Viva La Stout
Sawdust City Brewing Co.

chocolate, rasp yes, coffeee! Mocha big! Touch of carbonation, im ok with it. Its smooth but could be smoother! 2.5/5 wouldnt have again so many other good beers

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

473 mL can from the LCBO; dated Sept 22 2020 and served at cellar temperature. Viva Puffs were never really my thing, but if this stout can deliver as advertised then I'm still going to be impressed.

Pours an opaque cola brown with burgundy red highlights. Half a finger of frothy, tan-coloured head lasts for two minutes, fading down to a tight collar with little else in sight; no cap, and very little lace. I can't believe how much this smells like the cookie - the raspberry jam, graham cracker and milk chocolate notes are all present, as is a sugary marshmallow essence; considerably subtler are the hints of roasted grain and vanilla.

Downright delectable - sweeter than I'd generally prefer, but for a cookie stout I suppose it's on point. Milk chocolate and devil's food cake at first, soon joined by raspberry, graham cracker and roasted grains. Hints of dark chocolate, vanilla and very mild cherry tartness come through at the finish, with suggestions of marshmallow, cookie dough and cocoa lingering into a moderately sweet aftertaste. Medium in body, with gentle carbonation that limply nudges the surface of the palate; feels silky-smooth and satisfying on the tongue. It's more drinkable than I honestly would've thought, but two in a row is still out of the question - it's just too sugary.

Final Grade: 4.06, an A-. Consider me impressed - Sawdust City set out to create something specific with Viva La Stout, and they totally nailed it. It's not necessarily a beer I'd care to drink on a regular basis, but that's just like, my opinion, man - as I said, I don't like Viva Puffs all that much, nor do I drink sweet stouts on a regular basis. All that being said, I'm still inclined to hand out some serious bonus points for doing such a good job of translating a cookie into a beer. It'd work exquisitely as an after-dinner aperitif with some ice cream and pie.

Appearance: Black as night and completely opaque, like a good stout should be that produced a finger and a half of head on the pour. Ample lacing, but the only thing that stops the perfect is the head retention just isn't quite there.

Smell: I mean, the branding here is dead on, it smells like a Viva Puff cookie, which is clearly the design here. Since I'm not sure if they have made it across the pond, think kind of like a smore with raspberry jam added to the mix. It's very sweet with toasted sugar, chocolate, raspberry and graham cracker nose. Honestly, if it wasn't branded as "cookie stout" I'd say it's too sweet.

Taste: This is incredibly sweet, and if not for the presence of strong dark chocolate note, trying desperately to reign in the sweetness, like huskie about to hit the park, it would be undrinkable. I mean, again as advertised, it's a Viva Puff in beer form (A graham cookie with raspberry jam, and marshmallow and dipped in chocolate) so I respect that aspect, the problem is of course, Viva Puffs were never my favorite cookie...

Mouthfeel: ...and the reason they were never my favorite cookie was the odd texture it had and in this it's sort of the same, as the oddness comes in the form of the carbonation petering out around the half way mark, giving it a less airy and more almost oily texture. There's also no real transitioning to speak of here, as it's more like everyone gets a turn, but no one leaves the stage. Still, aftertaste is mixed and doesn't cling.

Drinkability: Heavy as a Stout should be and sweet like a clear desert but is just seems to overstay its welcome. This stuff is makes your stomach feel like you just gained 5 lbs. Thankfully the milder carbonation helps it out a bit on that front. I think this would be much better served in a 330ml can to be honest.

Final Thoughts: As stated, this is a cookie called Viva Puffs in beer form, and in that endeavor, this beer is an unqualified success. Does that make is a good beer? Well, if you like Viva Puffs, then yes. For me, I'd say for the most part, yes, but it only has one place, and that's as a desert beer and in this case, after a lighter meal.

 

Look: Pours very dark brown with a one finger beige head. Head disapates rather quickly at 5 minutes there is a thin lace around the top of my glass.

Smell: Bursting with raspberry and chocolate. HInts of brown sugar and cookie dough too.

Taste: Raspberry dominates throughout the drink with a cookie dough malty backend.

Feel: Medium to full feeling, somewhat marshmellow like. Tartness of the raspberry noticable in the middle to the end of the sip, Somewhat oily consistancy.

The raspberry flavour comes across as very natural, not extract like. I think they did a great job of capturing the flavour profiles they were going for. Very rich, not something I would want to drink alot of. A good example of a dessert beer. The biggest knock would be the aftertaste which remained very sweet and didn't offer any release. I almost wanted a water chaster to cleanse the palate after most sips. This earns a strong B+

473 ml can served cool into a chalice. LCBO purchase for nearly $4 CDN. Canned September 22, 2020. A play on Viva Puffs I presume.

Appearance - Pours a dark brown brew, multiple fingers of loose and fluffy light tan head with some sparse lacing. Good head retention.

Smell - Huge nose of raspberry, chocolate and somehow doughy cookie.

Taste - Like the nose albeit a bit thinner. But raspberry chocolate and graham cracker cookie are all very present. The dark chocolate flavor is quite bitter which brings in the sweetness of everything else. Taste becomes more watery the more you get into the beer.

Mouthfeel - Medium bodied leaning towards the fuller side, carbonation is light and pretty easy drinking. Finish is just a touch dry.

Overall - I'm not necessarily one for pastry stouts, but this is one of the best ones on the market with and excellent balance of the three primary flavors, a massive nose, and a low enough ABV that encouraging a second one is no difficult task.