Mocha Crunch Chocolate Bar Stout
Sawdust City Brewing Co.

473 mL can from the LCBO; dated Oct 11 2024 and served barely chilled. Like several of Sawdust City's other flavoured stouts, this is inspired by a popular Canadian confection - in this case, the venerated Coffee Crisp candy bar.

Pours a dark brownish-black colour; functionally opaque, although there are glints of reddish-purple when the glass is held to a bright light. Floating atop the surface is nearly two fingers of foamy, creamy tan-coloured head that slowly seeps away, leaving behind a wavy coat of lace as it recedes over the next five minutes. A thin collar and filmy cap linger on; looks great so far. The aroma is immediately reminiscent of a Coffee Crisp - milk chocolate and sweetened coffee, with hints of vanilla, dark chocolate, roasted malts and cookie dough.

It smells better than it tastes, though the flavours are still nice enough to keep me happy. Vanilla figures in a little too strongly for my tastes; I'm also getting plenty of milk chocolate, cocoa and sweetened coffee with cream. Dark chocolate and black coffee develop towards the finish, which commences sweet before trending towards more of a bittersweet coffee grounds & baker's chocolate aftertaste. A very subtle roastiness loiters on the tastebuds long after the sip is over. On the fuller side of medium-bodied, with low carbonation that rolls weakly along the tongue; the mouthfeel is smooth and a little silky. Fair drinkability for a dessert beer; one can is no problem, but it's not a beer I'd want to one after another.

Final Grade: 3.96, a B+. Mocha Crunch Chocolate Bar is a solid sweet stout that I'll be seeking out next autumn and/or winter. The aroma may have set my hopes a little too high, as it's an excellent facsimile of the chocolate bar it's imitating. The flavours aren't as spot-on, but they're close enough - the sweetness and coffee flavours are on the mark, though the vanilla could stand to be dialed back a tad. Minor gripes aside, I encourage coffee & chocolate-loving BAs to seek this out and try it for themselves.

Look: Pours dark brown with a tightly bubbled 3 finger mocha head. The head slowly gives way over 3 minutes to a one finger head which fills the entire top of the glass.

Smell: Smells of milk chocolate and coffee. Some burnt sugar and vanilla. Much like a coffee crisp candy bar.

Taste: Vanilla, cafe au lait, milk chocolate. Touches of green pepper and leather. This beer is built on the backbone of Sawdust City's core Skinny Dipping Stout.

Feel: Somewhat oily and watery. Hard sweet after taste most noticeable on sides of tongue.

A very taste dessert stout for chocolate lovers. Worth looking out for.