Banaananen
Põhjala Brewery & Tap Room

Fun beer, and not getting much banana flavour, but it seems to have a boosted mouthfeel to show us it's there. They do not disappoint as a stout. Quebec buying group.

 

Bottle: Poured a pitch-black color stout with a dark brown foamy head with some retention and some lacing notes. Aroma of black chocolate notes with banana syrup notes with some rum notes also noticeable. Taste is also a mix of black chocolate notes with some banana syrup with some rum notes and residual sugar notes. Body is full with oily texture with good carbonation with some alcohol notes that are discernible. Heavy barrel-aged stout with a weird banana flavor that somewhat works.

 

 

 

 

Poured at fridge temp. Pours jet black with minimal head. Nose is intense banana! It's amazing. Once that intensity fades (from smelling it for a few minutes), the rum notes really come through. Roasted malts, brown sugar, black licorice, blackberries, and chocolate. Really interesting. Can't wait to taste this one!

The taste is super complex. So much going on. It's tough to even digest all of the competing flavors. Lots of sweetness, but lots of bitterness. Sharp boozy note. To me, this isn't a bit all over the place. Does it taste good? Absolutely. Cane sugar, banana, chocolate, sharp wood, roasted malts, rum, slight hoppy note, and walnuts. The sharp edges do actually fade as I get deeper into the glass. The chaos seems to get streamlined. I start to get a coconut taste after a while.

Mouthfeel is pretty thick, but certainly not overly creamy like some big BA stouts. Overall, this is a really interesting rum BA stout. Definitely worth picking on up to try it. Would I buy another? Probably not.

Pours a pitch-black coloration with a small, fizzy, mocha-colored head. Smells of slightly roasted, caramel malt and strong chocolate and banana notes, as well as just a hint of licorice and spice. Taste is a great balance of slightly roasted, caramel malt and big chocolate and banana notes, with some lighter licorice and spice, as well as a slightly boozy rum barrel character. Finishes with a light sweetness and some chocolate and banana lingering in the aftertaste. Full mouthfeel with a rich body and light/medium carbonation.

I knew beforehand that this wasn't gonna be fotr me, not being a big fan of either banana or rum barrels, but I wanted to check it out anyway and was positively surprised overall. While the banana and chocolate are really dominant here, not allowing a lot of complexity to develop, this never feels quite too sweet or boozy, being balanced by some light roasted, spicy and bitter accents. While there is a light booziness to this, it's incredibly subtle for a 13.5% rum barrel-aged stout. Overall, while this really isn't for me personally, I still think that it makes for really well-balanced brew that is perhaps a little lacking in complexity, but makes up for that with some intense chocolate and banana notes, if that's your thing.

Yellow wax-capped bottle poured into a snifter; oily black pour produces a significant mocha-colored head. Strong notes of chocolate banana, caramelized sugar, rum spirits, other boozy desserts...tastes are similar but the alcohol isn't overpowering, strong impressions of bananas foster, chocolate ganache, caramel, vanilla, rum, dark sugars, minor char...pretty nice.