Cannoli of the Jungle
Listermann Brewing Company

 

 

Imperial pastry stout with vanilla, almonds, lactose, and natural flavors added. Poured from a bottle into a Bruery snifter. Very dark pour, nearly black, with two fingers of fine light brown head. Very interesting nose. I definitely get rich toasted malt notes, vanilla, and some toasted almond.
Full body with a creamy feel and a rich, sweet flavor. Up front I get a lot of sweet toffee, vanilla, a little coffee, and some cocoa. The sweet notes really dominate this beer and what roastiness there is plays a mostly supporting role. (Well, it is a "cannoli stout", so what else should I expect?) On the finish you get all the vanilla and toffee notes as well as a faint, sharp, syrupy sweet fruitiness that, for lack of a better description, made me think of tutti fruiti snowcone syrup.
Overall, a truly enjoyable beer from my favorite local brewer. Probably a bit sweet for some BAs. I wouldn't want to drink this one all the time, as it could become a bit cloying if give the opportunity. Still, it was a welcome break from the other beer I have been drinking lately.

 

From the growler via Jungle Jim's Eastgate in a snifter. This heavy desert
"pastry" stout with lactose pours a deep opaque with a decent head of tan
foam that settles to a thick ring, subtle light layer, and shows spotty lacing.
Nose of heavy sweetness----vanilla cream, marshmallow fluff, dark sweet
chocolate. Flavors slightly exceed the nose with a sweet liquid chocolate
syrup over a marshmallow fluff layer with vanilla and super sweet malts
with a slight hint of char and roast that appears and is then pummeled
with more sweet malts. Decent mouth feel; smooth, slick, coating, low
carbonation, and a sweet finish with a touch of booze on the rear of the
finish.

Sweetness in excess; a true malt bomb that while interesting can
exceed even the most strident malt seekers.

Needs a bit of balance which is hard to say for a master brewer
like Listermann who knows what they are doing.

Cheers