Cookies & Cream Sugared Stout Gang
Broken Strings Brewery & Taproom

This is a remarkable beer, one of the very best pastry stouts I have had. The name, Cookies & Cream, undersells the beer; it left me expecting a fairly simple flavor, but in reality it's exactly the opposite: complex, rich, mysterious (in a very good way). I loved this beer. Besides being an excellent pastry stout base, the flavorings here are amazing. You do get some of the chocolate you'd expect, but there are many other things going on, maybe even a perfect amount of anise or other licorice adjunct?

Charles at Broken Strings can certainly brew, and this little brewery deserves more attention. The one drawback that keeps me from going there more often is Charles himself. He used to be friendly and engaging, but now he seems to have a chip on his shoulder. Two of us went in there one day, no one else was there, we started a friendly conversation about the oldest microbrewery in town,and he got mad at us as the conversation progressed. Not good customer service, and it was pretty unpleasant. That was the last time we were there, not sure when we'll go back. Maybe over time it's worn on him, his location (not great) and the odd wave of customers he gets (soccer games). But he sure didn't endear us to him or his place. And that's too bad, because this beer is simply excellent.