I got this beer because of my awesome wife. She loves mint chocolate stouts, and because of all the beers she’s gotten for me, well, it was the least I can do. Braxton Brewing is located in Covington, KY, which is just across the river to the south from Cincinnati, OH. I’m fairly certain an old colleague of mine now lives in Covington. Hmmm…I’ve been a bad friend over the years. Clearly.
Mint Chocolate Chip is part of the Braxton’s Lab series of beers. As far as I can tell, these are limited release beers. So, let’s see if this beer stacks up against some of the better mint chocolate stouts I’ve had in the past.
Braxton Brewing boasts that “the first release in Braxton Labs 2019 Pastry Stout Series, this robust and chewy imperial stout is loaded with oats and dark malts to bring forward a huge mouthfeel and big notes of caramel, roast, and chocolate. After fermentation, we added liquid cocoa nibs and fresh mint leaves to recreate one of our favorite classic ice cream flavors! Rich and delicate, this big stout leads with deep chocolate and finishes with a cooling mint exhalation.”
Well, that’s a helluva description. Let’s see how it stacks up. This particular can was packaged on March 26, 2019 and it’s currently May 1st as I’m popping it open. So, just over a month. This beer pours nice and dark, ink in a glass, with a thin caramel head that dissipates quickly, leaving a nice thin ring around the inside of the snifter. Aroma is slightly minty with a hint of booziness.
Mint Chocolate Chip is medium-bodied with loads of dark chocolate up front. For a “pastry” stout, this beer is not sweet at all. There’s a bit of coffee or roasted malt in the middle that leaves a bit of a dark chocolate after taste. I feel like I’ve had a cookie that tasted similar but I couldn’t recall what it was. The back end is bitter, like black coffee bitter. It’s not terribly pleasing, unfortunately. I’d like this to be a tad sweeter. I get the dark chocolate, which I’m a big fan of, but the mint seems a tad off to me. That’s a tough flavor to get right in stouts, I think. Perennial figured it out with 17 and BA 17 and I believe Angry Chair had one last year at Halloween. My wife witnessed this, so I cannot confirm. š
This is a solid stout, but it slightly misses the mark. I would like to try more from Braxton Brewing and see what else they have to offer. Cheers!
Beer Stats
- ABV: 9.7%
- IBU: 40
- Untappd Rating: 3.72
- # of Ratings: 624
