The Gem
Turning Point Beer

 

 

Had it from tap at the brewery. Poured into a squat fluted glass. Rich dark brown with little head or lacing. Strong mocha smell and taste. Flavors of vanilla and cream with a hint of pepper and cinnamon. Smooth and creamy. Very tasty.

 

Pouring from a 16 oz. can into s plastic see through cup (hotel), this beer pours out a nice, dark brown. It has some ruby highlights and forms a thin, caramel colored crown.

The nose brings exactly what it says, cookies and cream. It smells like an Oreo cookie to me; the chocolate wafer and the vanilla creme all the way. A touch of accenting coffee on the back.

The coffee makes a much bigger presence in the taste than it did in the nose. Slight astringency to it, somewhat covering up the cookies and cream. It still lets the chocolate aspect show, just with a darker, more bitter aspect to it.

My rating on the mouthfeel is based on the astringency feel, other than that it is really pretty nice. I just feel like that bitterness of the coffee really covers a lot up and makes the finish somewhat less clean.

Overall, this is an enjoyable brew. It’s interesting. It really does bring the cookies and cream. As previously mentioned, I feel like the coffee kind of muddied things up a little, but I do love the cookie presence that they did manage to achieve.

 

Received from @r0rschach in a BIF box. No apparent canning date. Poured into a tulip glass. It pours an oily ink black. The initial cap of foamy, deep mocha-colored head dissipated quickly leaving a thin sheen of lacing. On the nose there is roasted malt, freshly-brewed coffee, milk chocolate, cocoa, vanilla, and earthy nuts. The taste is less sweet than the smell would indicate. The coffee taste is more burnt and acidic and there is more char. However, as the glass warms I'm tasting more of the advertised cookies and cream. This stout has a moderate mouth feel with a higher level of carbonation than I expected. And the 12.8% ABV is evident and warming. It's a sipper for sure. Overall, the best attribute of this stout is that while you can taste the advertised flavors it's not overly sweet. It's a solid Imperial Stout that grew on me as I sipped it.