M31 - Nembus
Wellington County Brewery

355 mL can included in a Wellington M31 gift pack at the LCBO; dated Sep 28 2023 and served barely chilled.

Pours opaque black, generating an inch of frothy, light tan-coloured head that fades within three minutes or so. It leaves behind an unassuming collar of suds, along with a narrow band of wavering lace - lookin' good so far. There's definitely some lemon on the nose, as well as a much subtler note of blueberry, but other than that the aroma is fairly similar to Andromeda's: i.e. dark chocolate, coffee, bourbon and oak, with mild ethanol fumes.

The flavour profile is also very Andromeda-esque, built on the same scaffolding of dark chocolate, treacle, coffee, oak and bourbon. The lemon doesn't seem to be much of a factor - it adds perhaps a touch of acidity to the profile, but I get the sense that I'm detecting that because I *expect* to detect that. The blueberry fares little better, providing a touch of faintly tart, fruity sweetness that is quickly swept away by a retreating tide of bourbon, dark chocolate, earthy hops and vanilla at the finish. Full bodied, with low carbonation that meekly nudges the palate; feels smooth and a little slick on the tongue. The 10.9% is well integrated, making for a reasonably drinkable brew.

Final Grade: 3.98, a solid B+. I wouldn't say M31 Nembus is discernibly *worse* than the original (Andromeda), but it's definitely a letdown in comparison. This is one of those cases where the contributions from the added flavourings are so inconsequential that I'm left wondering: why even bother? It's a shame too, because blueberries are a fruit that can really work well with stouts, but I'm just not getting enough fruit flavour to make much of a difference. Still worth the tick, but honestly, you might as well just stick with Andromeda.