Nitro Caribbean Chocolate Cake
Siren Craft Brew

 

330 mL nitro can from the LCBO; best before Sep 17 2022 and served barely chilled. Poured rough, as instructed.

Pours inky black and totally opaque; after a brief cascade I'm left with nearly three fingers of puffy, foamy, light tan-coloured head that seeps off at an exceedingly casual pace. Even after ten minutes, there's still a lumpy, creamy, half-inch cap and generously sudsy collar in place; nice lacing, too. Enticing aroma with suggestions of chocolate fudge or devil's food cake - needless to say, the cacao nibs do a lot of the heavy lifting, helped along by lesser notes of mocha coffee with cream, dates and subtle cypress wood.

Tasty stuff - quite rich, which cannot be considered a surprise for a beer with 'chocolate cake' in its name. Milk sugar sweetness throughout the sip, with chocolate milk followed by cacao nibs, date and fudge; notes of coffee in the background, with hints of dark chocolate interspersed between. The finish adds cypress wood, earthy/herbal hops and bitter coffee grounds to the mix, with persisting hints of fudge, coffee grounds, milk sugar and dark fruit into the aftertaste. Medium-full in body, with very low carbonation and a smooth mouthfeel; kinda flat and limp, but that's nitro for ya. Pounding back a can or two would be no problem, but this seems like a 'night capper' sort of brew.

Final Grade: 4.15, an A-. Siren's Nitro Caribbean Chocolate Cake is a decadent beer that I was largely satisfied with - in particular, it smells delightful, looks great, and is pretty tasty to boot. The cypress wood is subtle, yet it might actually be this beer's saving grace, as it adds another dimension beyond the sweet, chocolate fudge-y-ness. I think a little more dark chocolate, as well as some more roastiness (or even bitterness) to help counter the saccharinity might've made this an even more enjoyable and balanced quaff. Then again, they promised chocolate cake, and I'd say they delivered, so maybe just ignore me and leave it the way it is.