For Tasting Tuesday, Christian has a breakfast stout with dessert.
My wife and I were out the other night and decided to stop by a local place for some amazing dessert and a tasty beverage.
I had my heart set on a chocolate tart with raspberry sauce topped with chocolate ice cream, so which beer did I go with? JavaHead Stout from Troegs Brewing.
Originating in England, oatmeal stouts like this one are dark, malty beers made with a variety of grains - including oatmeal. This addition not only creates a heavier beer, but actually adds a toasty, slightly bready flavor that complements the beer. They're even sometimes referred to as a "breakfast stout".
As you'd expect from a stout, it pours an opaque black with good carbonation. What's not expected is the higher 7.5% ABV alcohol content, but it doesn't taste like it.
What you do taste is some mild chocolate, roasty malt, and mild hops. The coffee is actually the best part - when so many brewers will choose a heavily-roasted coffee (that gives a lot of strong, bitter flavor), it seems as though Troegs went with a milder, "regular" roast.
In the end, it's loaded with a lot of great flavors that don't seem to overpower each other. This is definitely a beer I would recommend to both the casual beer fan and the beer geek, too. It's just that good.
Cheers!
Christian and Eric
