Opera Fudge Stout
Snitz Creek Brewery

Poured into a narrow imperial pint glass: color is solid black, amber edges, head is reddish with fine bubbles that presents a quick 1/4 inch and quickly dissipates to nothing,

Smell is bitter roast and dark chocolate, sweet backing aroma, light cherry and fruit like aroma but from the malt base and deep sweetness.

Taste is mixed roast and chocolate, light cherry and dark fruit, some coffee roastedness.

Mouthfeel is low carbonation (crowler is aged), moderate/strong sweetness, moderate bitterness but not a lingering sweetness.

Overall a well done sweet, bitter chocolate stout with strong dark chocolate flavor that leads to a prominent dark fruit flavor that leaves a light sourness.

Smooth, sweet milk stout. Very dark, hints of red at the edges. Vanilla scent balances the bitter/burnt smell of the stout. Taste is similarly balanced with a prominent sweetness balanced by the bitterness of the stout. Almost tastes like some bourbon barrel stouts but lacks the complexity, very easy drinking stout.

 

 

 

Very interesting beer. Has a touch of sourness to blend with the chocolate. It actually works well together.

 

A: Deep Reddish highlights on the pour becomes a dark burgundy in the vessel. A micro-bubbly textured head is khaki colored and about one inch, holding well enough on its own.

S: Bakers chocolate on the nose is a bit dry and powdery, highlighted with vanilla and sweet dark cherries. Dark fruit sweetness along with some cocoa has a good strength and lasting appeal.

T: The flavor was sweet dark fruit of cherries and plums, juicy with loads of milky chocolate sweetness. Vanilla creamer and sugary raisins highlight along with a faint banana yeastiness. Coffee and cocoa mix well, fresh with some fresh apple slices, honey, and warm brownie malts.

M: Medium body, creamer feel, very smooth with almost no carbonation texture. Light chalky afterfeel.

O: A very smooth drinking and sweet milky stout that fits the bill. Very good drinkability, bright flavor, rich milky chocolate and enjoyable to the last sip.

Sampling a cellar temp can poured into my snifter. The beer is 6.8% according to the brewery website.
The beer pours a dark cola brown color with a creamy, densely packed head of 2.5 cm foaming up. The foam fades slowly to a thick edge layer and some wispy circles on the surface.
The aroma is rich with some chocolate and roasted malt notes. The chocolate is sweet and milky not dark, there is also a bit of vanilla mixed in for good measure. I dont get any sort of hop presence here, this is a sweet malty nose.
The first sip reveals a thinner body than expected, or hoped for in the beer. There is some average tingly carbonation and general silky texture. The beer drinks very easy based on these physical traits.
The flavor is what I expect with deep sweet sugar notes and some vanilla as well. I also get a light roasty note on the finish. Again, no hops to speak of and fairly sweet but not cloying or too much to finish a beer on my own. I like this beer and would really like a bigger body and a little more complexity on the flavor profile. It is good, but could be great.

Despite being billed as fudge, the vanilla really pops in the nose before it opens up a bit more to involve subtle fudge. Taste is quite opposite. The fudge pops quite impressively until vanilla flirts in. The sweet characters fade off soon enough to allow a cross between coffee and earthy malts to control the exit. My only real knock on this is the fairly thin body, otherwise it's nailing what it suggests in the name.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

12oz bottle sealed with a plain gold pressure cap.

poured into HF wine stem.

Appearance: dark brown to a light black bodied beer. Massive and extremely fizzy head that quickly drops down to a very thin ring around the glass. Khaki colored head leaves no lacing on the side of the glass as it quickly recedes.

Smell: Light roast with milk chocolate and nutty flavors that are sweet smelling and overpower the roast malt aromas.

Taste: starts out with a mildly sweet milk chocolates and nutty flavor similar to peanut butter. Roasted malts and possibly oats takes over the rest of the beer flavor profile and provide a moderate levels of bitterness. Slight hint of cola in the finish, but it is mostly the bitterness found in the finish and it lingers for a short while on the palate.

Mouthfeel: Medium bodied stout with moderate carbonation levels. The carbonation is slightly aggressive and gives the sensation that you are drinking a can of pop. Crisp almost aggressive carbonation would be a good descriptor here. Perhaps dialing down the carbonation a slight bit may be of benefit. This beer is not boozy at all and is pretty drinkable.

Overall: Nice flavors and aromas in this adjunct stout. Good idea to collaborate with Opera Fudge and brew a beer with fudge as an adjunct in this stout. Opera Fudge candy was eaten as a compliment pairing to this beer after completing this beer review. And for the record, the Opera Fudge was even better than the beer that was brewed with it. Still a pretty solid adjunct stout though.