Northern Monk - Festive Star
As I think we both knew deep down, the 330ml can signed a stout Monday was on the cards and sure enough, Day 21 revealed this 6% vanilla, cinnamon and chocolate porter - a festive revamp of Monk's popular 'Northern Star' porter.
Dan
I was fairly excited on unwrapping this!!
I had seen it kicking about online and whilst I don't often buy porters or stouts in that more 'sessionable' ABV range (as a rule of thumb the chubbier the stout, the chubbier the flavour) this is exactly the kind of beer I would have picked from the cask at the Northern Monk Refectory in Manchester during the Xmas period if places were open.
The vanilla and cinnamon were just present enough to provide interesting layers of flavour sitting atop the chocolate. In fact, we had both chilled these (in the mis-placed hope of a can o' yellow hop juice) and as this warmed, that tingly cinnamon heat started to come out nicely. As I kept harping on about, this beer would go down a treat on cask during a few wintery scoops out with friends and I think NM have had a pretty good go of liquifying those festive vibes!!
Score - 3.75
Jack
I think it would be fair to say I wasn't jumping for joy when we unwrapped this one, and that is no comment on Northern Monk who I have a perpetual soft spot for. I just really wanted a mind-blowing TIPA to blow away the late-December blues. However, disappointment was short lived.
The nosefeel on the crack was rewarding and served to push aside any less than festive feelings I may have had. Notes of chocolate and cinnamon were nicely perceptible on the old sniff test but didn't open up as much as I had hoped on the pour (chilling this for as long as I did was a bad call). The mouthfeel was thinner than I had expected it to be, but thick enough to let the flavours of chocolate, cinnamon and vanilla develop on the tongue in turn before relaxing into a toasty malty bitterness. As the beer warmed, and as the alcohol started to take effect, I began enjoying this more and more, growing into a really pleasant sessionable stout. However, Festive Star, for all it's good points, isn't as exceptional as some of Northern Monk's other stouts and could have benefitted from a thicker, stickier body.
Score - 3.75
Hey, if you have enjoyed reading this, maybe you might like to see us drink the beer, you know, if you have nothing better to do. You can find the video here.
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