Dessert Cart - Hazelnut, Coffee and Vanilla Bean
Mountains Walking Brewery

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Canned 2021/01/20
Pours a med smaller fizzy head with lower retention, brown head, little lacing, inky dark legs, pitch black color

Nose is light surprisingly, some dark chocolate, hazelnut, light vanilla, sweet chocolate pastry, not much else

Taste brings sweet flavors, actually bubblegum up front, raw sweet vanilla, some hazelnut nutella, but if raw cocoa and dark chocolate, lactose, milk chocolate, creamy oatmeal, bit of fruity character, so much of that old bubblegum that had the fruit jelly in the middle, sweet mild sticky finish, little alcohol

Mouth is fuller bod, creamy smooth, med foamy carb, light warming alcohol

Overall eh, gimmicky sweet stout without much beer, and the bubblegum ester or whatever it is, is weird and unpleasant

This is one of the brewerys that make pastry stouts great - this combination is like a dessert / great flavors smooth beer

I have had a couple other beers from Mountains Walking, and their Peanut Butter Chocolate Dessert Cart was probably my favorite, so I'm definitely looking forward to this one... a hazelnut coffee/vanilla flavored stout that I predict will be at least sort of similar to Hazelnut Coffee & Cakes by Hubbard's Cave. And that would be great, because, well, the C&C series by Hubbard's Cave is great, and this is somewhat less-expensive.

The pour is a less-scary-than-expected (but still dense and tar-black) stout with a nice depth to it that builds up a decent finger of off-khaki/light-mocha head before sinking to a half-finger rather quickly and retaining just about there. Lacing is very nice here, with cobweb-like patterns forming as the initial foam dissipates. Some islands of thin foam on the surface, but overall not much else to say here. Pretty solid looking. Hazelnut C&C was also a bit less-intense than expected, though, so I'd say they're tied here.

The nose is intense espresso coffee beans and hazelnut right off the bat, mingling with hints of tobacco, chocolate, cocoa powder, vanilla, and roasted malts. Very expressive... I'm impressed! Of course, the ethanol is also pretty present here, and lends this beer its well-earned imperial designation; the heat wafts off this pretty intensely even from the first pour, and the adjuncts don't exactly tame it. I've always felt that vanilla, for example, really increases the perception of alcohol in bigger stouts, and that certainly is the case here.

Flavor profile is extremely sweet and boozy with strong flavors of hazelnut and French vanilla coffee mingling with lighter notes of blonde tobacco, earthiness, a bit of chocolate-y roasted malts, and a light kiss of herbal hops. This is a bit more well-balanced than expected from the nose, but it's still a sweet stout and almost guaranteed to make me both full and very drunk. I don't think there's as much refinement here as Hubbard's Cave's similar beer, but that also utilized maple syrup, which lent a bit of a "fruity" element as I noted in my review for that one. This doesn't have any of that, really, but it's still good for sure. So far, MW is two-for-two with flavored imperial stouts. I enjoy their IPAs too but I'd like to see them a bit fresher in my neck of the woods.

This Montana brewery hasn’t let me down yet. This beer was brewed in honor of THE WHALE, a great bottle shop in Asheville, NC. I expected it to be thicker as a dessert stout but it doesn’t lack in flavor. Well done.

 

Pours a pitch black color, shiny and oily. No head whatsoever appears when the beer is poured even with a vigorous pour. Other than a few small bubbles in the center of the beer, it appears completely flat.

Aroma has notes of coffee, hazelnut, light vanilla, roasted malts and some milk chocolate. The coffee is definitely the dominant aroma, but everything else is there. For all that it has present, its remarkably simple. Sweet and dessert like.

Taste has notes of vanilla, hazelnut coffee, milk chocolate, and some light roasted malt note. The malt notes are largely subdued by the overwhelming sugariness of this beer. As the beer warms you do get more of the roasted malts coming through and it becomes more balanced, albeit not actually balanced.

Feel is thick and viscous, with a slickness to it. Moderate but gentle carbonation.

Overall its exactly as advertised - like drinking liquid dessert. If that is your thing, then this is fantastic. If you don't like sweet stouts, then this is likely not going to do it for you. Regardless, you're at a high risk of diabetes from this beer. But seriously, its a delicious pastry stout and well worth having for fans of the style.

Lots of coffee on the nose, followed by hazelnut, and vanilla last. Some chocolate and molasses tones from the malt.

Smooth and rich on the palate. All the implied flavors are present in spades.

Canned 11/26/19. Coffee, milk chocolate, Hazelnut, espresso bean, vanilla and caramel. Mouthfeel is moderate to full. Finish is smooth and creamy. Delicious pastry stout and excellent example of the style.