Crosstown Latte Stout
Mill Street Brew Pub

473 mL Can. ABV 5.5%.
Appearance: Pours dark brown-black, Frothy dark tan head, Retains thin collar.
Aroma: Roasted caramel malts, Bold coffee, Chocolate.
Mouthfeel: Medium-bodied, Fairly smooth, Slight carbonation, Dry finish.
Flavour: Caramel malts, Coffee, Lactose, Slight hops, Bittersweet finish.
Overall: A decent example of a "latte stout". I was expecting more coffee from the aroma, but fairly balanced. It's worth a drink and I will probably enjoy it again but not a top beer.

Review: 6

Tallboy included in their most recent mixed six sampler pack; dated Dec 12 2018 and served slightly chilled. Reviewed from notes.

Pours a deep mahogany brownish-black colour; nearly opaque, but for the reddish burgundy highlights 'round the perimeter. A half-inch of frothy, dark tan-coloured head settles off within two minutes' time, leaving only a thin collar behind on an otherwise bare surface. On the nose I'm getting bold coffee notes and roasted malts (in the form of baker's chocolate), which totally overpower minor suggestions of oatmeal and cream. It's a simple aroma, but I love the smell of coffee so I'm not in a position to complain here.

Sadly, I think the aroma was the high point of this one. It tastes mainly of toffee malts, roasted barley and milk sugar; the coffee itself is noticeable, too, but it's not the force that I was expecting, given the nose. Notes of baker's chocolate and coffee grounds do begin to pierce through on the tail end of the sip, along with some earthy hops, but after that it finishes with milk sugar sweetness, followed by a roasty bittersweet aftertaste that helps to dry off the palate somewhat. Medium in body, with a smooth, slick texture and soft carbonation; pretty good drinkability for a sweet milk stout.

Final Grade: 3.86, a B+. Mill Street's Crosstown Latte Stout is a decent coffee-infused offering that I might return to on occasion. I'm not seeing any major flaws with this one - the sweetness is kept in check, which, at least for me, is the most critical part of the style; the coffee is probably what helps most in that respect, preventing any sort of sickly, sugary note from dominating the profile. Worth a look: there are certainly better coffee stouts on the market, but this is a passable one that I wouldn't discourage others from trying.

Coal black with a moderate, long-lasting head. Roasted chocolate malt and coffee nose. Full chocolate malt body but a little harshness. Was expecting more sweetness.

473ml can, part of the current Mill Street mixed-pack. Made with some T-dot coffee and lactose.

This beer pours a solid black abyss, with the barest of basal amber edges, and a teeming tower of puffy, finely foamy, and fairly creamy brown head, which leaves a bit of splattered cloudy lace around the glass as it quickly dissipates.

It smells of lightly roasted, bready and doughy caramel malt, rich artisanal coffee, cold cream, bittersweet cocoa powder, and some faint earthy, musty, and floral green hop bitters. The taste is gritty and grainy caramel malt, cafe-au-lait, medium dark chocolate, and more well-understated leafy, weedy, and dead floral hoppiness.

The carbonation is fairly tame in its palate-satisfying frothiness, the body a decent middleweight, and generally smooth, with just a touch of java acridity maybe not making nice with the local sensibilities at this point in the process. It finishes off-dry, the caramel and creamed coffee milking (sorry) the lingering state.

Overall - this is pretty much what they've promised, a lightly coffee-flavoured milk stout, so I've really got nothing to complain about. Worth checking out if this is your sort of winter go-to, or whatever your excuse is.