, chocolate, vanilla, figs, dates, caramel, roast malt. Astringent.

Full bodied, thick and oily, light carbonation. Sweet, oily finish.

This is a very good stout.

16oz can poured into a tulip. Pours almost black; small khaki head that fades leaving nice retention and lacing. The aromas are malt forward. Mild hints of cocoa, vanilla and coconut. It doesn't smell bad, it just doesn't have much going on in the aroma department. The flavors have more cocoa, vanilla and coconut. Some caramel coming through. The lactose does its thing. There's a nice little sweetness going on, but it's definitely not overly sweet like some pastry stouts. Solid malt backbone. Mild alcohol notes, but the alcohol is ultimately well hidden. Mouthfeel is full-bodied with moderate to active carbonation. It's sharp, fluffy and smooth.

This is a decent stout. It's not as exciting as you would think with all of the ingredients that they use, in my opinion, but it's not bad at all or anything like that. It's still enjoyable stuff.

Poured from a can into a pint glass. Dark brown with very little head. The caramel really dominates throughout, in the nose but especially on the tongue. This is perhaps too sweet for me, at least in any quantity.

sweet but not too sweet - great caramel flavor smooth to drink malty