Every Time Buche De Noel
Campanology Brewing

 

 

Bomber bottle served in a Belgian snifter.
Pours clear reddish-brown but so dark as to be essentially opaque in the glass. Good, semi-durable beige head.
Aroma: just as expected (i. e., typical) from a coffee-chocolate stout. While the first sip was rather sweet, some hoppy bitterness builds over time leaving this mildly bitter. Hops, coffee, dark chocolate and dark bread linger on in the aftertaste. Seems balanced yet lacking a bit in harmony.
Smooth, near full body with medium-light carbonation.

 

Appearance: Pretty well pitch black , with a khaki head. Thin lacing.

Aroma: Coffee up front, with some cocoa underneath. Solid.

Taste: Prominent chocolate and coffee notes, with a smooth, roasty, mellow, bittersweet twang at finish. Really superlative and complex. Would buy again, especially at the sweet Trader Joes’s $4/bomber price point!

Poured into a hybrid glass from a 22oz bottle

A - deep brown/black with a hint of crazy red. One finger deep tan head and some sticky lacing

S - lots of chocolate, coffee and sugar. Roasted, toasted and semi charred but super sweet malts and grains. Nice light booze, slight banana (yeast), toffee, caramel and some candied goodness.

T - lots of sugar, chocolate, coffee, banana, a bit dry but mostly silky sweet awesomeness (pertaining to the grains and malts) Really great holiday treat.

M - medium plus body, medium minus acidity, awesome complexity, decent balance and a sugary sweet Christmas treat.

D - basically a celebration stout and winter ale in one with out all of the spices. Works well with sweet and savory. Smells awesome, tastes better. Something perfect and I mean perfect to age!

Final thoughts - it was a gift, but I am not sure of the price, the 8% is near perfect and if I could have this on tap, I would be a happy man!

 

 

 

 

22 oz bottle. Pours black with tall, long lasting, creamy, beige head and nice lacing. Aroma is of piney hops, bready malt, dark fruit, chocolate and cacao. Body is full and slightly crisp. Taste is of chocolate, cacao, vanilla, brown sugar, dark fruit and herbal hops. Finish is long, semi-dry. Tasty brew.

 

 

 

Taste: Rich toasted nutty, malty, cocoa, coffee, semi sweet, vanilla, dry finish. same with the nose. Black, opaque, large tan head with some lace. Full body, after dinner stout.

 

 

Picked up in a bomber at local TD's for $4.

Look: Dark as used motor oil. Thin creamy beige head that quickly settles without lacing.

Smell: strong coffee nose with an alcohol finish. Chocolate isnt as apparent as the coffee. Slightly sour note.

Taste: Sweet with prominent cocoa and coffee. Lactose evident, tastes like a mocha espresso. Hides its abv well.

Mouthfeel: Very low carbonation. Oily, thick and sweet. Warm alcohol finish.

Overall: As others have said, a bit heavy and sweet. I'd prefer more bitterness to balance it out. Nevertheless, not a bad stout, and one I'd gladly buy and drink again.

I absolutely do not understand why Trader Joe's does not reveal that it is the money behind this brew.
But that does not stop BA raters from seeing through the ruse and under-rating the brew.

This is an ambitious ale. Buche de Noel is a hard cake to bake and even harder to decorate. (But when it is done well, it is a joy... and of course, it completes a Christmas.) In its process of scouring for good recipes and food producers, TJ found this recipe and is making something of it. Good for them... and us.

That is not to say that the recipe cannot be improved. Like a lot of sweet ales in the sweet-ish season, Buche de Noel Stout starts great. But eventually the richness overwhelms me with too much chocolate and flavors. Solution: make smaller bottles next year.

Overall: an absolutely great value. This may be a good alternative to good cake of Buche de Noel.

Type: 22-oz. bottle
Glass: Ball 16-oz. mason jar
From: Trader Joe’s in La Mesa, Calif.
Price: $3.99
Purchased: Dec. 8, 2017
Consumed: Dec. 10, 2017
Reviewed as: Double Milk / Sweet Stout
Misc.: No bottled on date

Picked this up with five others on a recent trip to Trader Joe’s. This would be the third beer I’ve had them, which I’m guessing is contract brewed somewhere else. Really liked their coffee kolsch (Adventurous Stranger), giving it a 3.94 and liked their pineapple (Tintinnabulation), giving that a 3.64. Only one I skipped out on was Harmony Foretold, a cucumber beer. This one (Every Time Buche De Noel Stout) was described as a stout brewed with coffee and cocoa nibs. That was pretty much right up my alley. EDIT: Originally started reviewing this as an American Stout, but it was more Milk / Sweet Stout to me and I changed my review and ratings because of that.

Poured a pitch black color with two fingers of dark khaki tan frothy head. Lots of slow moving bubbles coming up along the sides of the glass. Good spotty lacing. Very good retention. (Sight - 3.75)

Smelled dark roasted coffee, cocoa nibs, milk chocolate, dark chocolate, chocolate lactose, malt chocolate, hints of artificial vanilla and chocolate syrup. Had me wanting to try it. (Smell - 4.25)

Taste was almost as good. Very sweet and syrupy. Got cocoa nibs, chocolate syrup, milk chocolate, chocolate milk, artificial vanilla, roasty mocha, chocolate lactose, malt chocolate and hints of char wood. Not tasting anywhere near 8 pct. (Taste - 4.25)

Full body. Sticky texture. Average carbonation. Long sweet finish. (Feel - 4.25)

Hot damn this was good. Will be picking up some more later for sure. Maybe all of it. (Overall - 4.25)

4.22 | 94 | A-

 

 

Really wanted to like it but not working for me.
Looks good: jet black, head is sort of thin. Smells good: lots of coffee and chocolate.
Taste and feel is where it falls apart. It's too sweet, and maybe a little too carbonated: imagine what a fermented Coke would taste like.
Overall, highly disappointed because a stout with chocolate and coffee and 8% alcohol is usually a sure thing for me.

 

 

Bottle ran me $3.99 USD at a Trader Joe's in Austin, TX. 1 pint 6 fl oz format. Blue pry-off crown cap. Brown glass. Purple label.

8% ABV. "Stout brewed with coffee & cocoa nibs." Served cold into a conical Guinness pint glass.

APPEARANCE: Khaki-tan colour head. Creamy, somewhat soft, somewhat thick. Retention is pretty good for the ABV - ~8 minutes - though the head's initial height is wanting at ~4-5cm. Leaves no lacing on the sides of the glass as the head recedes.

BODY: Opaque black body. Not ink or jet black. No yeast/lees are visible within.

Overall, it's an apt appearance for a stout but it isn't unique or special.

AROMA: Cocoa nibs are evident. Dark malt sweetness. Cocoa powder. Hershey's chocolate syrup. I'm not detecting the coffee at all; in fact, there's a troublesome lack of bitterness to counter the prominent sweetness. No roasted barley. Hints of imitation vanilla extract.

Aromatic intensity is above average. Suggests a creamy competent stout that won't dazzle and has mild imbalance issues.

No overt hoppy or yeasty notes. No off-notes.

TASTE & TEXTURE: Sweet and creamy. Very chocolate milkshake-like. Cocoa nibs, Hershey's chocolate syrup, cocoa powder, dark malt sweetness, specialty chocolate malts.

Unfortunately, I'm not finding any coffee bitterness, roasted barley, charred malts, burnt sugars, or other needed sources of bitterness to counter the heavy sweetness at the core of this beer. It's not cloying, but it'd be a chore to take down a full bomber of a beer this sweet.

Smooth, wet, medium to full-bodied, well-carbonated. Not oily, gushed, hot, boozy, astringent, harsh, rough, scratchy or otherwise problematic. Hides its ABV well. Somewhat silky.

Thick and somewhat syrupy.

OVERALL: As noted above, this is best consumed in smaller quantities on account of its sweetness. 5oz would be the ideal for me, but it's worth noting its lack of drinkability comes not from its 8% ABV (as one might expect) but rather from its chocolatey sweetness. At $3.99 a bottle, I'm not unhappy I bought this, but it leaves a lot to be desired and the promise of coffee is not delivered on to its detriment.

C (2.85) / AVERAGE

***
11/28/18: I ended up rebuying this by mistake, but hey - it's $4 for a bomber and it's 8%...

Coffee character is largely lacking, but some faint cocoa does come through. On the sweet side, but the malty sweetness does cover up the 8% ABV nicely.

Needs more bitterness (ideally from overt coffee and/or roasted barley), but it's not bad in smaller pours.

I wouldn't revisit it unless I acquired it accidentally again, but it's not a terrible buy at $3.99 per bomber for a highish alcohol beer. If I'm shopping for stouts at Trader Joe's, I'd much sooner reach for 4 of the Stockyard Oatmeal Stout - which together cost almost exactly the same as this.

C / AVERAGE

 

Poured into a Fremont small snifter. Pours a very dark mahogany brown, appearing nearly opaque black in the glass with a one finger khaki head with great retention and thick lacing. Aroma of dark toasted malt, cocoa, cinnamon and coffee. I'm impressed so far. Flavor is dark toasted malt with light char, hot cocoa (lactose and light chocolate), mild coffee. Finishes with mocha-like cocoa and coffee. Medium bodied with light creaminess and sturdy mouth feel. Well, this was a bit a of a surprise. Campanology seems to be a house brand at Trader Joe's, and although Unibroue supplied beers are great, most of their other brands deliver satisfactory, but not noteworthy beers at good prices. This, on the other hand is a flavorful, worthy stout. It tastes much more like a milk stout; there is a distinct lactose quality to it, but it fully delivers on the holiday coffee stout it offers. This looks good, tastes good and has a fine creamy body. I really liked this one

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

$3.99 bomber from Trader Joe’s. It looks the part, smells the part, but it’s way too sweet for my liking. The feel is also a bit syrupy, which adds to the overly sweet sensation.