Winter Stout
Grain & Grit

473 mL can, day 24 of the 2022 Toronto Brewing beer advent calendar; dated Nov 14 2022 and served barely chilled. This is basically their Winter White Stout without the 'white' - that is to say, it's a normal (flavoured) stout.

Pours opaque black with glints of blood red 'round the edges; it's crowned with two inches of fluffy, foamy tan-coloured head that settles within five minutes or so. Plenty of sticky, fractal-patterned lace adheres to the glass, with a creamy cap and collar remaining atop: now this is what a stout is supposed to look like! Peppermint, dark chocolate and sugar on the nose - fans of mint chocolate chip ice cream ought to appreciate this aroma. Hints of cocoa and roasted malts, but the peppermint is powerful enough to obscure such subtleties.

Peppermint candy cane, sugar and cocoa at the forefront, with toasted malts, bready wheat and dark chocolate chips not far behind. That's as deep as it goes, though - more peppermint, cocoa and bittersweet chocolate on the back end, with the peppermint lingering into a somewhat sugary aftertaste. Medium in body, with low carbonation that weakly agitates the tongue; feels smooth and soft on the palate, almost like a nitro beer, but not quite. Limited drinkability due to the mint, but knocking back a single can is easy enough.

Final Grade: 3.75, eking out a B+. Grain & Grit's Winter Stout is similar to their original (White) stout, though the dark malts help to intensify its chocolate-type flavours - this does make for a slightly more satisfying stout experience (emphasis on 'slightly'). I'd recommend this over the White version, but at the end of the day I am just not big on minty beers... that's not to say it's impossible for me to enjoy this type of brew on occasion, but once or twice a year is generally enough. Fans of peppermint stouts should definitely keep an eye out for this next fall/winter.