Gino
Crooked Stave Artisan Beer Project

 

 

two amazing breweries, gorgeous art on the can, terrible glass of beer, wow, this was an insane let down, and i guess this is just a lesson in what we get for having to adjunct the heck out of everything to sell beer to the kids these days, i mean, the line was crossed somewhere miles and miles back of this one, and frankly it has no business existing. i feel duped by it, frustrated that these too breweries would go to this level, and honestly it kind of left me scratching my head, worrying about the future of our craft, this is a symptom not a cause, i am assigning no blame here, but man, this is a pretty obvious illustration that we have lost our way. this is like the frat bro with the double popped collar, sweat bands, all of that, there was a time, brief as it was, when that was fashionable, and everyone did it, not as a form of self expression, but in an attempt to be cool, stay up, not get left out or whatever, and thats what this beer feels like to me, a style that nobody ever identified with or wanted to be, but had no choice but to follow suit. definitely not what i know crooked stave and omnipollo for. the ingredient list is absurd, and while i am not familiar with the dessert they claim inspired the beer, how could anyone have thought this would taste good?! baked white chocolate, kiwi, banana, strawberry, coconut, vanilla, enough sugar to give a whole tasting group diabetes. it just seems like a gimmick, and we enjoy it for its novelty value only. its deep and black and leggy and sticky and thick, high shine, little head. this is so sugary, brown sugar and molasses, candied fruit, the sort of buttery white chocolate is evident, they could have stopped right there and had a solid stout, but then comes all the vanilla and the banana, a really weird layer, and it comes at the expense of the kiwi, which i kind of wanted to taste in a stout, had not seen that before, but its absent or covered up here. it kind of makes my teeth and belly hurt, the banana is like runts candy, and the strawberry is a jammy sweet layer thats over the top. not a ton of coconut on it, but enough to complicate this in a weird way. its the texture of syrup, and its hard to rinse my mouth clean. boozy as can be too, and with a curious little tang to it. i find it hard to imagine anyone really loving this, maybe the high ratings are more an attempt to fit in, it is certainly not a statement about quality here. really disappointed, maybe more that this exists, and that these breweries felt the need for it to exist, than i am actually disappointed in the liquid itself. not really sure what to make of it, but i hope i never see it again...

 

 

Crooked Stave X Omnipollo - Gino - Imperial Dessert Stout
Limited 16 Oz can - Released 2018 - 11.3% ABV

Pour/Head: Looks like a sweet stout would; pours a bit thick. Thin head, doesn’t stick around long. The beer is dark brown in color, not able to see through it without a strong light.

Nose: An immediate sweet scent of bananas and a touch of ethanol. Breathing a bit deeper you can smell the touches of coconut, vanilla, and white chocolate. I don't really smell the strawberry or kiwi but i do think they are adding significantly to the sweet aroma. Overall the smell isn’t obnoxiously sweet or unbalanced; infact the scents mesh surprisingly well and almost make a non distinct smell of their own. 10/10

Body: Following suit with the balanced scent, this stout pulls off something tough; finding a nice balance between the thickness of a sugary dessert stout. It's definitely a sipper, but not one you are gagging down like molasses. Sweet and Stout.

Taste: The flavor combo certiantly reads crazy: strawberry, kiwi, banana, coconut, white chocolate, and vanilla. This beer is a collaboration with Omnipollo based out of sweden, and the name; Gino, comes from a swedish dessert containing those exact ingredients listed above. I think it was ambitious and certainly could have been a miss; but for me id say it's a hit. The flavors actually mesh really well and in an interesting way. The strawberry and kiwi aren't very present; really i feel they just add to the sweetness and slight acidity of the drink overall. The white chocolate, coconut, and banana blend together so well it's incredible. Then there's the general stout taste and slight hint of alcohol that fits so well with the banana smell.

This collaboration hit all the marks for me so i’m gonna give it a 5/5. Creative flavor for a dessert stout; glad i was able to get some.