Blueberry Muffin Stout – 6.5% ABV

It’s Friday! Another week is done and dusted and we’re into the last few days of February, I always particularly find February to always go quick, just because of how short it is. Although, I have to admit I’ve tried some amazing beers over the course of the month. 

Modwena Oatmeal Stout, Thomas Sykes Old Ale and Crumble In The Bronx have certainly been placed at the top of the list for my favourite beers of February!

As I start thinking about what March is going to bring, I am most certainly keen to broaden my search and sample a variety of craft beers from around many parts of the UK and I am also hoping to test out some classical beers from other parts of the world! 

So I believe it’s only correct that I finish this month on a high and bring you all a remarkable review on a beer called, Blueberry Muffin Stout (6.5% ABV) which is proudly brewed by Ridgeside Brewery! 

(The link which is connected to Blueberry Muffin Stout, does not direct to the brewery’s website instead I’ve linked the beer to another source website, where the beer can be purchased) 

History 

Stouts come in all different ranges of flavour, you’ve got some stouts that have those luxurious chocolate flavours, such as Czar’s P2 Imperial Stout! But a stout doesn’t have to be brewed with those sweet flavourings, you can use other flavours, a prime example is different fruits!

However, it’s very unlikely that you will come across a stout that has flavourings of strawberry, I personally think that’s just down to the end product, the beer will taste absolutely vile, I might be wrong, but I’ve never seen a stout that has strawberries within the tasting notes. I mean you wouldn’t include pineapple in a stout because the flavouring is tropical, so a flavour like this would be best suited for a pale ale. 

Instead, you will come across fruits like orange, blueberry, cherries and blackberry, they may well be others, but these are the most common types of fruits that are used to create a pint of stout. The other characteristic of using these type of fruits is because they match perfectly well with sweet treats, one of the most common being chocolate. Chocolate and orange matches, blackberry gateaux matches and cherry Bakewell fits together. 

The traditional stout will always be based on chocolate, coffee and oatmeal, but as we now look into the modern age, many craft breweries have adapted the classical recipe and produced a range of stouts that match a certain audience with a completely different texture.  

I am someone who will happily try new styles of beer, I mean look how I went from disliking sour beers to now enjoying them, as long as there not to overpowering! It’s the same as this style of stout, I adore my sweet stouts which have lashings of chocolate flavours, but I am pleased for the first time ever, I have tried a stout that has been created in its own unique way!

Tasting Notes

A full-bodied stout that has sensational aromas of blueberries and chocolate. The taste is pleasantly sweet with berry notes and dark chocolate. The final finish is a sweet hop bitterness that is prolonged on the palate.    

Review 

I’ve admitted before that in my opinion stouts are best suited for the winter season but on the other hand, this type of stout which has been infused with fruit is perfect all year round. 

After sampling this beer on Thursday night, I thought to myself I could happily drink this beer in the middle of summer, I think it’s just down to the outstanding fruitiness which has been involved in the making of this beer. 

The first time I came across this beer was in Brews Of The World, on this day, I said to myself I wanted to sample something completely different, a beer that is unique and contains some wonderful flavours. Then, after doing some shelf scanning, I came across this Blueberry Muffin Stout, instantly I was like yes, I need to try this beer, I’ve got to try it, I even had an initial thought that this beer was going to be perfect and in fairness it was. 

This stout was retailed at £6.00 per can, which is slightly more than Crumble In The Bronx, the reason being is because the stout was quite strong in volume, 6% ABV. After paying for this beer, I was really hoping it was going to taste great and I am glad to say it did! 

There wasn’t just a small amount of blueberry inside the beer, there were huge amounts, everytime I smelt the beer, the overall power of the blueberry increased dramatically, it was absolutely fantastic! However, the flavour was outstanding, chocolate and blueberries combined together to make an awesome sweet after taste. I’ve sampled many stouts over the years which have been beautiful, but this stout was one of a kind, I instantly fell in love with this beer straight away!

In all honesty, I didn’t want this beer to end, I wish the glass just kept on filling up and one thing I will say is that the overall texture of this beer didn’t seem that strong at all, I actually thought at one point I was drinking a 4.5% ABV stout, no surprise that this beer was completely moreish and something I could keep on drinking all night. 

On that note the glass was empty, but the after taste was still there, the hop bitterness was prolonged and I still had a tiny amount of blueberry which was resting on the palate.  

So there you have it, my latest sample turned out to be a tremendous masterpiece and ultimately a beer that I have to recommend to you all to try, this beer wasn’t just good, it was superb!

I am certainly looking forward to trying some more stouts in the future which deliver the same kind of feel that this beer delivered, sweet and fruity!

Finally, I would like to wish you all an amazing weekend, I hope you all enjoy it as best as you can and I will return next week with my next bunch of beer posts! 

Take care and stay safe! 

Cheers 

The Cask Connoisseur 

This is a collaborative post with Brews Of The World, all beer review posts are subject to my own honest opinion.