The PastryArchy Edition #20: Almond Brittle Imperial Stout
DuClaw Brewing Co.

 

16 oz can with a 13 October 2021 canning date stamped on the bottom.

Pours with an essentially black body and a tall, sudsy tan head that has good retention.

This is a surprisingly bitter and hoppy stout. Unfortunately the hop mix is grassy and earthy .... not the best choice for an almond brittle pastry stout. The aroma suffers the most from this clash while a bit more almond comes out in the taste. After adjusting my expectations I found this stout to be quite enjoyable. Both the aroma and the flavor are nicely complex and carry plentiful notes of dark roasted grains and nuts.

 

 

 

 

Teaming up with local candy confectioners, Duclaw takes their PastryArchy series down to the brittle store for a sweet and savory take on their pastry stout with almond and caramel.

Very dark brown and nearly black, a initially frothy but short lived crown leads to a rounded scent of caramel, chocolate, coffee, nuttiness and cream, all leading toward a sweet and creamy taste of toffee, chocolate and nuttiness for a strong malty introduction.

As the tastebuds saturate in its rich malt sweetness, its coating of dark sugars are enough to command the middle palate with bold attributes of caramel, cream, praline and toasted almond to support the full and malty underpinnings that continues to pour onto the tongue. A slightly bitter assist in the beer's balance helps the beer to achieve a sense of drinkability.

Finishing on the sweeter side of bittersweet, the full bodied and relaxed stout dries late in taste, showing a creamy but plush mouthfeel. But it sells its caramel flavors well as the beer shows solid impressions of almond brittle with a long finish of toffee and cream.

 

Very dark and bitter like a classic stout, but a little extra. It's like..
eating a 90% cacao chocolate bar.

 

 

 

Poured from a can into a snifter
Appearance – The beer pours a deep brown color with a huge billowy head of tan colored foam. The head has a good level of retention, fading slowly over time to leave a ton of foamy lace on the sides of the glass.
Smell – The aroma of the brew is massive of a dark chocolate and caramel smell mixed with lots of toffee and some roasted and toasted malt smells. Along with these aromas, comes aromas of nuts and some dark fruits of raisin and prune. Rounding it all out are some aromas of vanilla, giving a very nice nutty, raisin like, brownie smell. Very inviting.
Taste – The taste begins drier than I was anticipating, more roasty and malty. The taste starts with a dark roasted malt flavor mixed with flavors of cocoa, char, and toast. There is a lighter sweetness of toffee and brown sugar upfront, both of which grow slightly stronger as the taste moves forward on the tongue. All the while some almond nuttiness and a bit of vanilla and caramel come to the tongue. A little bit of earth and a light warming booziness come at the very end, leaving one with a very nice roasty and moderately sweet, but in a balanced way, to linger on the tongue.
Mouthfeel – The body of the brew is nice and thick with a carbonation level that is moderate. For the big roasty and moderately sweet tastes, the feel is great and makes for a nice slow sipping winter brew.
Overall – I was expecting this may be a sugar bomb upon reading the description, and almost didn’t want to try it. I am glad I did try it thought!! Quite a nice tasty, warming, dark, and flavorful brew. Well worth a try!!

 

 

I'm not going to make this a long review. DuClaw blew it by making an Imperial Stout with a delicate primary ingredient (Almond Brittle) an overtly hoppy mess. It looks fine, it laces ok, the mouthfeel is good.. but the nose is unexpected, with a salty chocolate sweetness overpowered by hops.. amplified 3x on the taste, with the hoppy aftertaste demolishing the anticipated almond brittle sweetness. A travesty of an Imperial Stout.

Canned 10/7/21

After a surprising success with their root beer float inspired brown ale, I just couldn't turn this one down. This is something that sounds truly unique in the world of adjuncted imperial stouts, so I'm excited to try it. I've had Almond Joy-esque stouts, but I'm expecting this to be a bit different from those

Pours nearly pitch black with 3 fingers of dense tan head that slowly fades to a ring and leaves decent lacing

The almond brittle utilized in this beer is really authentic and raw. I'm picking up on aromas of toasted almond, sticky toffee, roasty coffee, cocoa powder, dried plum, and a touch of smoke

That dry roast carries over into the taste, really driving that raw almond vibe even further. On the front end of the sip I'm tasting raw almond, candi sugar, caramel malt, cocoa powder, light coffee, and vanilla. The swallow brings notes of toasted almond, heavily roasted coffee, sticky toffee, raisin, cocoa powder, and a lingering black cherry note

A medium body pairs with gentle carbonation, resulting in a roasty yet somewhat thin beer. Finishes a touch watery but nothing that absolutely kills the drinkability

This is a solid beer, the almond brittle is more than just straight up almond; it adds a nice candied vibe to the whole thing that ties it together. It's not an over the top pastry stout and it's not trying to be

Way too bitter and roasty for a “pastry” stout. Not sweet at all.

Canned on 10/7/21. 16oz can poured into a tulip.

Pours almost black; fluffy dark khaki head that falls leaving nice retention and sticky lacing.

The aromas are malt forward. Some cocoa. Hints of almond and hazelnut.

The flavors are bolder than the nose. Lots of dark chocolate. More almond and hazelnut. Hints of coffee. Some vanilla in the mix. Some roasted characteristics. There's a nice little bitterness to this one. Moderate to low sweetness. It's ultimately bittersweet, but it's more on the bitter side. Solid malt backbone. Alcohol basically goes unnoticed for the most part although there's a mild warmth.

Mouthfeel is full-bodied with moderate carbonation. It's smooth and extremely fluffy.

This is a solid imperial stout. The almond brittle comes through. It's not too flashy but it remains bold. Not bad at all.