Banana Split Chocolate Stout
Thomas Creek Brewery

Banana Split Chocolate StoutBanana Split Chocolate Stout
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From:
Thomas Creek Brewery
 
South Carolina, United States
Style:
Sweet / Milk Stout
ABV:
7.5%
Score:
84
Avg:
3.69 | pDev: 14.91%
Reviews:
45
Ratings:
171
Status:
Active
Rated:
Jan 05, 2019
Added:
Jan 18, 2011
Wants:
  28
Gots:
  28
Dark chocolaty stout with caramel, toffee and roasted malt flavors. Crisp and smooth with distinct banana overtones.

52 IBU
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Ratings by WonderNerd15:
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Reviewed by WonderNerd15 from Georgia

3.96/5  rDev +7.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4
L: Dark brown/black with a light brown head
S: Banana notes, with a sweet caramel, more noticeable when it warms up
T: Sweet but not overly sweet, banana is not as pronounced as I would like it to be
F: A really good feel, doesn't coat the mouth with sweetness, and doesn't linger too long.
O: Pretty good, would definitely like more banana but overall a good brew. Would probably have again if I could find it on tap
May 03, 2016
More User Ratings:
 
Rated: 4.16 by The_Kriek_Freak from Pennsylvania

Jan 05, 2019
 
Rated: 4.1 by Buffettman2018 from North Carolina

Feb 13, 2018
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Rated by Nappyscales from Georgia

2.42/5  rDev -34.4%
look: 2.25 | smell: 2 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 2.75
Didn’t get the banana split nor the chocalote. Maybe I’ll try again.
Feb 06, 2018
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Reviewed by mothmanscott from Georgia

3.55/5  rDev -3.8%
look: 3.25 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
This bottle from an an aged, cellared example purchased in 2016 (could not find a "bottled on" date).

Pours a very dark brown to the point of appearing shoe polish black. I can't get light bright enough & properly oriented to tell if it's clear but it appears to be opaque with particulates. The pour produces slightly more than a finger of frothy, mocha, rapidly diminishing head that leaves a very thin surface layer & collar. No appreciable lacing. Aroma is dark malt, chocolate, toffee, roast, a hint of thin banana & a faint hint of anise/licorice & spice. Taste is Tootsie Roll & dark chocolate, burnt dark bread & a slight sour note with hints of banana, dark fruit, smoke & spice. Hop presence is minimal but perhaps best defined as an earthy bitterness in the finish & aftertaste. Aftertaste is earthy, bitter, burnt malt, chocolate. Mouthfeel is medium-heavy bodied, with low-moderate carbonation, silky & tongue coating & grainy/prickly. Good but in the average sort of way. I was a little disappointed in what I expected from the "banana split" expectations evoked by the name. Banana is very weak. Hopefully this was not a result of the cellaring.
Nov 23, 2017
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Reviewed by woodychandler from Pennsylvania

4.5/5  rDev +22%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4.5
Another bottle bites the dust in today's attempt to eradicate single-O Porters, Stouts & Old Ales from the insidious Bottle Backlog here at Chez Woody. Did this come to me courtesy of local, in-person trader, tone77? I am willing to give him the credit, since he has a recent review, but mine seems to have been in the queue for a while.

From the bottle: "Forgive us, our transgressions."; "The Atypical Series"; "Stout with dried bananas added". The label depicts a redheaded half-human, half-banana redhead who has already been partially peeled, toasting a satyr with her long, black-gloved right hand. It all looks like a detail from a Breughel painting! I may need a beer to decompress. Also, the grammar suggests something other than biblical. What am I about to unleash? Is this Pandora's bottle? Eeek!

I Pop!ped the cap & sat back, awaiting the apocalyptic arrival, but nothing untoward occurred, so I continued on as best as I could. I was gentle with Banana Babe, but once she was in the glass, I swirled her around like nobody's business. She raised a fuss & a finger of foamy, light-tan head with moderate retention, but she quickly fell away to wisps, leaving me to my own devices. Color was Black/Opaque (SRM = 44), allowing ZERO light penetration. Nose smelled like the spiced banana bread that I made just before the Thanksgiving break of high school back in 1980. It was Basic Foods, but we had been in the kitchens for a couple of months & now we were being allowed to branch out. The project was Banana Bread, with a core recipe, but we could play with it, if we dared. I stirred in black pepper and cumin into my batter & when it baked, it really got people's attention! Mouthfeel was medium, kind of light for the style. The taste was phenomenal & it all got eaten at the table that year, bolstering my desire to be a cook (actually, a baker). This smelled of spiced chocolate & bananas, a great combination! The taste was all of the above - milk chocolate, bananas & a light spiciness that seemed familiar, but was not readily apparent. Black pepper? No. Cumin? No. More like a light curry. OMFG! Curry on bananas? With chocolate?!? You could win on Food Network with that combination! I suddenly have the urge to bake a loaf of Chocolate Curry Banana Bread. Finish was semi-dry, mostly due to the spiciness that I was getting. Oh, let's do this again, real soon!
Mar 27, 2017
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Reviewed by jjamadorphd from Florida

3.93/5  rDev +6.5%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
My first offering from Thomas Creek and it ain't too bad attall...

When I saw this at my local liquor store I just couldn't pass it up, and now that I have had it, I am glad I didn't, though it wasn't as spectacular as I had hoped. The beer looked great from the get-go - beautifully black, tan head, very good lacing - it started off as very special. The scent had just enough of a hint of bananas (which I love) that got me even more excited. But then I experienced the mouthfeel - though medium bodied, there was an awfully bitter aftertaste, enough to detract from the overall pleasantness of the beer. I did enjoy this, and I will keep an eye out for more in the future, but I certainly wasn't 'wowed' as I had hoped.
Feb 20, 2017
 
Rated: 3.75 by jcb7472 from Florida

Feb 04, 2017
 
Rated: 3.25 by jaketaz from Florida

Jan 15, 2017
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Reviewed by tone77 from Pennsylvania

3.59/5  rDev -2.7%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
Poured from a brown 12 oz. bottle. Has a black color with a 1/2 inch head. Smell is of chocolate, banana. Taste is roasted malts, some banana, very light chocolate. Feels medium bodied in the mouth and overall, I was hoping for more chocolate and banana, but still a good beer.
Jan 08, 2017
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Reviewed by DraconusDesanctus666 from Florida

3.77/5  rDev +2.2%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.75
Poured from a 12 oz bottle,into a Funky Buddha snifter.

Creamy,khaki colored,1 finger head with nice retention.Black in color,with no light showing through the glass.

On the nose I get banana and chocolate (banana split).Backed by some dark roasted malts.

The palate follows the nose,banana,chocolate,and dark roasted malts.

The body is medium / heavy,with a dry finish.

This is an excellent dry stout!!! Dry stouts aren't typically my favorite,but this one rocks!!!Not sure how this one got labeled a "sweet stout"...To me this is definitely. DRY STOUT.
Jan 01, 2017
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Reviewed by FriedSlug from North Carolina

4.14/5  rDev +12.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4
Thin dark brown beer with a quickly fading head. Nice banana and chocolate aroma. Nice banana and chocolate flavor with a bit of char bitterness. Really does a good job of copying a banana split.
Dec 23, 2016
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Reviewed by TheSixthRing from California

3.59/5  rDev -2.7%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.5
Appearance - Pours dark, near black, with cola brown edging. Cocoa powder colored head that peaks at just under a finger's width. Sub-par retention, dissipating rather quickly to reveal a thin, broken layer of suds across the surface. No lacing.

Smell - Strong fudgy notes. Lesser nuttiness. A bit of roasted malt. Faint banana.

Taste - Almost the opposite of the nose. Very little fudge flavor; so-so chocolate character. Banana character flashes and fades rather quickly. Lots of roast malt by mid-taste and plenty of earthiness in the finish.

Mouthfeel - Near full-bodied with moderate carbonation. Goes down easy enough, with a slightly dry finish.

Overall - A fair attempt at what must be a difficult concept to pull off. Banana split? Not so much, and though some of the basic flavors are there, they never come together to deliver the promise on the label. A bit too earthy, while the 'dessert' flavors you'd expect are fairly distant. In all it's not a terrible beer, but don't expect it to taste anything like the banana split you'd order from your favorite Ice Cream parlor.
Nov 03, 2016
 
Rated: 3.59 by WDJersey from Colorado

Sep 06, 2016
 
Rated: 3.42 by jeschaefer from Texas

Jun 27, 2016
 
Rated: 4.08 by Stofko1992 from Pennsylvania

Jun 15, 2016
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Reviewed by iheartmyTHO from Georgia

3.08/5  rDev -16.5%
look: 2 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 1 | overall: 2.5
My husband purchased this beer because he's a sucker for pretty much anything banana flavored. But he couldn't drink much of his bottle, so me, the champ, drank the rest. It wasn't a horrible stout but I didn't get much banana flavor. Our bottle was also very silty. After seeing all of the particulates in there, we both kind of lost our appetite for this beer. I read the bottle label and it says it's a stout with dried banana added. The tiny bits were banana pieces which you could feel as you drink it. Being the champ that I am, I did finish the bottle but after filtering it through a fine mesh strainer. Maybe it was just a bad bottle we got?
Jun 08, 2016
 
Rated: 3.96 by Dragginballs76 from South Carolina

May 27, 2016
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Rated by wac9 from Pennsylvania

2.84/5  rDev -23%
look: 3 | smell: 2.75 | taste: 3 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 2.75
I find this one needs more bananas just doesn't work for me
May 17, 2016
 
Rated: 3.25 by StoutAtTheDevil from Alabama

Apr 08, 2016
Banana Split Chocolate Stout from Thomas Creek Brewery
Beer rating: 84 out of 100 with 171 ratings