Neighbourhood Brewing – Dark Magic Horchata Milk Stout

Neighbourhood Brewing – Dark Magic Horchata Milk Stout Review

Now that Neighbourhood Brewing is officially open in their new brewery ( just down the street from Bad Tattoo Brewing in Penticton, where they have been brewing and canning for the last year), they have the space to flex their brewing muscles and create some fun beers and seasonals. Their first winter seasonal release is “Dark Magic” a sweet milk stout.

This stout has some traits of a traditional Horchata; a Mexican drink that is made with rice, flavoured with cinnamon and sweetened with sugar, with some recipes calling for milk and vanilla. While this stout does use rice, the other elements are certainly there.

This stout pours a very dark chocolate colour and creates a massive tan coloured head that quickly disappears. The aromas are a blend of milk chocolate, roasted malts, a hint of vanilla and cinnamon. It is lightly carbonated, and light in body, so it is very easy to sip away at it and enjoy a creamy mouthfeel (thanks to the addition of lactose) with a nice cinnamon and chocolate finish. While stouts are always a nice style to enjoy in the winter months, because of its light body, this beer would be enjoyable in the summer months as well.