Muskoka Double Chocolate Cranberry Stout

(Written this past Sunday)
This weekend has been really weird. Friday night I chipped my tooth somehow on a bottle of Great Lakes Winter Ale! Luckily the chip is so damn tiny, you can barely see it at all, but it's left my front tooth feeling jagged against my tongue and so annoying so dentist here I come! Then saturday I was harassed by some random homeless woman. She swore at me because I was actually in a rush and told her that as politely as I could saving me from hearing her entire (fictional) life story that brought her to Union Station broke and homeless. It's okay though. I went to the LCBO to get some Christmas presents and thought I deserved a treat to review later tonight. Luckily I stumbled upon this giant bottle. I've been really into stouts and porters lately (blame the winter) and I saw 'double' and 'chocolate' and my eyes lit up. I thought to myself: I deserve this.

I've had some Muskoka beers before. They make a really great lager actually, which I normally am not a huge fan of, but this one I could tell was probably one of the best lagers out there. I also had the Harvest Ale which was pretty decent. Their website shows all the different kinds of beers. Unfortunately it doesn't have anything about the Double Chocolate Cranberry Stout! Oh well, the title is long and specific enough to really encapsulate what you are going to experience. I am stoked!

Pours dark, thick and black like a stout should. Maybe it's just because it says it has Cranberry in it that I feel like the head has a tinge of pink amongst the dark brown. First few sips are delicious. It's kind of light in texture and the chocolate really kicks you in the aftertaste. The initial flavour is a subtle cranberry sweetness that mixes with the dark stout taste. I think making it 8% alcohol was a great idea because it's strong enough to add to the flavour but not too strong to make it overly bitter or sickly. I am really impressed by this. It's a truly chocolaty and sweet affair while still remaining bitter and dark. Some sips I almost feel like I'm drinking a dark cocoa gone cold. I know that may turn a lot of beer drinkers off, but you know what, it's the holidays and you need to embrace flavoured beers like this. Winter ales and Chocolate stouts are what Christmas is all about. This is a great beer to sip while sitting by a fireplace, an old man tapping away on the piano, an old woman baking you cookies in the next room, and an elf massaging your feet.

I know I said that Aphrodite was my favourite chocolate stout, but this may be it instead. I think it has a slightly better texture. Don't get me wrong though, Aphrodite is fucking amazing and you all need to try it!

90%: Fantastic beer! Delicious and has a great light texture to it. Initial flavours of cranberry are subtle and tasty then it finishes off with a lingering dark chocolate wash. All of this comes in the vehicle of a perfect stout. Perfect holiday beer! Sip this one with a loved one by the fireplace.