Beer of the Weekend #643: King Louie Toffee Stout
Earlier this month I reviewed King Louie Toffee Stout, brewed by the O’Fallon Brewery of O’Fallon, Missouri, for the LV and thought I would give it the proper, BotW treatment.
Serving type: 12-ounce bottle. No freshness date.
Appearance: Pours a very deep brown into a pint glass. (It looks black, but I do not think it is.) A finger of tan, bubbly head leaves a layer of bubbles that settles to a spotted skim and bubbly ring around the edge.
Smell: It is sweet and malty. Chocolate, toffee, and caramel are most prominent. There are also scents of molasses and burnt sugar. There is also a festive and/or arboreal spice. In the LV review, I thought that it could be peppermint or red cinnamon.
Taste: The toffee is most prominent, but flavors of caramel, cocoa, burnt sugar, and molasses play supporting roles. The festive/arboreal spice is present as well.
Drinkability: It’s good stuff. I really like the prominent toffee, but wish the mouthfeel was a little thicker. It has the flavor, but it lacks that thick, creamy stout experience.
Fun facts about KLTS:
-Style: Oatmeal stout.
-Price: $1.79/bottle at John’s Grocery in Iowa City.
-Alcohol content: I have no clue. There is not much info about the beer online.
-Though the beer is called King Louie Toffee Stout, and that is the name printed on the six-pack caddy, the name that appears on the label is “King Louie Winter Stout.” Why the difference? When writing the LV review, O’Fallon’s head brewer gave me the following explanation. Every beer label needs to be approved by the federal Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB). Approving the use of “Toffee Stout” would have taken too long, so the brewery decided to use “Winter Stout” on the bottle label in order to release the beer as a winter seasonal. Currently, the TTB does not need to approve the design of six-pack caddies, which is why the carrier features “Toffee Stout.” Interesting, eh? I thought so, which is why I included the info in the LV review. However, the editors cut it. Bastards. (They also accidently cut the head brewer’s first name and title, so his last name is hanging out in the review’s intro without any context. I have told them about it so I hope they make a correction.)
-A propriety toffee developed by Bissinger’s Handcrafted Chocolatier was used in the brewing process.
-The beer is named after King Louie XIV of France, who granted the Bissinger family the title of “Confiseur Imperial” in 1668, making Bissinger’s the official confectioner of France.
The Quiet Man’s grade: B-.
Serving type: 12-ounce bottle. No freshness date.
Appearance: Pours a very deep brown into a pint glass. (It looks black, but I do not think it is.) A finger of tan, bubbly head leaves a layer of bubbles that settles to a spotted skim and bubbly ring around the edge.
Smell: It is sweet and malty. Chocolate, toffee, and caramel are most prominent. There are also scents of molasses and burnt sugar. There is also a festive and/or arboreal spice. In the LV review, I thought that it could be peppermint or red cinnamon.
Taste: The toffee is most prominent, but flavors of caramel, cocoa, burnt sugar, and molasses play supporting roles. The festive/arboreal spice is present as well.
Drinkability: It’s good stuff. I really like the prominent toffee, but wish the mouthfeel was a little thicker. It has the flavor, but it lacks that thick, creamy stout experience.
Fun facts about KLTS:
-Style: Oatmeal stout.
-Price: $1.79/bottle at John’s Grocery in Iowa City.
-Alcohol content: I have no clue. There is not much info about the beer online.
-Though the beer is called King Louie Toffee Stout, and that is the name printed on the six-pack caddy, the name that appears on the label is “King Louie Winter Stout.” Why the difference? When writing the LV review, O’Fallon’s head brewer gave me the following explanation. Every beer label needs to be approved by the federal Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB). Approving the use of “Toffee Stout” would have taken too long, so the brewery decided to use “Winter Stout” on the bottle label in order to release the beer as a winter seasonal. Currently, the TTB does not need to approve the design of six-pack caddies, which is why the carrier features “Toffee Stout.” Interesting, eh? I thought so, which is why I included the info in the LV review. However, the editors cut it. Bastards. (They also accidently cut the head brewer’s first name and title, so his last name is hanging out in the review’s intro without any context. I have told them about it so I hope they make a correction.)
-A propriety toffee developed by Bissinger’s Handcrafted Chocolatier was used in the brewing process.
-The beer is named after King Louie XIV of France, who granted the Bissinger family the title of “Confiseur Imperial” in 1668, making Bissinger’s the official confectioner of France.
The Quiet Man’s grade: B-.
