Attik Brewing

More stouts, gods in the heavens, give me more stouts! There are plenty to be had, from breweries known and unknown. This one in particular is a known one, Attik, although I haven’t had much experience with their stouts. White Delight sounds…a little suspicious based solely on the name, but seeing that it’s described as a pastry stout, flavored with coconut, almond and white chocolate, you can’t resist a taste. This is also one of La Mundial’s stock, having rested for a few cold months. Since it is a stout at 9.6%, it’s unlikely that much damage was done.

Soft and fuzzy pouring out, little head, just a little cap on top. It doesn’t explode with scent sensations, but the coconut makes a firm point of being noticed. Not much else comes through to the nose. There’s a natural feel to the coconut taste, very woody and scratchy. It’s sweetish, but not excessive. There seems to be a little vanilla lurking around, peeking out of trap doors or from the fronds of palm trees. Although full-flavored, the beer is not heavy or difficult, it goes down very smoothly and doesn’t have a lot of alcohol weight to it, despite being almost 10%. It has something of an ice-cream or fudgecicle feel to it, with a layered but clearly chocolate taste and smooth and cool texture. Since we’re coming close to summer now, with sun and temps and everything, it’s something to keep in mind. Especially since my beloved stouts seem to be having their moment in the sun. Or maybe more than a moment!

Nothing like a stout on a potentially rainy day, and nothing like a pastry stout for a relaxing weekend. Attik’s Soprano sings out to me with promises of delights and joys on the tongue. The cacao is pretty standard at this point, but I don’t recall seeing hazelnut in a pastry stout, although there was a Black Velvet version a few years ago. There’s something vaguely art deco about the design on the can, which is another plus for me, although I can’t quite make a connection with the song and the art. Maybe the beer is so good it makes you squeal those high notes.

It lives up to its style perfectly, oozing out of the can and trailing chocolate, vanilla and some kind of liquor through the air. It doesn’t build up a thick head, but looks almost jelly-like in the glass. A couple more careful whiffs tilt my perception more to chocolate syrup than anything else. It’s oddly not sweet at first, sort of a mild dark chocolate taste, but then fingers of orange and red berry grab at your tongue. It doesn’t quite go sweet, but more fruity-tangy. The pastry part becomes more and more apparent, sort of a raspberry pie drenched in chocolate. I may not be hitting high Cs, but I was always more in the alto range anyway.

Supplier: La Mundial
Price: €7.70