Vanilla Bean CoCo
West O Beer

West O Beer "Vanilla Bean COCO"
12 fl. oz. can without production codes or freshness dating
$1.83 @ Hy-Vee #1470, Omaha, NE

Notes via stream of consciousness: This is a "chocolate stout with cocoa nibs & vanilla beans". It's poured a very dark brown that appears black in the full glass with some dark mahogany brown highlights at the base when held to the light. The head is a thumb's width of tan foam. There's not a lot in the aroma but it is a bit like sweetened cocoa powder. The flavor, however, is much fuller. It's sweet but not too sweet. There are notes of sweet bread, golden caramel, darker caramel, sweetened cocoa powder, milk chocolate, dark chocolate, caramel nougat, and the promised vanilla. There's also some underlying fruitiness that's like apples and sweet red berries. Everything comes through clearly, and everything works well together. A moderate bitterness is all that's there to balance it but it somehow comes out mostly dry in the finish. In the mouth it's medium bodied, smooth, and lightly creamy. The head held up fairly well although it's now just the thinnest of surface coverings, and the lacing is thin but it covers most of the glass. All in all I have to say that I'm pretty impressed by this. It could be served as a dessert beer but it also works as an everyday beer because it's not overdone.
Review #8,468