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Nitro? Who drinks a nitro beer when it isn't Christmas? Oh, wait. I mean candy canes. Well, I don't even eat those at Christmas. However, I think I have probably had more nitrogenated beers in my life than I have had candy canes. I don't think I actively dislike candy cane, but they aren't anything special. But, I don't hate peppermint, so let's see if this beverage can pull it off.
When I cracked the can, the fact that this is nitro was immediately underscored. The familiar crack-swoosh of a nitro head building immediately made me think there might even be a widget inside this can. Nothing clangs around in the empty can, but a suspicious weight at the bottom of the can made me look, and the plastic widget is affixed to the can. The familiar Guinness-like black beer with a light tan head immediately puts me at ease. The aroma of peppermint atop sweet malt really makes me want to start slurping.
First sip is... you know how some things with peppermint in them can let the peppermint go too far and run away with the mouth, so you have nothing left to taste? This isn't that. The peppermint leaves are not the candy cane they promise on the label. Instead, they are more like adding a few leaves to a sweet stout, and it's a very nice and subtle way of doing it. I think milk stouts should be used as a base for a lot of different experimental beers.
Tip-in is almost too smooth, and the nitro is to blame. The slight peppermint and sweet malt are just barely catching their breath for the rest of the swig that will follow. The middle is strangely ephemeral with highlights of sweetness and peppermint and the most silky smooth beer I can remember having. The finish is chocolate, peppermint, earth, and brown sugar that turns into bitterness for the trail off.
Bottom Line: I hoped for more flavor.
2.5/5
