Crème Brulée Nitro Stout
Cowbell Brewing Co.

404 mL nitro-can from the LCBO; dated Sep 29 2023 and served slightly chilled.

Pours jet black; after a brief cascade, it's capped with more than an inch of creamy, bubbly beige-coloured head that steadily dissipates in a little over five minutes' time. A tight cap and sudsy collar remain; not a lot of lace deposition. Dessert-like aroma of caramelized sugar, vanilla and milk chocolate, with hints of cacao nibs and oatmeal with brown sugar. Quite aromatic for a nitro beer,

It's rather saccharine, but let's be honest: when you buy a "crème brûlée stout", you should be expecting something sweet. Caramel and vanilla flavours are prominent initially, with notes of milk chocolate, brown sugar and sweet cream following closely behind. Finishes with burnt sugar and roasted malts, plus a hint of vanilla; some coffee bitterness fades into a mildly sweet aftertaste. Light in body, its prototypical silky-smooth nitro mouthfeel making for a pretty drinkable sweet stout.

Final Grade: 3.65, a B grade. Crème Brûlée Nitro Stout is probably one of Cowbell's better nitro efforts to date, but it's still not a beer I'd be inclined to drink on a regular basis. More of an occasional, winter-dessert-beer type of deal - it does manage to nail the 'crème brûlée' theme on the nose, but is only a passable facsimile in terms of flavour. A respectable effort, despite the fact that I don't have a lot of interest in the gimmick - I'd say it's worth trying if it piques your interest.

First sips are grand, too sweet for a full beer. after 5 sips, odd tasting like dessert - low in drinkability, u dont want to finish the whole can. I dont want to keep drinking after first few sips.

404ml can served cold into a pint glass. LCBO purchase for about $3.75 CDN. Canning date is November 30, 2023.

Appearance - Dark cola brown, poured aggressively forming a finger and a half of light tan head with exceptional staying power.

Smell - Caramel, brown sugar and I'm actually getting eggnog on this. Vanilla in there too. Fairly intense aromatics.

Taste - Semi sweet at first with caramel doing its thing, some brown sugar and vanilla pudding then to a fairly bitter roasted malt flavor that seems a touch burned.

Mouthfeel - Low carbonation, and smooth and creamy with the nitro helping with the texture, but seemingly taking away carbonation. Fairly dry finish all things considered as well.

Overall - The Creme Brulee Nitro Stout from Cowbell starts strong but in the end, there's too much burned malt flavor for my liking in the aftertaste to make this a repeat purchase beyond the original two I purchased. However the aroma is a highlight here with excellent execution and a very inviting nose.

Tried an October canned 473. Good snap from can opening and poured directly into a larger pint glaa. Pours midnight black with coffee head that lasted well. Chocolate cream nose greets you at first sniff. Deep and rich here with vanilla tones. First sip offers a thin coffee forward offering with slight vanilla finish. Great for dessert, warm fires and marshmallows and cold winter nights.

Nov 11 2023