Canela Oscuro
Southern Grist Brewing Co.

 

 

CANNED 12/03/21

I was excited to try this Mexican hot chocolate stout as I failed to grab any Xocoveza this year, but it's unfortunately a little heavy on the peppers. Taste is sweet, spicy vanilla up front, but the pepper (not sure of the variety; label just reads a generic "chili peppers") really takes over on the back end, leaving a long, lingering burn in its wake. The body is little thin as well, but I may need to dial back my expectations in that regard. Not all stouts are chewy imperial monsters, after all.

12/03/21 on bottom rim of can. Poured into a short snifter.

A: Dark brown with short light beige head with some retention and a thin ring of lacing.

S: Milk chocolate, cinnamon, cocoa, and chili peppers.

T: The flavor is too dominated by the chili peppers for me. The dark chocolate and coffee dark malt components are prominent and are enhanced briefly by some vanilla sweetness in the early palate. But all these flavors are wiped out by a vegetal note with a cardboard, papery note and chili pepper tingle and heat in the mid- and late-palate and finish that sticks in the back of your throat along with hints of dark chocolate.

M: The feel is a tad thin but really not far off with a dusty dry finish and higher than needed carbonation.

O: Tone down the chilis and I think this sweet spiced stout has some potential. In its current form, the pepper component is too prominent and is primary rather than ancillary and enhancing which is what I prefer in this beer style.

 

16 oz single can, dated 2/11/21, into Urban South glass.
$4.49 / can from Red's.

Stout black with some light passing through at the bottom bringing a reddish root beer tint to the bottom of the glass. Brown to khaki head, 1 finger, recedes quickly to a thin ring, no lacing.

If there were such thing as Mexican S'mores (are there?), it would smell like this. Marshmallow and crushed red hots with cinnamon, chocolate, chili peppers, and graham crust. It just smells damn good. This is pastry level huge.

Tastes like a MF'in fresh Prairie BOMB. I don't get those very often, only shelf turd Prairie BOMBs, so this is a nice treat. Super fresh cinnamon, with tons of not-too-hot-yet-flavorful chili peppers, a really good dose of warm vanilla, some cocoa, some chocolate, some graham, and a little brown sugar. This is absolutely decadent.

Feel, of course, is where it falls apart. Another thin dark beer by Southern Grist, they can't seem to pull it together here. Anorexic for its flavor profile, but forgivable considering. Carbonated, lots of heat from the peppers and none hidden from the alcohol. An interesting dryness on the finish.

Overall, this is easily the only stout from Southern Grist I wish I would have bought a ton of. This is incredibly tasty. Criminally underrated. It's a fresh Prairie Bomb with an unfortunate session stout mouthfeel. Despite that it's super good. Definitely recommended.

 

 

Reminiscent of Abraxas but not anywhere near as big and rich....

Thin body actually makes it feel inferior to even a beer like Xocoveza...

Pretty tasty and the peppers are prominent and bring a touch of heat...

Good...not great... a bigger body and more ABV would step this into a different category

 

 

 

This was a new packaged 16 oz can format released yesterday. A hazy/milky dark brown color with a modest tan head. The aroma was as billed: lots of chocolate punctuated with cinnamon and chili pepper. Vanilla was there too, giving it a sweet appearance. The taste was dominated by milk chocolate. Vanilla smoothed it out and provided a rich, silky feel. The cinnamon and chili was done very nicely, with the flavors front and center by the mid-palate. Heat level was low-to-medium, with a mild lingering tingle. Sweet and full bodied but not overly so for a 6.7% milk stout. Very much on par with Xocoveza but with richer chocolate and a much better, heftier feel.