Winter Beard (Double Chocolate Cranberry Stout)
Muskoka Brewery

Poured from a 473ml can. Canned on Sept.22/2022
A dull pour with mild nose of Chocolate and berries.
Taste is ok but nothing special and i do not get much Cranberry but a very drinkable Stout.
I did enjoy it.

Look: Pours a dark brown with a ruby red hue. Two fingers of tightly bubbled beige head. The head dissapates into a ring of lace by the five minute mark.

Smell: Mild dark chocolate aroma, with cranberry and raspberry notes. Touches of milk chocolate and rye bread as well. The smell is very pleasing, but pretty muted.

Taste: Follows the nose, but more intense. Dark chocolate leads the way with cranberries a strong second. The taste is delicious, but simple. You get the same sip from start to finish, but its a tasty sip.

Feel: Light to medium bodied. Not boozy or hot in the slightest. Definate presence of oily slickness to be expected in an imperial stout.

This beer is no fuss no muss, it delivers exactly what it promises. The beer isn't complex or nuanced, but that's OK. It's a chocolate cranberry stout. Now that it is available in 473 ml cans at a decent price point, it is a worthwhile pickup. When it was a pricey bomber I wouldn't have been so pleased with it. It earns a solid B+ to passable A-.

Poured from a Sept 2021 batch can offered dark brown pour with weak collar. Nose is unremarkable of light cocoa. Light tart cranberry with chocolate finish. Ok

 

Poured a 473ml bottle into a pint glass. A two finger brown head on an amber black. The head diminishes to a thin layer. Minimal lacing.
Chocolate coffee smells.
Chocolate up front. Very mild hop finish.
Medium light body with moderate carbonation.
Very smooth and well balanced.

 

 

A- Nice cork topper in the bottle and nice little logo to go with this masculine looking stout! The brew itself pours a dark cola color, shows good clarity for a dark ale, and I see plenty of little bubbles rising to the top. The lacing is sticky and clings well to the inside of the glass. Overall a decent looking beer....the only knock may be that the head doesn't show much in terms of retention.

S- Hint O' coffee, cranberry essence, chocolate (dark and milk), semi sweet darkened malts, burnt toffee/blackstrap molasses. There is an Earthy hop presence on the finish....

T- Cocoa, cranberry, chocolate, black coffee and hints of molasses sweetness accent the burnt chocolate malts. The finish has a certain tartness from the fresh berries and compliments the entire flavor profile!

M/O- Surprisingly light in body and rather full carbonation for a stout, however, the flavors are full and as it warms, the chocolate character becomes more intense. I would say that this is a social beer and I am enjoying it the longer I have some to sample. I think with some aging that this would be even better after say one or two years. Cheers!

 

 

 

Very dark brown color with single finger head which was off white with a very subtle pinkness to it. Scent of cranberry and some dark chocolate. Chocolate is present in the taste. Cranberry takes over as this warms. Decent, but a little too much going on with the cranberries.

 

 

Dark brown with the ruby tinge, and topped with two fingers of beige head. The head also has a slight pink tinge to it.

Smells of dark cocoa, cranberries, a variety of sweet and fruity notes, milk, and coffee.

The taste is much like a porter in my opinion. I get notes of chocolate, coffee, dark toasted malts, and then there's this fruitiness that comes in. There's cranberries and fruitiness, but there's more of a sour note probably from the cranberries. It's also sweet and chocolatey. Vanilla is in there too.

The body feels very light for eight percent. It's very smooth, and has a moderate amount of carbonation.

Although I purchased this in Kitchener Ontario, I'm drinking it in Muskoka. Today is December 19, 2017. This is a really good brew. Very light and pleasant on the pallete.