13 oz. pour- ~$7
Background
Did I mention that Girl Scout Samoa cookies are like crack for me? Well, now I have. So when I found out that Monkey Town was including them in their “Stout’s Honor” series of cookie-conditioned milk stouts, I knew I would be in. So on Wednesday, May 16, I called and confirmed the beer was available…then headed over to the restaurant/brewery while the skies threatened to open up and pour rain. Literally, it was raining on the plateau, about 5 miles to the west of me and it could spill over into the valley at any moment, ruining my cigar pairing attempt.
When I showed up this beer had literally been available for purchase for about an hour…so new it wasn’t listed in Untappd. All I have to go on is the description from the brewery’s Facebook page:
This is a Sweet/Milk Stout that was conditioned on many, many cookies of the above flavors. These stouts are a little different than what most are used to and are carbonated less, are thick, chewy and sweet. Dessert in a glass is the best way to describe them.
Notes
The base milk stout here holds up really well, with a slight coffee note in the maltiness. The star of the show, though, is the added flavor from the cookies. Serious notes of caramel and chocolate, with just a hint of coconut. The beer was sweet and smooth and eminently drinkable. This could be a year-round favorite of mine if Monkey Town’s brewmaster decides to deliver it.
I paired the beer with a slight variation on what I’ve been doing…this time it’s a Charter Oak Maduro by Foundation Cigars and the mind of Nick Melillo. This is a Nicaraguan blend made in the AJ Fernandez factory and utilizing a Connecticut Broadleaf wrapper. Naturally sweet already, the beer just made this cigar seem sweeter, while the leaf brought out a spicy note that the beer wouldn’t be expected to have.
As I got about halfway done with the cigar and beer the wind kicked up pretty ferociously. Thunder in the distance made it clear I wouldn’t stay dry for long just sitting under a tree…so I moved under the awning to finish. This beer was so good, though, I didn’t want to rush anything. Honestly, I might have found a new Monkey Town favorite. The cigar pairing was very good, though a Tabernacle (also from Foundation) would have been better. What can I say? I didn’t want to risk having half a Tabernacle drowned in a thunderstorm.
I was going to wait until the normal publishing scheduled time to post a new article, but I decided to make a space for it early. If you’re in East Tennessee, stop what you’re doing and get to Monkey Town Brewing Company in downtown Dayton so you can try this beer. It’s very limited (10 gallons?) and won’t last very long. The cigar review that was going to post in this space today will show up next Monday…and the following Monday will conclude this “May with Monkey Town” series…or will it? I hear the next installment in Stout’s Honor uses s’more cookies. God help me!
