Black is Beautiful
Liquid Love Brewing Co.

Not quite a pastry stout... but close in my book. And yes... it is a good cause, for which I give very good OA Hugs.

Carried from the curb at Beermiscuous in Chicago.
Looks the part of an AIS. Smells are abundant and certainly give the impression of dessert... or at least a very good substitute. Tastes are sweet, but just enough hops and roasting of the malt to contain the sweet at the finish. Very viscous Feel.

As a quickie brewer review, Liquid Love is impressive and young. Really less than a year old. Just opened a taproom in an outer Chicagoland suburb. Amazing artwork on their cans. Some clever titles. Let's hope they have the money and instincts to survive Covid.... which could last another 6 to 9 months. Cheers ! (And I mean it.)

This one pours a thick sludgy consistency. Bright, shiny and black. Thin one and a half finger brown head dissipates pretty quickly leaving no residual head.

Aroma is ridiculously sweet. Milk chocolate, sweet vanilla, lactose, and coffee all come through with such a dominance that its really all you get from the beer.

The taste follows the nose with strong sweet notes of milk chocolate and vanilla. The interplay of the milk sugar/lactose and these sweet chocolate and vanilla notes give it a kind of ice cream like flavor. The coffee comes through - at first, subdued - but as the beer warms it starts to shine through. Again I know there have to be some malts underneath all this sweetness, and only as that beer warms up do you get a slight glimpse of it. Some mildly bittering hops come through on the back end.

Feel is thin and smooth. Carbonation is really strong, bright and prickly. Honestly, its a bit much on the carbonation front.

Overall this is clearly a pastry stout - for what it is, its enjoyable. Regardless its a wonderful cause.