Hazelnut Stout
Country Boy Brewing

Had this before, but might as well review it. I bought this from Jungle Jim's a while back. Pours black with a nice, full head. The smell is too strange for me to be able to recognize, I must be honest. I suppose that is the hazelnut, something of which I am still rather unfamiliar with. It's the taste that shines, anyway. This is a regular, lower-ABV stout. It's easy to forget about more ordinary stouts in a world full of draughts topped off with all sorts of fruits and desserts and whatnot. The hazelnut really shines here. It is rather malty with a slight sweetness, but the more bitter flavor of the hazelnut is in full force. It's good stuff. I would say it's a little nutty and cola-like with some cocoa/coffee semblance. This beer is rather mid-bodied, mid carbonation, with a creamy finish.

Now I've had hazelnut coffee and hazelnut beer, and it looks like that's my jam.

Definitely hazelnut all around, but very one note, and somewhat bitter. Solid, but just okay.

 

 

 

Drinking at the brewery, from tap. Nice beige light head. Nose of toasted hazelnuts and malts. Dry and long on palette. Hazelnut obvious but not obnoxious. 6.5% not overly done. Quite good overall.

12 ounce can, no dating that I noticed on it but it is Country Boy's winter seasonal so I don't believe it's a very old can. Thanks to my friend Denis for this brew! Served in a pint glass, the beer pours dark brown/black with about a half inch tan head. Head retention and lacing were both decent enough. I like the aroma a lot, the hazelnut/nutella is dominant here along with some cocoa powder and coffee too. Taste is similar to the aroma, with hazelnut, cocoa, roasted malt and coffee flavors. Hazelnut/nutella is strong in the taste, but not quite to the extent that it was in the aroma as the coffee and roasty flavors are pretty noticeable. Mouthfeel/body is medium, it's a bit slick and has a moderate amount of carbonation. I liked this a lot, but then I think that has a lot to do with the hazelnut/nutella flavors. It might be too sweet for some, but if you like the sweeter brews I recommend this one!

In what's quickly becoming the cheat sheet for dark beer, hazelnut makes its way into the brewery of Country Boy. They must have the Cliff Notes because this otherwise fairly banal stout suddenly excels in its class.

Very dark brown but not quite black, Hazelnut Stout builds a creamy, short statured froth. The sultry dessert scent of hazelnut and chocolate align on the nose along with milder coffee, woodsy and caramelized notes. A full and savory sweetness of caramel and chocolate link up with those candied hazelnut flavors to impress the early palate with a roundness of nutella.

Much of the same transpires across the middle palate with those malty-sweet underpinnings holding firm. Eventually the woodsy hops begin to balance the sweetness and bring out a chicory type of spice. Trailing into a mild bitterness, the hazelnut flavors trend cola-like with a nutty, sweet and savory character until the very end.

Medium full in body, the stout is rather relaxed, resembling robust porter as much as it does stout. An extended finish of toasted hazelnut begins to veer from those straight-up Nutella flavors, but its medium long aftertaste is spicy, coffee-like and redolent with cola.

 

12oz can poured into a snifter

A- pours black in color with a one-finger khaki colored head that has short retention but leaves some lacing behind

S- bold nutty hazelnut aroma, along with rich chocolate, smells like a Ferrero Roche candy. Undertones of nut butter, coffee and charred malt

T- sweet chocolate malt up front is quickly followed by a nutty hazelnut note, mid-palate gives notes of caramel and char, the finish gives hints of coffee and lingers of nutty hazelnut

M- medium body with moderate carbonation leads to a foamy mouthfeel that turns into a slightly creamy finish

O- bold hazelnut with some nice chocolaty notes