Nibs & Beans | Odell Brewing Company

3.28/5  rDev n/a
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 4 | overall: 3

One of the pilot beers on tap at their tap room. Seems like they have been experimenting with a chocolate milk stout lately; batch #1 was their Chocolate Oar, batch #2 was Xocolatl,and this is the most recent batch. This is a chocolate milk stout with vanilla beans; i.e. a vanilla chocolate milk stout. Loved the Chocolate Oar and Xocolatl - I'd give Chocolate Oar the edge - but this one didn't quite match up to those two, IMO.

Poured dark, dark brown with a mocha head. Taste and smell followed suit; vanilla dominates, especially when cold, but as it warms up the chocolate, lactose, and roasted barley begin to show themselves to add some much needed additional components to this. That said, the balance is not quite right on this one with the vanilla far too strong and the rest far too weak. A nice fuller, creamy mouthfeel. Overall, this beer could probably still use some tweaking to balance the flavors out a bit. Its a bit messy. The chocolate definitely is a little lost in this one, especially as I compare it to its past forms. As not a huge vanilla fan maybe I am just destined to like this less than most, but regardless this version is a step back from both Chocolate Oar and Xocolatl.

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