What could be better than Peanut butter and Beer? This season we have lots of options!
I'll tell you one thing: It's always better when we're together
Beer advocate has a discussion page on peanut butter beer, with many suggestions! Here is my sampling experience.
Dead Frog's Nutty Uncle, 6.1% and IBU 24
Dead Frog's Nutty Uncle has been my favourite for many years, and I know Christmas is coming when that is back in town. It is seems to be only available in November and December (though I just spied one or two in the Jack Lonsdale Liquor Store!). Strong rich peanut butter taste and almost like a Reese's peanut butter cup, and an altogether awesome stout. Brewed with 8 choice malts, roasted cocoa beans, and real peanut butter.
The first Dead Frog beer (a Nut Brown Ale) was brewed in Aldergrove in 2007. They have since moved to Langley where they have a tasting room as well. You can read all about the history of the Dead Frog Brewing company here.
They've also just created a mint chocolate winter ale which I absolutely love and will do a write-up on!
Left Hand Brewing's Peanut Butter Milk Stout, 6.2% and IBU 25
Left Hand Brewing, located in Colorado, has a Peanut Butter Milk Stout which - compared to the Nutty Uncle - is less of a peanut-butter cup-ish kinda stout, and more pure peanut buttery stout (think Adams natural), possibly slightly less sweet, but also really delicious. Interestingly Left Hand Brewing themselves describe it as "an adult peanut butter cup you can drink" and the design on the can clearly shows the inspiration as well... I just felt i got more of the peanut and less of the cheap chocolate - more of the dark non-sweet chocolate.
Left Hand Brewing, according to their site, started 26 years ago (though it doesn't say when that was posted) which would make its start date roughly in 1995 (and yes, i used the calculator for that :) ).
I really like their motto "Building community around better beer. Because to us, serving both is equally essential."
Btw loved their understanding of international differences - their site is one of the few that just asks 'are you of legal drinking age' rather than 'are you 21+ year' :)
Duclaw Sweet Baby Jesus!
Deep chocolate taste, not getting much of the peanut butter, but oh my baby, a sweet tasting beer.
Smells of chocolate sprinkles. There's no one thing that sets this beer apart, but altogether such a pleasant sweet easy drink!
Now, I know that this beer describes itself as a chocolate peanut butter porter. But obviously this is a stout... because... well ...
Duclaw, based in Maryland, says they "like to brew by these six words:
Craft be Cherished. Rules be Damned"
and oh how I like them words. Fiercely independent and fervently flavourful - great beers.
So if I want to call this one a stout, rules be damned.
(also, it seems no one is actually clear about the difference anyway :) https://www.craftbeering.com/stout-vs-porter/)
Duclaw Sweet Baby Swirl
Also from Duclaw is the Sweet Baby Swirl, a chocolate Peanut Butter White Stout. Calling this a stout is like calling the Sun "this little light of mine" - but upon reading more: that is exactly what a white stout is meant to be: "a light coloured beer similar to a blonde ale but with a flavour and mouthfeel similar to a cream or oatmeal stout".
What it most reminded of is 'Hagelslag', one of the best Dutch inventions that justifies eating bread covered with chocolate sprinkles and calling it breakfast and not desert. I'm thinking in particular of the black & white kind. This one is more milky than the 'Baby Jesus' with a delightful tinsel touch of vanilla and aniseed.
Belching Beaver's Peanut Butter Milk Stout, 5.3% ABV, 30 IBU
Very creamy and peanut-ful. Slightly metallic tangy aftertaste. Easy drinking and very affordable. One of my favourite fridge fillers - if the Gull has it, I'm buying it.
From their website: "Launched in 2012, Belching Beaver Brewery [California] evolved from a desire to make great beer and have a ‘Dam Good Time’ doing it. The award-winning craft beer company is focused on two things: First, have a brand that offers quality craft beer, while also being whimsical and fun to inspire good times. Each Belching Beaver beer release carries its own individual style and personality. Second, make beer for everyone and all palates. From easy-drinking Blondes, Triple IPAs, Milk Stouts, Imperial Stouts as well as sours and barrel-aged beers, Belching Beaver Brewery has it!"
Looks like the PB milk stout won a lot of awards; several Gold awards at the Canadian International Beer Awards.
Destihl Brewery Peanut Butter Porter, 6.1% ABV, 25 IBU
Starts with a shower or stout and then a slow slide into a pool of dark roasted peanut butter. Not as sweet or upside-the-head-peanut as some of the other. It reminded me of a PBJ.
DESTIHL is an independent craft brewery and restaurant company located in Normal, Illinois.
Surprising little information about the brewery on their website.
Lost Coast Brewing's Peanut Butter Chocolate Milk Stout, 5.6% ABV
This peanut butter stout is brewed by Lost Coast brewery from Eureka, which started a small operation in 2014 and has grown considerably since. I included a picture of where Eureka is, as I had no idea where Eureka was. It looks like a great candidate for a road trip south: Bend, Oregon, would be on the way as well, where you can find Deschute brewing and many many others!
From the website, it looks like Lost Coast have a great selection including a Belgian white, a number of Hazy's and a few Stouts.
Their PB Choc stout has nice roasted peanuts on the nose, and very light smooth stout. Pleasant, not too strong, mild. Not really getting a lot of the chocolate as much as the peanutbutter cup flavour - which I guess would claim to have once upon a time, far far away in the distance, met a lonely bar of chocolate. I know many of the comments on this beer on BeerAdvocate specifically call out the chocolate taste - maybe we're talking about the foil wrapped easter eggs... But don't get me wrong, this is a nice easy drinking beer that I will buy again!
P.S. I'm very smitten with this picture from their website which looks like a cubists dream of Ganesha.
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