Chocolate Milk Peanut Butter Porter
Imperial City Brew House

 

A-Jet black color with a mocha head that has good retention
S-Chocolate milk forward aroma with a nice peanut butter adjunct fragrance
M-lower end carbonation with medium body and a pleasant velvety mouthfeel
T-Sweet upfront with peanut butter flavouring hitting hard and then mellowing out with a balanced bitterness that settles in.
O-Does what is says well. Desert type brew that is nice on a winter eve.

 

Look: Dark brown, with a one and 1/2 finger tawny head on an aggressive pour. Decent staying power on the head at the five minute mark there is still a 1/3 finger head with bits of lacing.

Smell: Peanut better dominates with a milk chocolate undertone.

Taste: You are walloped with a strong milk chocolate and taffy front end. The beer tasted of tootsie rolls to me at the start. Around the middle of the sip peanut flavouring seeps in. Finishing with a bitter roasted peanut taste.

Feel: Medium to full bodied. Very creamy and mouth filling. Finishes with a slight peanut oilyness, which isn't unexpected.

A fine and filling desert beer. I'd give it an A-

Review from notes. LCBO purchase and served cold into a pint glass.

Appearance - Very dark brown, nearing black. Some light tan head with moderate staying power.

Smell - Chocolate, peanut butter and roasty notes. About what you'd expect. Some mild sweetness on the nose too.

Taste - Delightfully sweet with chocolate milk flavoring and also a hint of salt with a robust peanut butter taste. A little bit of roastiness and bitterness in the back half. Surprisingly balanced. Really enjoyable flavor combos with good intensity.

Mouthfeel - Smooth and fairly fully bodied, light carbonation and slightly chewy finish.

Overall - One of the more unexpectedly excellent beers I've enjoyed this year, sweet without being too sweet, good depth of flavor and really nails the smell and taste of chocolate, and peanut butter.

473 mL can from the brewhouse; dated Feb 1 2021 and served slightly chilled.

Pours a dark mahogany brown colour; functionally opaque, though there are ruby red glints around the edge when held to a bright light. It's briefly crowned with one finger of bubbly, frothy, tan-coloured head, which disintegrates within a minute or two, leaving behind a thin collar and patchy film on the surface, in addition to a snaking band of sticky lace. Looks good to me, and the aroma delivers the 'candy bar' sort of aroma you'd expect from a beer with this name - dark malts and peanuts, milk chocolate, burnt nuts and a fair bit of sugar. Not the most 'authentic' aroma I've ever inhaled, but I'll admit to liking it anyway.

Very malt-forward, with the milk sugar providing a constant background sweetness - thankfully, the peanut flavouring and black malt bitterness help to balance the flavour profile out. Lots of milk chocolate, too, with more peanut butter flavouring and dark malts dominating the finish, dissipating into a peanut-ty chocolate bar aftertaste - I liked it at first, but it seems to overstay its welcome on the taste buds IMO. Medium in body, with moderately low carbonation that gently brushes against the tongue, giving a little bit of a bite to its otherwise smooth, slightly tongue-coating texture. Its drinkability is comparable to a milk stout - i.e. one serving is no problem, but it's also usually enough.

Final Grade: 3.76, a B+. Regardless of categorization, Chocolate Milk Peanut Butter Porter delivers exactly what it advertises, which is generally enough to keep me satisfied with these gimmicky flavoured brews. It's really more of an occasional treat vs. an every day beer, but that's largely due to personal tastes: beers with lactose are usually sweeter than I'd prefer, and this one is sweeter than most. Whether you're stopping by the brewhouse or putting together an order online, this is the Imperial City brew I'd immediately recommend to those with a sweet tooth.