Quick Start My Heart
DuClaw Brewing Co.

 

 

 

 

 

Had this in a bomber from Costco. It’s a different take on a milk stout. The strawberry flavor is subtle but noticeable. This is pretty good and worth a try.

From the large bottle, it pours a very dark brown with a modest tan head, eventually reducing to a thin layer. Lots of coffee and roasted malt in the nose, but I don't get any strawberry. The same for the mouth, tasty flavors of roasted malt and coffee, but no fruit.

Perhaps when I finish it off tomorrow!

 

 

As I continue to winnow through the Bottle Backlog here at Chez Woody, I am finding beers that I do not even remember purchasing! In fact, I have so many DuClaw beers hanging around that I am embarking on a horizontal tasting for the next few days. This should be interesting.

From the bottle: "This black, full-bodied Milk Stout boasts a silky, velvety mouthfeel and rich flavors and aromas of strawberry & chocolate, accented by notes of coffee & caramel. Pop the top and ... quick start your heart!"; "Respect_the_Fluid".

As I Pop!ped the cap, it gave me pause to reflect on just how many beers DuClaw produces. I still have eight or nine to drink and review after this one! In the meantime, I employed a gentle pour followed by an in-glass swirl which raised a finger of foamy, deep-brown head with modest retention, falling back to wisps. Color was Black/Opaque (SRM = 44), allowing Deep Amber highlights only at the edges. Nose had a pronounced strawberry presence, causing me to look at the label, which read: "Stout Brewed with Natural Flavors". Hmmm. The nose also had an ersatz chocolate quality, kind of like carob. Hmmm. Mouthfeel was medium-to-full, not quite creamy, but close. The taste had an odd bittersweet flavor, like baking chocolate, that did not mesh well with the sweetness of the strawberry flavor. Finish was semi-sweet, but ... I would have preferred a greater sweetness both in the style and as a matter of taste.

I know that I usually rail against sweet, but I was a longtime assistant pourer for Lancaster Brewing Company, where John Frantz perfected the Chocolate-Covered Strawberry using a mixture of Milk Stout & Strawberry Wheat in specific ratios. Done right, it is eminently drinkable. This beer leaned too far to the stout for my taste.

 

DATE: September 15, 2016... OCCASION: football Thursday with Shan... GLASSWARE: Guinness pint... jet black body, as expected... a brown creamy head settles to a half-finger... lacing sweeps with thick smears... chocolate merges with strawberry, with vanilla, and peat... the first sip is a rush of strength, with a liveliness at the throat and a grit throughout the tasting... full-bodied, reasonably drinkable... salty? a bit of brine, like an oyster stout... as the glass drains, no sign of lacing... the strawberry is slightly puckerish, the cocoa mellow, the overall experience doable... this is a stout that balances its food groups with a sweet confection... though I am not a fan of strawberries, I can appreciate this offering...

 

12oz bottle poured into a snifter

A- pours a deep black color with a small creamy khaki colored head that retains a while before reducing to a ring around the edge

S- charred malt with milky cocoa a hint of caramel, strawberry syrup and light vanilla

T- roasted malt up front with a hint of char, followed by milky lactose with gives notes of vanilla cream. Mid-palate brings out the strawberry, it tastes very similar to strawberry syrup and continues into the finish, mixing with milky cocoa for a nice linger

M- medium body with moderate-low carbonation leads to a foamy mouthfeel that turns slightly creamy into the finish

O- pretty tasty milk stout, the strawberry comes out much more as it warms, something I'd have again

 

 

 

Excellent dark black look. Smell is unique. Strawberry is definately there. Very average taste.
Not really a good milk stout, has more of a porter bite to it.
Good look, good smell -average taste