Stone/Abnormal/Paul Bischeri & Patrick Martinez - Neopolitan Dynamite

The recent proliferation of "ice cream beers" kinda scares me.

 

This just hit in Ohio and I'm keeping my eyes open.

 

Had this last night on draft at Stone. Walking in, I fully intended to buy a few bottles but after trying it, I passed. I didn't get any strawberry or vanilla, just a lot of dark chocolate and a little coffee. Blind taste test, I would swear that this was just a chocolate imperial stout. The chocolate was overpowering and made the beer very heavy, so I was glad to try a couple taster pours but there's no way I could finish a bottle of this.

 

This is one case in which I might check the reviews before deciding whether to purchase. If the consensus is that the strawberry and vanilla flavors are too subtle (or nonexistent), I don't think I'd chance it.

 

I grabbed one of these yesterday and opened it in the the evening. I thought it was a little bit of a disappointment. Don't get me wrong it's a good beer, but I just don't think that it lives up to what it is supposed to be. The taste is absolutely dominated by coffee with a bit of chocolate. I picked up only a slight hint of vanilla but there was zero strawberry, that I could detect at least. I let it warm up over the course of the evening (~3 hours) as I slowly drink that whole bomber and at no point did I really get a "neapolitan" flavor or each of those flavors individually. I thought it was good, but I absolutely love coffee and coffee stouts. If you're looking for that neapolitan flavor profile I'd most definitely look elsewhere.

 

I'd like to know how it compares to Saugatuck Neapolitan. That one definitely tastes like Neapolitan, although I'm not much a fan of sweet flavored stouts (they almost always taste a bit artificial to me). I know this is a bit higher ABV, and I'd expect a little more malt flavor from Stone rather than the essentially all-additive flavor of Saugatuck.

 

Saugatuck Neapolitan is much better in regards to hitting that flavor profile in my opinion. Like I said, the Neapolitan Dynamite isn't bad, but it just doesn't hit the flavors they were trying to achieve. It's still worth trying if you find it for a decent price.

 

Tried this a couple of weeks ago at Lost Dog Café (still on tap). I think it follows closely enough to how it's described so they achieved what they wanted in a Neapolitan Ice Cream tasting stout. Just not my jam, I like it roasty and viscous with just enough bitterness.

 

On draft the strawberry is very subtle with a clean palate, I paired it with a seasoned or mildly spicy hummus that brought it forward for me. Cheers.

 

Having tried Saugatuck's Neapolitan and very much disliking it (mmm... artificial strawberry flavoring) I can't help but wonder why anyone would want their beer to taste like Neapolitan ice cream. Why not just have a bowl of ice cream? And before anyone asks, sheer morbid curiosity was what drove me to try the Saugatuck.