Style: Stout (Flavored, Imperial)

ABV: 9.0

98/100

Aroma:	12
Appearance:	3
Flavor:	19
Mouthfeel:	5

King Harbor Brewing Co French Toast Latte

What the brewers say

“Dessert stout with cinnamon, coffee, vanilla, lactose.”

What our panel thought

“Sugary nose with layers of rich chocolate, touches of cinnamon, light maple. It would be your bowl of Cinnamon Toast Crunch if condensed down, well balanced by a nice fresh coffee element with hints of brown sugar and molasses hiding in the background. Chocolate-forward base beer offers the perfect canvas for the dessert-focused stout. Coffee reemerges in the finish creating a nice palate-cleansing bitterness, bookending the mid-palate sweetness. Thick, sugary mouthfeel requires slow sipping, yet it remains highly drinkable.”

What our editors thought

“Beautiful nose with spicy cinnamon underneath maple syrup, whipped together into a whole with the pervasive rounded coffee. The sip is more subtle than the nose suggests, as the sweet and bitter notes both drop back into smooth cohesion.”

Review printed in: The Science of Stout (October-November 2022) (View All Issues)

Print Shelf Talker

How We Review

REVIEWS FOR YOU >

King Harbor Brewing Co Choco-Latte

“Huge nose that rotates among the peppers, the cacao, and the nutty coffee, with vanilla rounding it all out. Wonderful mélange continues into the flavor, with complexity off the chart—Mexican hot chocolate, with just a low and slow heat at the end. Malt flavors and additions are firm and not hard to find. Bitterness supports but doesn’t try to steal the show. The finish is complex and lingering with a hint of sweetness. Vanilla is the right addition; that sweetness ties it all together. Rich, with a medium-full body and no astringency.”

King Harbor Brewing Co Crew Provisions

“Every pale ale should be a celebration of hops; this beer clearly wants to wave that flag. Pine, grapefruit. and tangerine form a warm mélange, and a perfect touch of malt-and-ester punch carries the hops without taking the foreground.”

FlyteCo Brewing IMC Hazy IPA

“Earthy and dank notes blend with orange zest, tropical fruit, grapefruit, and a hint of green pepper in the nose. Citrus notes are more pronounced in the flavor with some pine and dank emerging as the sip lingers. Soft malt background. Finish is a bit too dry.”

FRESH BEERS >

The best new craft beers available in a beer store near you. Sponsored content.

New Belgium Dominga Grapefruit

New Belgium wood cellar blender Lauren Limbach was gifted a new foeder that she aptly named Dominga—a play on the Spanish word for Sunday. She first created a mimosa-inspired golden sour called “Dominga: Goddess of Brunch.” Now we are excited to introduce the cocktail-inspired version, Dominga Grapefruit Paloma. Inspired by the classic cocktail of Mexico, Dominga packs a refreshing combo of bright grapefruit and lime flavors, along with agave and a pinch of salt.

Firestone Walker Oaktoberfest

Oaktoberfest is our oak-inspired homage to the great German tradition of Oktoberfest. We go the extra mile of maturing this beer in French oak barrels to create an amazingly smooth mouthfeel. The result is a classic German festbier with a hint of West Coast hoppiness. Grab your stein, don your lederhosen, and enjoy!

Firestone Walker Parabola ’24

Parabola is always a beast of a beer, with intense flavors of black cherry, dark chocolate, vanilla, and roast coffee—yet each annual release also bears its own subtle imprint. For this latest edition, we aged the beer for a year in 12-year Elijah Craig barrels. These coveted bourbon barrels imparted signature notes of charred oak, caramel, and cinnamon, taking the Parabola experience to new heights. Pour some out in your favorite snifter; behold the impossibly opaque color as you allow it to warm up a bit; and then let the dark magic of Parabola stun your palate with its unrivaled flavor and complexity.

Sierra Nevada Cosmic Little Thing Hazy Double IPA

For the latest in the Hazy IPA series, ride Sierra Nevada’s interstellar wave of tropical flavor in this Cosmic Little Thing, a hazy nebula glowing with Comet, Strata, and Helios hops for notes of citrus, berries, and lychee. Head into orbit with this 8 percent ABV hazy double IPA before the next Hazy IPA rotator hits. Look for Cosmic Little Thing in six-packs and 19.2 oz singles.

Firestone Walker Cosmic Crusher Juicy Imperial IPA

Out-of-this-world flavor that packs a punch—take a journey with Cosmic Crusher. “Cosmic Crusher is our crazy adventure into the realm of imperial juicy IPAs,” says brewmaster Matt Brynildson. Cosmic Crusher is built around two ultra-tropical hops—Galaxy and Strata. The result is a level of flavor, aroma, and mouthfeel that can only materialize at high strength, crossing the line into a whole new cosmos of punchy mango and pineapple character. SKUs available: 12 oz six-pack cans, 19.2 oz single serve, and Mind Haze Variety Pack.

Firestone Walker Luponic Distortion

Luponic Distortion is the Firestone Walker trailblazer that continues to break the rules, back for the first time since 2021. The classic Luponic Distortion base recipe returns with an all-new hop blend to deliver a fresh blast from the past. Brewed with a secret blend of new-age hops, the 2024 edition of Luponic Distortion turns up the volume with mind-bending flavors of lychee, peach, nectarine, and strawberry. Available exclusively in the Beer Before Glory IPA Mixed Pack.