Eros
River Styx Brewing Company

Imperial pastry stouts are usually some of my favorites, this one was just too much. The sweetness seems overpowering and there's not much flavor behind it. The ginger ale of imperial stouts.

 

 

 

16oz can courtesy of Rub_This_BBQ. Appears to be an 11% abv adjunct stout. It's my Friday, I've eaten my dinner, and this sounds like a capital dessert.

An issue occurred quickly. Apparently this can was damaged in transit, something that I'd failed to notice with all the drama I'd created when I inadvertently gutted one of the other beers he sent me like I was Jack the Ripper. The can was bulged upward where the pull-tab was located. When I popped it open, fizzy, loud, mocha colored foamy mayhem ensued.

Once the giant pillar of foam receded, things looked pretty good. The pour itself was quite viscously, looking like oil being drained from the pan in the undercarriage of one's car. The head was creamy and rocky looking.

Yeah, it smells like a beer trying to impersonate chocolate & vanilla sandwich cookies (i.e., Oreos, a name which seems to have been used in RS's original description, but is not on the can. I'm guessing someone sent a cease & desist letter), which seems to indicate "mission: accomplished." Chocolate and vanilla are definitely in the aroma, along with a milky, ice cream-like scent that makes me wonder if it wasn't actually aged on ice cream sandwiches!

Taste matches the expectations set by the smell. This is a big dessert beer. The adjuncts blend together fairly seamlessly. The 11% abv is not noticeable in the taste at all. Again, the lactose lends it a flavor not unlike a bowl of cookies and cream ice cream. There's a very slight, soy sauce like bitter flavor, but it's WAY WAY WAY in the background.

Luscious, creamy, velvety mouth feel.

Is a cookie stout a thing? Are cookies pastries and this can therefore be called a pastry stout? Whatever it is, it's freaking delicious. Probably a bit much, both in flavor and alcohol, for sessioning, but, damn if this isn't the perfect post-dinner dessert. Thanks, Rub_This_BBQ!

 

 

 

smooth creamy stout great malt flavor real enjoyable

Canned on 07/02/2021. Enjoyed on 10/28/2021.

 

 

 

Drank from a 16 fl oz (1 pint) can purchased at Fort Point Market, Boston, MA
03/07/2019
Served in a tulip

The beer poured a viscous obsidian black and was topped by a small saddle brown head that quickly dissolved. No lacing whatsoever.

The aroma was roasty and bold but a bit simplistic and slightly metallic. There was a subtle sweetness too. Vanilla and milky lactose notes came forth as the beer sat. This reminded me of marshmallows. Semisweet chocolate was also detectable. Nice sweet booziness as well. Chocolate liquor perhaps. With time, the sweet chocolate and cordial like boozy notes really intensified.

The flavor profile was similar to the nose but punchier initially. Roasted malts led things off. Loads of fragrant vanilla, marshmallow and milky lactose notes too. Semisweet chocolate appeared in the center. More roasted malts and dark chocolate notes on the back end. The beer finished with a nice balance of roastiness and a lingering chocolate and vanilla presence.

The mouthfeel was spectacular. Uber rich, thick and viscous. The liquid contained a fine, moderate effervescence that turned impossibly creamy and soft on the palate. This almost felt like a marshmallow.

River Styx makes a number of impressive stouts and IPAs, but Eros was their first beer that really blew me away. The nose and the flavor profile were both amazingly complex and intense, and the mouthfeel was one of the greatest I have ever experienced. Tree House are masters of the adjunct-infused milk stout game, but this gives any of their beers a run for their money.

 

I think this is the first stout I've ever ranked this highly. This is decadence - an amazing sweet stout that would be loved even by those who do not usually like stouts/porters. It's at least as good as any Trillium special stout that I've had, but was released in can 4-packs (which sold out that day). The oreo scent is strong, and the taste is even more so - chocolate and cream with a soft mouthfeel that hides the extreme alcohol well. I enjoyed a sample at the bar, then capped my evening off with one of these. It's a perfect dessert beer, and I am thankful it came in a manageable 16-oz package instead of a 25 oz bomber. A fine tribute to the god of love!

Another amazing stout from River Styx Brewing. Notes of Chocolate and cream. Booze is well hidden. Thick dark color like motor oil. Easy drinking for such a high alcohol content.