Appearance

The Twin Sails Brewing Con Leche pours easily with a light amount of chocolate brown head.

Aroma

I’m detecting fresh roasted or fresh ground coffee with steamed milk. The coffee aroma is so intense that I can almost taste coffee grounds. Underneath the coffee is some roasty malts. As the beer warms up, some cinnamon starts to come through along with dark chocolate.

Flavor

The Con Leche has a stout-like thick mouthfeel. Each sip reveals intense bursts of coffee flavor that seem to intensify between sips. Once my palate begins to adjust for the bold coffee flavors, I start to pick up notes of cinnamon. Halfway through the beverage experience there’s a milk chocolate undercurrent to the taste profile.

Balance

The coffee and cinnamon flavors dominate the palate. It’s very enjoyable, but each flavor exists as a separate silo, and the coffee, cinnamon, chocolate and roasted malts never seem to harmonize.

Finish

Each sip starts with intense coffee flavors, and each taste finishes with dark roasted coffee flavors. It immediately reminded me of coffee made over a campfire with very large grounds. A sweet milk like mouthfeel comes through about 15 minutes in as the Con Leche starts to warm up.

Overall

The Twin Sails Brewing Con Leche does not spare in intense flavors. This ranks among the most intense milk stouts I’ve ever had the pleasure to try. The coffee flavor is intense, and I do get a big shot of caffeine by the time I’ve finished my drinking experience. Although the overwhelming coffee flavors blow out the balance, it’s part of the charm and interesting character of this particular beer.

John McTavish

SCORE

6.83

Cost/Point

$0.50

Scoring System

Personal Beer Review: Twin Sails Brewing Con Leche