White Apparition
Jackie O's Taproom & Brewery

 

Picked up a 12 oz single can from the Hot Spot on Brevard Road cooler (NC-191) 12-5-25 for 3.49. Canned 7-7-25; consumed 2-19-26. Cold stored since purchase.

Beer poured orange-brown with a pretty good white head.

Nose is dominated by the coffee beans and there are faint notes of vanilla.

Taste is a larger malt base in which i am getting coffee and vanilla with a touch of honey sweetness and chocolate. Hopping is well done and with the coffee beans balances this out. However, all the flavors make this a bit uneven.

Mouthfeel is medium to large bodied, very viscous with each sip being very smooth.

Overall, the ingredients are not cohesive and don't meld well. Not sure aging would help it.

Poured from a 12 oz can that I bought in North Carolina.

Pours a medium gold color with moderate clarity and a rocky, beige head. All of that is fine, but there are strange white debris articles suspended throughout the glass. I was not expecting sediment in the can, and did not pour carefully, but this is odd to say the least. There are some low roasted grains in the nose, but overall, this does not smell stout-like. There are bready malt and bright, nutty coffee beans. If I closed my eyes, I would guess this was an English brown ale brewed with coffee.

The flavors are soft and somewhat sweet, lacking the roasted astringency of a stout. I get sweet Hawaiian dinner rolls, peanuts, mocha latte coffee. Medium to thick body has a slightly mouth-coating sweetness. Gentle carbonation with some creaminess. Low to medium apparent bitterness. Low alcohol warmth hides the ABV well.

Despite the odd appearance and lack of stout characteristics, this was a tasty, appealing beer in its own right. If anything, I'd call it a, Imperial Cream Ale with coffee. Enjoyable, but not what the label says.

 

12 ounce can, no dating I found on this. Label says 10% ABV. Thanks to Brutaltruth for this can! Served in a snifter, the beer pours a somewhat cloudy dark gold color with not quite an inch off-white head. Head retention and lacing are both good. The brew smells like cacao nibs, sweet/bready malt, coffee, vanilla and a bit of a vegetal aroma. Taste is similar to the aroma, but there's also the addition of some nuts, honey and caramel flavors. Not bad at all, but as with a lot of white stouts I've tried there's a vegetal flavor there that I'm not really a fan of. Unfortunately, this one doesn't get any better the longer I drink it as the vegetal flavor gets worse as it warms. Mouthfeel/body is medium, it's smooth and a bit creamy with a moderate amount of carbonation. Have to say I've had a lot of mixed experiences with white stouts and this one isn't one of the better ones I've tried. It's not bad by any means, but this one isn't for me. With that being said it's worth a try if you get the chance, but only as a single.

 

 

At first, distance between pastry stouts and balanced creations is huge. Then some sweetness and good chocolate, vanilla, and moderate coffee flavours make good sense.

 

Nice copper color with slight white foam. Smells and tastes of coffee and roasted malts with a sweet finish. Very drinkable for a 10% ABV. Enjoyed this one!

Look - Copper slight off white head
Smell and taste - coffee with raosted malts and pretty sweet
Feel - Full body with a slight carbonation
Overall - really enjoyed it

4oz sampler at the brewpub

 

On nitro, this is clear amber-copper with a thick, creamy white blanket that persists for the duration, unlike some given this treatment.

Smell is coffee, golden biscuit, light roast malt and lemon custard--oddly (but enticingly) enough.

Taste is really coffee forward but lightly roasted, with that lemon coming back in. Sweet chocolate intercedes, to an almost candy degree, but then a slight bitterness of baker's cocoa and root of romaine pops up.

With the nitro head the feel starts thick, but fades to a thin body and a dry finish.

 

 

 

On tap at Jackie O's

Pours a clear golden color with a foamy white head. Smells of coffee, cocoa nibs, vanilla cream. Tastes of sweet vanilla and espresso up front, followed by cocoa and chocolate, sweet vanilla finish. Medium body and carbonation, foamy mouthfeel and finish. Very good

Look: Pours a dense golden yellow in color, with of course a thick, foamy head topping it off.

Smell: Sweet malts, vanilla, iced coffee, a little chocolate.

Taste: Vanilla bean, coffee, butterscotch (and NOT in the diacetyl type of way), iced coffee, lightly toasted malts. It is sweet, but not overly sugary or anything. A flat-out amazing tasting beer. Hands-down my favorite from my recent trip to Jackie O's, and by far the best tasting blonde stout I have ever had.

Mouthfeel: Creamy, velvety texture while still holding on to a big, chewy body. Absolutely perfect.

Overall: I feel Jackie O's nailed this one spot-on. It's a very unique beer, and was such the treat to get it on nitro. I would never pass this up shall I ever see it again.