Nightmare of Brew York (2020)
Brew York

 

 

440ml can. Near black with a ruby sheen. Mocha head is very thin and leaves spotty lacing. The heady, alcoholic, nearly medicinal aroma becomes increasingly chocolatey as the beer warms. Taste is 100% Black Forest gateau - morello cherry, kirsch, dark chocolate. Is there some coffee as well? Yes, but background. A full body and mouthfeel that’s rich and smooth as velvet. Moderately sweet with a dry finish. A very nicely balanced, not overblown, imperial milk stout. The alcohol is huge and woozy, however, so take your time and enjoy the evolution of taste and smell as your glass changes from fridge to room temperature.

L- Super-deep garnet-red, pours clear with a 1mm mid-tan head.
S- I get a kind of aromatic timber note, nothing else.
T- That ^timber note is on the front end of the taste too. It's quite 'organic', in the sense of organic vs physical chemistry. Reminds me a bit of how pentanol smells like Pear Drops sweets used to. Err I digress! It also has a solid ABV% note visible too, unsurprising at a no nonsense 9.8%. Milk stouts can be OTT sweet it seems, mecifully this one isn't like that.
F- It's not embarrassed in making an impression, the ABV% is perhaps even ahead of the robust flavour. It leaves an impression for sure, this isn't one to hurry.
O- It's very nice indeed. I worry these days before I have a new Milk Stout, esp. a contemporary one as they - it seems - can be markedly over-sweet. Not here, sure it's rich as you should assume from the 9.8% but it's not outright sweet. A good beer for winter. Can labelling features a charming graphic featuring the Grim Reaper - how grimly ironic for this year.
440ml can BB: 19/04/22 £5.25 Bought from TremblingMadness/York as part of a 50-60 beer DIY chosen case for home delivery to London.