BELCHING BEAVER BREWERY ¡VIVA LA BEAVER! MEXICAN CHOCOLATE PEANUT BUTTER STOUT - a review

by Daver, I guess

Here's something you should know about San Diego, they are fond of the Mexican chocolate. You'll find it at every coffee shop, which is something else I deeply miss about San Diego. At home, I have to buy my own supply to add to my morning java. Or would, if I remembered to look for Mexican chocolate. Belching Beaver Brewery remembered, and made a variant of their Peanut Butter Milk Stout with Mexican chocolate. Behold, ¡Viva La Beaver! Mexican Chocolate Peanut Butter Stout!

The can's label reads, "Viva La Beaver is loaded with notes of creamy peanut butter, cinnamon and coffee. The decadent milk stout is the perfect dessert beer to finish off your meal, and is our highest rated beer, receiving Gold and Silver medals. Sink your teeth into this liquid chocolate treat. Cheers, Tom."

To elaborate, the awards Viva La Beaver earned included 2nd Place at the California State Fair's beer competition in 2016, and gold medals at San Diego International Beer Competition for 2016, 2018, and 2019. They were well-earned.

As with the Peanut Butter Milk Stout, I'm using my curvy Yazoo Brewing glass for tasting. When pouring, the head is this velvety smooth film that just lives on top of a pitch black body. The foam doesn't fade, it doesn't move, it just sits there, patiently, for me to lift this glass to my lips. The bouquet is much more subdued, mild notes of cocoa and condensed milk and vanilla wafting your nose. Chocolate and cinnamon dominate the flavor, with hints of peanut butter and graham cracker all throughout. It's quite like drinking a peanut butter cup, or a chocolate chip peanut butter cookie. They're not kidding when they call this a dessert beer. There's a syrup-y vanilla note at the very end, but when you drink from a glass there's this delightful warm tingle as it goes down the throat. That warmth is the 7.5% ABV announcing it has entered the building. Strangely, it's just not there when you drink it straight from the can. But the coffee notes are much more pronounced out of the can.

It's funny how the drinking method changes the experience for certain beverages. Wine afficionados will know what I'm talking about, the flavor, the aroma, the whole package can change whether you're drinking from one glass shape or another, or just straight from the bottle. It's special when you can get a different, but no less satisfying, result from the can and the pint glass. This is a beer I would happily keep stocked in my beer fridge, even though the ABV would be a powerful reason not to drink this so casually. Drink this brew responsibly, or it'll knock you on your ass. It's a little harder to find than a Bud Light, but if I see it I grab a four pack. Try it, you'll understand as well.

BELCHING BEAVER BREWERY PEANUT BUTTER MILK STOUT - a review

by Daver?!

I love the Arizona craft beer scene, but by no means am I limiting reviews to Arizona beers. California's got some terrific breweries their own selves. Belching Beaver Brewery, out of San Diego, has some terrific beers on tap at their locations in California. Fortunately for me, they also have four-packs and six-packs for sale all over the West Coast and parts of the Midwest. Happily, Arizona is in their range, so I can get to try them without making the long drive to San Diego. There's plenty of reasons to go to San Diego already, the beaches are gorgeous and the water so blue and calming, plus if it's convention season there's the comic convention, and there's this one place for street tacos called Tacos El Gordo... where was I. Right, sorry, Belching Beaver's Peanut Butter Milk Stout.

Every can has this little disclaimer on the side. "America's favorite peanut butter milk stout: Troy came up with the idea of combining peanut butter with our Beavers Milk Stout and he nailed it. Don't let the dark color fool you, this beer is delightfully easy to drink, with cascading aromas of roasted peanuts, dark chocolate and coffee. Good times to you my friend, and welcome to the Beaver family! Cheers - Tom."

Tom's right, Troy did a solid for the beer drinking population of America. This is a

delicious brew, be it in cans or on draft. Once again, using my curvy Yazoo Brewery pint glass for the tasting because, hell yeah I can. On first pour, the bouquet is a rich blend of, well, exactly what it says on the can. Notes of cocoa, milk, sugar, and peanuts entice the nose to lean closer to the contents of the pint glass. The thing to note, I smelled the individual ingredients of dark chocolate and peanut butter rather than the dark chocolate and peanut butter. Those flavors were reserved for a meet and greet to the tongue. The body was a thick, rich deep dark brown, and the head was a luxuriant latte colored foam like a fresh cheesecake. It's creamy on the tongue, but also a little grainy. The taste of peanut butter is spread over your tongue, with dark chocolate popping up all throughout like sparks. It finishes smooth and creamy.

I'll tell you, if one were inclined to drink beer for breakfast, a pint of this Milk Stout would greet me at the kitchen table. Disclaimer - do not drink beer for breakfast. This stout is a lot like grabbing a cold bottled cappuccino, only not as sweet and twice as rich. At 5.3% ABV it's easily a beer that could be casually imbibed, provided you drink responsibly of course. The flavors will not turn off most beer drinkers, and the IBU may as well be in negative numbers. Personally, while I definitely enjoyed it, it's a little too rich for casual drinking. Fact is that I'd keep this on hand for occasions more special than watching the Netflix. Give it a shot, I think you'll be glad you did.

Barrio Brewing Company - Mocha Java Milk Stout

Hello, and welcome back to BB&B! I'm your sometimes-inebriated host, Daver, coming to you sober with my take on whatever interesting beer catches my fancy. Tonight I'm bringing to you a craft brew from a Tucson brewery and restaurant, the Barrio Brewing Company. I've been there before and sampled their brews in a very wide-ranging beer flight, but sadly this was before the blog began so I didn't take any notes...so I'll have to go back sometime for a more thorough write-up. Sigh, the sacrifices I must make.

I did have occasion to try again the Barrio Mocha Java Milk Stout, while hanging out this weekend with a friend at Old Tucson Studios. There is no bottle, Barrio's products are strictly on draft all over the city of Tucson. On first pour, it is a deep dark brown, with a tan head that isn't so much thick as it is firm. The bouquet is rich with coffee and cocoa tones, and hints of brown sugar. It's thick-bodied like you'd expect of a stout, and it's very smooth, but not that creamy like, say a Guinness. Dark chocolate tones come through the mild malted sweetness up till the finish, where it actually loses its smooth and semi-creamy texture.

Now, I have to make it clear that I liked it well enough, but neither I or my friend finished it completely satisfied. I thought it became a little powdery at the finish, easily missed while cold but the longer you drink and the warmer it gets, it became more chalky. My friend thought that it was too heavy, and that it was best served with a glass of water on the side.

It's not a bad brew, but it just didn't have enough for me to try it again. If I were you, I'd only order this in the colder months, and would not let it warm up or you might not want to finish it.  That's one down, lots to go!

Photo credits - Mocha Java Milk Stout, source: untappd.com, photographer: TheAbbabond.