S'Mores Stout
Four Quarters Brewing Co.

 

 

 

I have had some pretty not-great experiences with Four Quarters recently, including some beers that just were not as successful as they could've been, and one that straight-up erupted as soon as I cracked the can tab (that would be Peanut Butter Chocolate Drop, which I was honestly pretty pumped for), so when I saw this in the store, I eyed it for a few seconds before semi-reluctantly grabbing it and throwing it in my basket. "This is their last chance," I thought to myself. "If this isn't good, I'm over their packaged beer."

The pour on this beer is quite nice, appearing as a super-dark brown color topped off with a menacing-looking tan-ish head of fairly-retentive foam in the form of micro-bubbles. They're pretty constantly bolstered by seemingly nice carbonation rising from the bottom of my glass, but I can't see too deep below the surface so I can't be 100% sure. Some soapy, sustained lace appears with each sip, temporarily coating the inside of my glass. Good looking stuff. Alright, at least this one poured into my glass without issue.

So, this was brewed with milk chocolate, marshmallows, and graham crackers. Simple enough for a s'mores stout, right? The nose is molasses, some light whipped cream, dusty cocoa powder, lactose, a faint metallic scent, and a good bit of roast that carries on long after I take my nose away from the rim of the glass. So far, so good! It takes quite a while for the "graham cracker" element to come out; I almost had to get halfway through the beer before I noticed it... other beers I have had that succeed at this tend to use "graham flour" instead of, for example, crumbled up graham crackers which this probably uses. Just a thought. If I let this sit out for a bit to acclimate to just colder than room temp, it's much better than when first poured.

The flavor profile is rich and decadent, with an appropriately luscious mouthfeel that coats the entire palate with each sip. Strong flavors of roasted malts, creamy chocolate, molasses, chewy grains, and a light note of vanilla cream in the finish. Definitely a strong stout, but one that is reflective of all of the flavors it advertises. Have to say I am surprised by the quality here. 4Q is inconsistent, it seems, but they're just good enough that I'll continue to try out some of their beers, even some questionable stuff like the Shakedown series.

Tall can, fresh from the brewery about a week ago

Pours near black, leaving a thicker film and ample low sheeting.

Sniff of milk chocolate and chocolate malt.
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Richly flavorful, thick, super smooth and creamy, with notes of more chocolate, toasted caramel and marshmallow.

Worthy imperial stout

 

 

gorgeous looking brew - comes out very dark and an aggressive pour leaves a ridiculously dense and creamy tan head, nice lacing. aromas are milk chocolate and whipped cream, hint of burnt malt. on palate is absolute desert beer heaven - thick and creamy, fudgey milk chocolate, vanilla cream and marshmallow, some roasty and dark/burnt malt going on in the background as well as the slightest hint of dark fruit. not necessarily balanced or nuanced but holy shit this brings a massive sweet desert flavor that is reminiscent of s'mores for sure! excellent execution as always and the mouthfeel is very full bodied, just luscious!

drinking this again with a few months on it - robust hit of chocolate syrup, ridiculously chewy fluff note, vanilla, molasses, toffee, and cinnamon. wonderful stuff!!

Poured into a snifter, the appearance was a dark brown close to black in color with a thin white to off white foamy little head. No lace. The aroma had some marshmallow, chocolate and graham cracker. Warms into some roasted malt, cream and vanilla. The flavor leans towards a sturdy sweetness converging into some roast and sliding into the aftertaste nicely. All of those previously mentioned aromas really take hold into the finish. On the palate, this one sat about a medium on the body, perhaps just a bit above close to being full. Great sipper for Winter. Some carbonation was felt. ABV felt fine. Overall, extremely nice imperial stout brewed to show us that Vermont can make absolutely phenomenal stouts.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A variation of their Dark Is Night Imperial Stout, conditioned on 9lbs of marshmallows. I believe graham cracker and cocoa too but not totally sure on my end.

Marshmallow, chocolate and graham cracker in the nose. It opens up to reveal roasted malt and cream.

Sweet, creamy, cocoa, marshmallow and graham cracker all converge into one. Roasted coffee as well. Highly drinkable.

Sweet finish followed by a slight alcohol burn.

This is an amazing dessert beer. Very limited though so make sure to grab some once the next batch drops. A hit in the making?