Brewhouse Rarities: Cookies 'N Cream
Flying Dog Brewery

 

 

 

From the label: "FOR OPTIMAL FRESHNESS ENJOY BY: 06.18.21"

Appearance: It has a black body with a short, creamy textured, khaki head. The head gently but purposefully fades out to a thin ring and some bubbles. Spotty lacing.

Aroma: It has a lot of dark chocolate aroma which comes across as cocoa powder, chocolate brownies, and baker's chocolate bars.

Taste: Up front there is a chocolate liqueur character with a bit of toffee. The middle of the palate is more bitter chocolate and a hint of alcohol. The back of the tongue is bitter carbon and bitter dark chocolate. The aftertaste has a bit of coffee character.

Mouthfeel: Luscious and creamy textured as soon as it hits the tongue. It is full bodied and it washes across the palate with the wonderful velvety fullness.

Overall: The chocolate character is great. The label states that this is a "COOKIES AND CREAM FLAVORED MILK STOUT" but it tastes a lot more like the cookies without the cream. The label also states that it is "9.5% ALC/VOL" and it does a fantastic job of keeping such a high ABV in check. I enjoyed the beer and I could drink it again if I was in the mood for a chocolate beer. I would recommend it to those who like chocolate, but not to those looking for a "cookies and cream" flavor. The highlight of the beer is the body which covers the palate with a satisfyingly smooth texture that delivers a wonderful chocolate flavor.

 

Poured from a bottle into a pint glass. Pours pitch black with a light brown head. Smells of cookies, milk, and chocolate. Tastes of creamy milk and chocolate. Beer is light/medium bodied with good carbonation, smooth finish. Overall, a good beer.

*Poured into a Teku glass from a 12oz bottle*

This beer poured a dark brown--almost black--color, and was accompanied by a finger thick beige head which had low retention.

The aroma on this was pretty unpleasant for me, and it didn't deliver well on its Cookies 'N Cream theme as advertised.
I thought that the aroma on this was really artificial while also giving me a sharp papery aroma upfront.

Upfront on the palate, I get a general malty sweetness from the roasted malts. I didn't really get a strong presence of cookies n' cream, but more like an after-image of a cookies n' cream. The taste was almost like the taste of cookies n' cream were barely holding on. Notes of cold brew coffee filled the finish of this beer and left a bitter aftertaste which wasn't long or lingering.

The feel on this beer was medium-bodied and had a high amount of carbonation to it. This was definitely silky smooth and easy to drink for the ABV, which I didn't feel at all by the way. Other than the bitter aftertaste, I definitely enjoyed the overall feel of this beer.

Pours a dark almost black with two finger head. Looks awesome, nose has the milky, chocolatey, almost sweet hint...I thought similar to other milk stouts. Tasting, though, puts it above the others. chocolate milk taste for sure, but the vanilla comes through amazingly. Maybe an Oreo hint but really the combo of the cocolate and milk is what does the Oreo thing. The small pop of vanilla is wonderful, with a tiny hop /alcohol sense on the back end. Sneaky 8.2%, Pleasantly surprised!

Type: 12-oz. bottle
Reviewed as: Double Milk / Sweet Stout
Glass: Rip Current 8-oz. beer glass
Price: $2.00
From: Trader Joe’s in College Area (San Diego), Calif.
Purchased: March 5, 2020
Consumed: March 7, 2020
Misc.: For optimal freshness, enjoy by June 4, 2020

Saw this on a recent trip to the Trader Joe’s at San Diego State. Had to double check that Flying Dog was still craft and it was, so I picked this up. Bottle description read, “Tiptoe to the kitchen. Avoid the creaky floorboard. Wait a minute–you're a freaking adult, and you can have cookies anytime you want! Kristin Hanna believes everyone deserves a 2 am sweet treat, which is why she pitched this decadent Brewhouse Rarity. Inspired by her favorite late-night indulgence, this Cookies and Cream stout is an ode to that last swig of milk after you've dipped, 2, 3, 4...okay 5 cookies in it. So drink up; calories don't count after midnight.” This seemed right up my alley.

Poured a pitch black color with 5-to-6 fingers of rocky khaki head. Could see plenty of bubbles coming up along the sides of the glass. Almost perfect uneven foamy lacing. Almost perfect retention. (Sight - 4.75)

Smelled milk chocolate, chocolate cake, Oreo cookies, brownie batter, vanilla and hints of dark fruit. Vaguely a combination of Oreo cookies and chocolate cake with cherries on top. (Smell - 4.00)

Taste followed the nose for the most part, but not quite as good. In order got German chocolate cake, vanilla, Oreo cookies, brownie batter, fudge, milk chocolate and dark cherry. (Taste - 3.75)

Full body. Creamy-to-sticky texture. Soft carbonation. Long finish. (Feel - 4.00)

Liked this overall. Might have overrated it slightly, but outstanding. (Overall - 4.00)

3.95 | 89 | B+

 

I was over at Rieker Bottle Works shortly before the outbreak/lockdown really took effect & while I do not usually look at/for Bottles any more, I am always intrigued by something new coming from Flying Dog, plus the label art doesn't hurt in my decision-making.

From the Bottle (gasp!): "Too Rare to Die"; "Brewhouse Rarities Cookies 'N Cream Milk Stout"; "Limited Edition"; "Stout brewed with Vanilla Beans with Chocolate and Cookies & Cream Natural Flavor added"; "Tiptoe to the kitchen. Avoid the creaky floorboard. Wait a minute–you're a freaking adult, and you can have cookies anytime you want! Kristin Hanna believes everyone deserves a 2am sweet treat, which is why she pitched this decadent Brewhouse Rarity. Inspired by her favorite late-night indulgence, this Cookies and Cream stout is an ode to that last swig of milk after you've dipped, 2, 3, 4...okay 5 cookies in it. So drink up; calories don't count after midnight."

I Pop!pd the cap & started a slow, steady C-Line pour into the awaiting glass. I am really out of practice where bottles are concerned, so I wanted to make sure that I did things right. I got two-plus fingers of foamy, soapy, rocky, mocha-tan head with moderate retention for my efforts. Color was Very Dark Brown to Black/Opaque (SRM = > 34, < 44) with garnet highlights at the edges. Nose was really sweet & very evocative of Oreo cookies & milk as a kid when I was not lactose intolerant as I am now. Mmm. Mouthfeel was medium, but it seemed a tad thin for the style. The taste was sweet, but not cloying. It definitely tasted of Oreos or chocolate chip cookies & milk. Mmm. I have to admit, it was pretty impressive. Finish was sweet, but again, not cloyingly so. It was tolerable or one, but I was starting to feel the jitters coming on as I finished up. YMMV.

Light carbonation with a just above average body. Has a slight thick creamy feel
Aroma is roasted black dark coffee, alcohol, oreos, roasted malt
Taste. is mild sweetness. As well as some mild dark black coffee bitterness. Tastes like coffee and cream with some oreos dipped in it.
Makes a very novelty beer that's worth a try

 

Bottle poured into a Founders Brewing Co snifter

A: Pours dark mahogany brown with a frothy tawny brown head that settles to a light layer and leaves a little nice lacing.

S: Somewhere between shoving your nose into a bag of Oreos, brownies, and chocolate cake, super rich, a little roasty, but a ton of sweet milk chocolate, vanilla, bready/doughy, slightly earthy, and some caramel sweetness.

T: Roasty, big milk chocolate and vanilla, more Oreo, chocolate cake and brownie vibes, definitely getting a little cream filling flavor too, subtle underlying earthy faintly herbal notes, slightly bready, and some caramel sweetness. Hints of dark fruit and a alcohol can peek through as it warms.

M: Full body, moderate carbonation, a little creamy.

O: Of course this one is gonna be on the sweet side, though I wouldn't say it's cloyingly sweet. The roasty side helps temper that. It definitely hints at cookies and cream, but doesn't scream it. You could probably pass it of as any number of baked confections. That said, it is an enjoyable desert beer.

Appearance:
Pours like a black malt milkshake, thick and dark, divulging its full body by sight alone. A finger of beige foam billows to the surface, then settles into a demure circlet that retains well and garnishes the glass with a winsome sheet of long, unbroken lacing.

Bouquet:
Like opening a box of Count Chocula. A poof of air-puffed chocolate cereal with a sugary afternote of powdered marshmallows.

Feel:
Slick, decadent, and creamy; like a frosty glass of fresh milk. Its bountiful body is backed by a drizzle of shy carbonation, just enough to lend the stout a touch of cool crispness without interrupting its silky flow.

Taste:
Biscuity chocolate wafer surrounds a confectionery cream icing. What follows is a sample of scrumptious vanilla with a dusting of coconut cake crumbs. Faint traces of each flavor linger for only a second or two before vanishing. Ultimately, the sugary nature of these treats are rightfully reigned in by a stalwart backbone of dark malts, corraling them into carefully balanced semi-sweetness. Occasionally, you'll encounter a sour note of overly-lactosed acidity but it isn't constant.

Overall:
I generally dislike Cookies ‘n Cream anything: Hershey bars, ice cream, Mcflurries, etc. but this beer is marvelous. Minus the rare pocket of curdled lactose here and there, they captivated the essence of an Oreo cookie turned beer.

Enjoy by 6/4/20. 12oz bottle poured into a tulip. Pours almost black; fluffy khaki head that falls leaving great retention and sticky lacing. The aromas have some vanilla cream leading the way along with some cocoa. Malts are there. The flavors basically follow the nose. More vanilla leading the way. Some coconut in the mix. Some chocolate cookie crumbs coming through in the finish. Subtle sweetness. Low bitterness. Solid malt backbone. Alcohol goes unnoticed. Mouthfeel is full-bodied with moderate to active carbonation. It's sharp, fluffy, velvety, smooth and dangerously drinkable.

This is a pretty solid milk stout. It definitely has a "cookies 'n cream" vibe going on, especially in the flavor department. It's enjoyable and fun to drink.