Coconut & Chocolate Stout
Noble Shepherd Craft Brewery

The pour is muddy dark brown and raises a two-inch frothiness of dark chestnut. The head lasts a while before leaving a thick coating of lace. The beer itself is SRM 34-36 with dark garnet highlights.

The aroma opens with strong chocolate and mint, very similar to an Andes Candy. Equally strong after the first impression is coconut. The aroma delivers in spades, adding some fruity spices as it warms.

The flavor follows the aroma with a balance of moderate bitterness against moderate sweetness. The chocolate flavor is bittersweet, while the mint flavor is light and reminiscent of mint chocolate chip ice cream. Hazelnuts seem to show up with slight warmth. All the flavors leave a rich, saturating harmony. Warmth amplifies the sweet coconut. The finish is long and mild, with more bitterness than sweetness.

A silky smooth texture works nicely with a medium-to-light body. Fine carbonation is somewhat high. Surprisingly, this beer has a dry quality. Alcohol is about as expected.

While this is a dessert beer, I enjoyed it on a cool, dry, late summer afternoon. There was a light breeze accompanied by birds and crickets singing, one of those perfect, relaxing, carefree moments.

On tap at Noble Shepherd Craft Brewery in Bristol, NY.

This one pours a smooth looking dark black color, with a small head, and a bit of sticky lacing.

This smells like mildly sweet toasted coconut, rich dark chocolate, and slight vanilla.

This is fairly well balanced take on a pastry stout. It's bigger bodied than the ABV would suggest, with enough coconut to keep it interesting. There's not a ton of vanilla, but it's certainly quite chocolatey, with enough roast character to remind you it's still a beer.

This is medium bodied, creamy, and rich, with a nice drinkability to it.

It's nothing that's going to blow your hair back, but it's a well done step back from monstrously absurd pastry stout.