Dulce Tiramisu Pastry Stout

 

This beer was a mistake. I placed a mail order from the team at Toronto’s Indie Alehouse and one of the slots in the case of 12 bottles I ordered was inexplicably filled by Dulce Tiramisu Pastry Stout—but I’m not complaining. Dulce is a 9.5% ale sold in 500mL bottles—the label suggests that one should “share with a friend”, but I obviously went for the whole shebang myself while marinating a steak.

Dulce is a nearly black ale with a sudsy cream head. It has a sweet and potent aroma built around coffee, and a whiff of cocoa. The flavour is extremely sweet, with a woody quality. The elevated booze is evident, as are notes of cafe con lecce, vanilla, and brown sugar.

This is a definite dessert beer. Sure, it’s a bit gimmicky, but as pastry stouts go, this one has heat and heart. I’d have liked the coffee bitterness to come through more assertively in the finish, and less sweetness would have gone a long way, but I still liked the beer more than I expected.

Rating: 7.5 out of 10.