Marshmallow Small Joys
Long Live Beerworks

Much appreciation to @WunderLlama for sending this my direction during NBS BIF #16.

Pour is lovely. A nice dark borderline-black with a good finger and a half of rich espresso brown foam that is wet and settles down pretty quickly, but that settling still yields a fuzzy cap with accumulation in the corners. A little bit of lacing as well.

Nose is immediately incredibly sweet. Honestly... pastry stouts aren't super my jam... I'm not a big fan of overly sweet alcohol in general. The flavours are very rich, and very prominent, and for those who are into the pastry stout thing, I can see why this one is regarded so well. I decided to challenge myself to identify the adjuncts before checking the can to remind myself what they are. The marshmallow was a gimme, both in aroma, as well as the fact that it's in the name of the beer, so that one doesn't really count. I think I get marshmallow, as well as some fudgy chocolate, a touch of coffee that could just be the malts, and a strong coconut character that veers awfully close to sun-tan lotion territory. Maybe even some vanilla? Checking the can, it's brewed with chocolate, coconut, toasted almond (I think that just augments the coconut flavours to me), lactose, and marshmallow. Not bad for someone with a subpar sniffer!

The almond comes across much more in the flavour than the aroma. First sip is undeniably sweet and boozy, with the aforementioned almond asserting itself a bit more, like a dutch pastry, or marzipan, I suppose. The chocolate is more like a chocolate syrup here, and the coconut kind of swaps places with the almond: on the nose, it smelled like coconut, and the almond just kind of gave it a nuttiness like the husk, on the flavour, it tastes of sweet almond, and the coconut just kind of augments the sweetness with a vanilla-esque flavour. The alcohol presents primarily in the form of alcohol spice and the finish is espresso bean and dark dark chocolate bitter just absolutely dripping in sticky sweet marshmallow.

Medium-thick, but very oily and viscous, the carbonation is subtle, but sharp, and the interplay with the alcohol spice/bite works really well. Nobody is going to mistake this for anything sessionable, but the alcohol is integrated nicely and doesn't distract from the rest of what the beer is doing, either. The finish lingers with layers of bitter chocolate/espresso, a touch of sour alcohol impression, and the sweet sticky marshmallow.

As stated, I'm not really pastry-stout guy. But I can appreciate that this is a really well put together beer, and I'm enjoying it for what it is. I can see why people like it, and if one is inclined towards the heavily adjunct-ed, dessert-sweet side of the modern brewing world, I think this is an excellent example of that style of brew.

Thank you, Maynard, for sending this my way as I use it to celebrate the (not so) small joy that is the newest member of our family!!

Served close to room temp, was in my trunk all day and it's in the low 50's today.

Pitch black pour with a thick brown head - 3 finger. The retention is amazing for such a high alcohol beer. There's a bit of lacing that clings to the glass as the head dissipates.
The aroma is a mix of marshmallow, chocolate, vanilla, lactose, and a nutty aroma. Quite well balanced and pleasing.
The marshmallow hits first. The chocolate comes in next with a hint of vanilla and the nutty flavor - almond - and a hint of cocoanut as well. This beer finishes a creamy flavor from lactose.
The body is quite creamy and soft feeling. Fairly thick, and smooth. Very faint boozy feeling.
DAMN! This is delicious and a pleasure to try.

 

 

Canned 6.13 , opened 9.10, poured into a Spiegelau snifter

Brewers Notes: Pastry stout brewed with chocolate, toasted almond, coconut, lactose and marshmallow.

Thick viscous 10w40 motor oil produces a dense creamy brown foam cap , good retention that settles to a pencil thick layer after five minutes, some spotty lacings

Aroma is chocolate , vanilla , coconut

Taste is sweet vanilla marshmallows, almond, coconut , chocolate

Mouthfeel is thick and syrupy , very sweet, I like sweet but this almost too sweet ..where can I get an insulin shot ?

Good beer , high abv and sweet makes this a sipper

 

 

 

Canned on 09/20/2021. Enjoyed on 10/20/2021.

 

16oz. can served in a tulip. Pours one shade shy of black with a loose, 1/8th inch, mocha-colored head that quickly disperses into a thing, tight band around the edges. Huge hits of toasted coconut on the nose, followed by milk chocolate, with an equally huge almost presence bringing up the rear - totally decadent. Taste consistent with nose with some ethanol notes at the finish. Chocolate character is rich and luscious across the middle. Mouthfeel is light-medium in body with a slight oiliness to the texture and carbonation that is just a little too assertive for what this is. Overall, this is a top notch pastry stout. Adjunct blend nice and abv is extremely well-hidden.