Cookie Thief

 At 6%, Cookie Thief is a quirky little stout from Toronto’s Bandit Brewery. It’s an oatmeal cookie stout that, according to the Bandit website, is brewed with lactose, cocoa nibs and oatmeal, conditioned on graham crackers. The beer comes in 355mL cans that have a raccoon scheming for a plate of cookies.

Cookie Thief has has a powerfully sweet aroma, with loads of chocolate, brown sugar, and, sure enough, a little touch of graham crackers. The beer has saccharine notes to a silly degree, with chocolate and vanilla. There are some roasty malt notes and just a slight touch of cocoa bitterness.

All told, this beer ain’t really for me. But, to be fair, it delivers what it says on the tin. It’s too sweet by far, though there is an agreeably smooth texture. I’d be willing to bet it’d taste really nice over ice cream.

Rating: 6.5 out of 10.

Triple Play Fan Pack: Sweet Spot Mocha Marshmallow Stout

Whipped up by Toronto’s Left Field Brewery, Sweet Spot Mocha Marshmallow Stout contains lactose sugar, marshmallow, vanilla, cocoa nibs, and coffee beans. It’s sold in 355mL cans and clocks in at 6.2%.

Sweet Spot is a dark brown stout with a thin covering of cream head. It has a sweet, toasted marshmallow and vanilla nose. The beer is pretty sugary, particularly at the front end, with notes of vanilla and marshmallow. The finish has some pretty decent coffee bitterness.

A pretty tasty dessert-style stout with decent strength and a smooth texture, Sweet Spot is enjoyable stuff. It’s a touch too sweet, but otherwise solid.

Rating: 8.0 out of 10.

Imperial Biscotti Break

Gargantuan and sweet, Imperial Biscotti Break is made by Danish brewer Evil Twin Brewing in Stratford, Connecticut. It’s a mighty 11.5% imperial stout brewed with coffee, vanilla, and almond. Sold in 1 pint cans, this is a beer not to be trifled with.

IBB is a black ale with a tan foam. It has an assertively sweet and strong nose, rich in vanilla and espresso notes. But the sweetness in the nose is nothing compared to the flavour—a syrupy, vanilla-soaked booze ball with notes of sweetened coffee and some warm amaretto drizzle.

I tend to be dubious of big, dessert flavoured ales. I find them too sweet and often a bit artificial. Evil Twin’s Imperial Biscotti Break lived up to half of that equation—it was certainly sweeter than I’d have liked, but there wasn’t a whiff of artificiality. The vanilla and almond flavours were nicely integrated, but I’d have liked a bit more java bitterness to provide a semblance of balance.

Rating: 8.0 out of 10.