Nitro Brown Cow
Calabogie Brewing Co

 

At my lady Pamela's house; canned and chilled, 473mL in a pint glass. From the University Ave. West LCBO in nearby downtown Windsor. No date stamp or lot number. My 4th beer from the Calabogie, Ontario brewery, and for 2025. Endorsed by Sundae the cat...

May 2 2026

can from LCBO - pours a midnight black with a tight 2 finger cap the color of mocha crema....aroma is pungent with roast coffee, Bundt cake and boiled grains....medium bodied but rich silken mouthfeel...flavor is complex with notes of coffee, cocoa, mint, herbs, roasty, burnt treacle and chocolate milk....has a long finish where bitterness builds and becomes dry with roast astringence at the end..I love this brew, it would be perfect if the body was bulked up a bit and it came in at around 6-7 abv

flavour is great! almost exceptional. chocolate and coffee tastes. texture is too carbonatyed for me to like. too harsh on mouth first sip. needs to be dryer to be enjoyable. great beer otherwise!

A-Solid black color with a brown mocha head that lingers and offers good lacing
S-Malt and lactose forward aroma. Layers of simple chocolate.
M-Watery mouthfeel and body with lower end carbonation
T-Weaker than I would have liked flavours of chocolate and lactose. There is a licorice flavour that pronounces itself in a subtle way
O-Missed the mark, but there is potential here…I’d say higher ABV would bring some of the flavours and aromas forward.

 

L: Essentially pitch black with a thin layer of light brown foam
S: Faint rich dark roasted malty smell, very faint chocolate and coffee notes
T: Deep rich dark roasted flavour that is not overly bold. The chocolate and coffee notes are there but not very distinct. Light sweetness and mild lingering bitterness.
F: Very smooth, a bit thick and light carbonation, slightly dry finish
O: Pretty good but not my favorite style of beer for sure.

Poured a 473ml nitro can into a pint glass. A big two finger fine light brown head on an opaque black. Persistent head and good lacing.
Coffee in the nose.
Sweet with coffee and chocolate flavours.
Very smooth and well balanced.

 

 

Look: Pours dark brown and opaque. 1 1/2 finger tawny to fawn head. Head lasts forever given this is a nitro beer at 5 minutes it has shrunk a 1/2 finger.

Smell: Chocolate cocao like powdered chocolate milk mix could stand to be a bit stronger smelling.

Taste: Smooth on the front end, very dry Irish stout like. By the middle of the sip you're dominated by semi sweet bakers chocolate and cocao powder. There is a espresso like bitterness that shows through in the back, and lingers long after you are done drinking. Run of the mill milk stout taste, with nothing surprising. The bitterness at the end is a bit off putting after a while.

Feel: Super smooth and silky dry stout like, which isn't suprising given the Nitro can.

A solid B+. It isn't earth shattering, but it is a pleasant brew. I'd be more than happy to have it again, but wouldn't go out of my way to find it.

 

 

473 mL nitro can from the LCBO; dated Jan 6 2020, served slightly chilled. Shaken and poured rough, as instructed.

Pours a dark brownish-black cola colour, capped off with one finger of creamy, tan-coloured head that settles off over the next couple of minutes. A wide, foamy collar is left encircling a thin, filmy cap, with a respectable curtain of lace also scattered about in the process; looks like I'd expect of a milk stout, and I could easily say something similar of the aroma, as I'm mostly getting notes of cocoa and coffee grounds, alongside hints of cream and sweetness. Most of the nitro beers that I've tried were not particularly aromatic, and Brown Cow more or less fits the mould, but what's there is appealing enough.

Extraordinarily smooth, and leaning towards the sweeter side of the spectrum - more than I'd prefer, really, but I suppose that's a risk you take with this style. Lots of lactose and brown sugar sweetness is paired up with notes of milk chocolate, coffee grounds and just a hint of cocoa. A touch of light roastiness on the back end, but for me the sugars totally overwhelmed that aspect of the profile; finishes sweet, carrying that baton into the aftertaste. Medium-light in body, with a creamy, silky-smooth texture that could only be the result of a nitro infusion. It's one of the best things about this beer IMO, as it really helps the drinkability of what might otherwise be kind of a one-note (sweet) experience.

Final Grade: 3.82, a B+. I've enjoyed this glass of Calabogie Brown Cow more than enough to give it a recommendation, but truthfully it's not the sort of beer I'd like to drink on an everyday basis. Milk stouts are just not a category I gravitate towards, but the idea of a nitro one is kind of novel in this market, so I could see myself picking it up again, if the mood strikes me.

473 ml can served at cellar temperature into a pint glass. Cost was around $3.25 CDN. Shook lightly and then tipped all the way upside for the pour as per suggestions.

Appearance - Near black in color with a finger plus of light tan head. Good staying power and a small bit of lacing clings to the edges of the glass.

Smell - A little bit of chocolate, some sweetness, but mostly wet coffee ground with some acidity.

Taste - This is nice. Hints of coffee and bitterness, roasted malts but with a creamy smooth marshmallow and slightly sweet milk chocolate backing.

Mouthfeel - Very smooth, quite rich but not heavy, carbonation is right and the nitro pour definitely helps this brew.

Overall - A yummy tipple for Christmas Eve, delivered what was advertised on the can. Well worth a pickup for a relaxing (at last) evening.

Picked up at local beer store, always eager to try new stouts delivered on nitro through cans (tall boys). Also hadn't seen this before so perhaps it was just being released in the region. I have had many beers from Calabogie and have had pleasant experiences with all of them. Even have met some of the guys from the Brewery at a place I used to work at that's now closed in Ottawa.

The Nitro pour was something I was looking forward to from the get go. Some breweries use nitro widgets, nitro pads, or other mediums to make a mobile nitro pour. This one was not the nitro ball you get in Guinness, it was attached to the inside of the can. The can even suggested to give it a shake! Pour was vigorous, smooth, and oh so silky, very impressed. Poured into a large 16oz tulip as I wanted to retain some head. Smell was gorgeous and as expected, coffee, chocolate, and dark malts. Nice phat dark brown head that aided in the beers smooth and silky mouthfeel which I consider the best part about this beer. Look and smell were nothing out of the ordinary, right on the mark style wise, so no complaints.

Fluff aside, would I buy this beer again? Yes, thanks Calabogie!

 

 

Had a 20 ounce nitro pour at Beerocracy in Ottawa. The beer has some mild bitterness. It is not overly sweet, but there is definitely some sweetness. I don't usually order milk stouts.