Bark Griswold
Brewery X

 

16 oz can into a globe glass

On display at Trader Joe's, loved the label and cover art as I love the movie. The beer? Not so much. Checking out, the TJ dude kinda warned me that he'd heard it tastes more like beer than a pastry stout, but I told him I was in the mood for a beer that tastes more like a 'beer'. But I wasn't expecting it to be this boring. When you label a brew with "White Chocolate Peppermint Bark" flavored, you at least expect some tasty, desert-like layers and nuances. But they're barely detected. This is just a run-of-the-mill porter/stout with over-roasted malts. Pass.

Look: Poured from a pint can into a Guinness stout glass. The pour is jet black with a huge amount of foam risen to the surface. There's a bit of lacing as the foam dies down.
Smell: Getting aromas of chocolate, molasses, cocoa, slight peppermint in the end - only a tad. Getting some coffee aromas too. Smells very sweet and up my ally!
Taste: Tastes just like it smells except with slight more peppermint and less coffee. Upfront you get the chocolate, followed by some peppermint. I'm not tasting the 6.5% at all on this. It's very covered up with the chocolate and peppermint. I love it.
Feel: slightly carbonated, full bodied - heavy body. Definitely a sipper on this but smooth at the same time.
Overall: I love this beer! It met my expectation on a sweet stout - I've had plenty of beers that look amazing on the outside but are dull and average on the inside but this one came up strong! I'll be buying again especially in the later months when Christmas is coming.

 

better than i was expecting

16 oz cansplit between two tulip glasses. Pours dark brown with less than 1 finger of tan head that does not last long and leaves no lacing. Smell is mainly peppermint and coffee with a distant hint of white chocolate. Same with taste but the chocolate is even a smaller hint. Nice mouthfeel; medium body with fine but somewhat lively carbonation. Overall, very nice because, IMO, the peppermint is not at all overpowering and there is definite coffee to balance it, although I missed the claimed white chocolate taste.

This one is close. This one is close, you know? It’s like that Dua Lipa chick; one day I’m ready to bring the thunder; but the next day it’s like, umm, I dunno about it. And right here, I’m feelin’ all Christmas on one end - but the other? A bit medicinal. Either way, I feel the spice - and that is life.

See ya.

this one is unique, in a very good way. "Holiday Stout" is a concept I always wanted to play around with when I was home brewing, but never got around to, and these guys executed it very well. the white chocolate seems to appear in the background, and it mixes well the delightful blend of peppermint, hop, and coffee flavors I will write a more elaborate review once I can grab more cans and/or hit the brewery to get it from the tap and really get to know it.