Gnome Junkie
Refined Fool Brewing Co.

750 mL bottle from the brewery; served slightly chilled.

Pours pitch black, producing roughly two fingers of frothy beige-coloured head that lasts for five minutes or so. A foamy collar survives underneath some sparsely distributed lace; a thin film coats the surface. Looks more or less the same as their year-round milk stout. Being sibling beers, the noses aren't too far off either - roasted malts, milk chocolate, molasses and caramel sweetness come off much more prominently than the faint hints of blueberry.

While the aroma does little to reveal the presence of blueberries within, the flavour profile is a tad more revealing. That being said - the base milk stout is still easily recognizable here, with its trademark lactose sweetness blending nicely with hints of caramel, plum and cocoa/chocolate. Background suggestions of blueberry fruit are noticeable towards the end, with a berry skin astringency joined by a roasty, earthy bitterness; just in time for the bittersweet aftertaste. The blueberry contributions are subtle in magnitude, but harmonize quite well. Light-ish bodied with low carbonation levels that barely register, resulting in a smooth mouthfeel that seems a bit on the limp/thin side. Like Joe Sent Me, this is a very quaffable milk stout that most palates should find highly agreeable.

Final Grade: 3.88, a B+. Gnome Junkie is a tasty, sessionable selection - one that I am actually enjoying slightly more than its un-blueberrified base stout. But I still feel there's a bit of room for improvement. Don't get me wrong - this is still a pretty darn good milk stout, but the blueberry bill could stand to be buffed up a bit in my humble opinion, and a more generous, silky mouthfeel would really launch this one toward 'must-try' territory. Worth a try if you're in town for Christmas, and certainly one of their better seasonals/one-offs of 2015.