Dirty Little Totch
Highland Brewing

Dragged from the depths of obscurity, the rarely seen Dirty Little Totch graces the palates of lovers of stout, rum and basically all things of decadence.

With a thin and oily gaze, the dark brown ale carries the hues of tree bark as it nestles slowly into the snifter. With a dainty creme of froth swirling atop, the appearance of espresso gives way to sweet cream, dark chocolate and coconut. As the first sip looms, savory sweetness seeps deep into the tastebuds with rich caramel, sweet rum and toasted toffee.

As the ale's savory sweetness and velvety texture seduces the mouth, the caramel, toffee and light coat of molasses draw in complementary vanilla, cream and coconut. While the flavor of rum and oak act as a backdrop, bittersweet chocolate, candied walnut and strong coffee offer up final impressions.

Full bodied, largely due to lighter carbonation and residual sweetness playing delicately on the palate, its viscous texture is silky, smooth and sultry with peps of char. With the spices of rum softly prickling at the mouth, simmering alcohol warmth, light powdery tannic bite and woodsy hops quietly balance the finish and provide a complex aftertaste of earthen roast and tightly woven sweetness.

Rum, vanilla, coconut, and roast malt in aroma.

Flavor reveals more cocoa and roast, slightly sweet, with a kick of vanilla and alcohol. Could use more malt support against the barrel character.

 

 

 

This is a rum barrel aged milk stout with toasted coconut. Growler fill from Green's Piney Grover, poured into a Highland snifter.

A: Pours a one-finger off-white head, rapidly receding to a thing ring around the edge of the glass. The body is dark, cola brown; light highlights show up when held to the light, but this beer remains mostly opaque.

S: Rum, rum, coconut; a bit of lactose sweetness, and I persuade myself that I detect a bit of cocoa powder.

T: I mean this in the best possible way--rum comes through front and center, and it tastes almost as if I had take a Guinness Extra Stout and added half a shot of dark rum and a whole shot of coconut rum. Some typical milk stout flavors show through--lactose sweetness, chocolate, a light roastiness--but the rum barrel definitely takes center stage, without this quite tasting like a glass of straight liquor.

M: Medium body, pretty straightforwardly a milk stout, with a bit of sharpness on the tongue.

O: The barrel pretty well dominates this beer. However, it does add a sweetness and complexity beyond what the standard milk stout can deliver, and the coconut peeks through nicely. It's fun, it's tasty, and I am happy to finish the two pints all by myself.