Third Street Sugar Shack Maple Stout Review

Name: Third Street Sugar Shack Maple Stout
Style: Stout
ABV: 6.5%

It's time to make our way back to snowy Minnesota and look at a winter seasonal from Third Street Brewhouse, which I have mentioned in a previous post, was formed by the owners of Cold Spring Brewery to better position themselves in the craft beer market.

The beer in question is Sugar Shack, a stout brewed with maple syrup, which comes from Saint John’s Abbey Arboretum, located at the St. John's University campus in Collegeville, MN. The brewery, located in Cold Spring, is about 10 miles from the St. John's campus.

Sugar Shack pours a dark brown color with a filmy brown head. I'm picking up some slight carbonation along the sides of the glass and there isn't any lacing to be seen here.

The nose starts out with a pungent maple syrup and chocolate malt smell. I'm picking up some light hoppiness as well, but it's a rather malt-forward and I'm not getting any roastiness interestingly enough.

Contrary to the nose, Flavor-wise it's quite roasty with notes of roasted barley, maple syrup, chocolate, and roasted malts. The aftertaste has a sweet maple flavor to it along with some bitter hoppiness.

The body and overall palate is light & creamy. To add to the drinkability, it's lightly carbonated so you shouldn't have any trouble drinking this.

All and all, Sugar Shack is a pretty good stout overall. The maple syrup could've a stronger role in the flavor and some people will be turned off by the idea of maple syrup-flavored beer but it works out fine just the way it is.

Thirs Street Sugar Shack Maple Stout - 8/10