In a small town with nine craft breweries it takes a lot to stand out, but Golden, Colorado’s Mountain Toad Brewing’s Golden Stout does just that. The brew may seem a strange choice for summer, but its lighter body and color paired with robust flavors actually make it an all-season brew.

Going to the Dogs

Mountain Toad’s Golden Stout was created this past February to coincide with Goldens in Golden, when golden retriever owners gather downtown to showcase their pups. The brewery’s location on the town’s main street motivated the brewers to get involved in a beery way. “Since it was during the colder time we decided we wanted something Stout-ish and it’s Golden so we needed to do something golden for the golden retrievers,” explained brewer Andres Rodriguez.

Originating from Mountain Toad’s small experimental system, the brew was so well received that the brewers ramped it up to a 5-barrel batch and put it into regular rotation. What started off as an experiment has turned into something much more consequential. “We’re going to take it GABF. We’re pretty happy with it. I think you’ll see it around more often,” said head brewer Vinny Morrison.

Not Your Average Golden Ale

So what is this special brew? It’s a Golden Ale brewed with coffee — ground and whole-bean — and bourbon-soaked cacao nibs. The orange-tinted straw color is an immediate tipoff that it isn’t your average Golden Ale. Even with that hint, the strong coffee aroma and robust coffee and cacao flavors come as a bit of a surprise.

The result is a pleasing, complex flavor profile where coffee leads the way, accompanied by vanilla and cacao essences. This Golden Stout also exhibits some Belgian yeast characteristics such as phenols, esters and spice, although the brewers insist they used regular ale yeast. Rodriguez suggested, “It does have a little spicy quality to it in a way where the coffee and the chocolate play off of each other, and the bourbon is in the cacao beans so you taste a little bit of butterscotchy-vanilla.”

While this may sound a bit overwhelming for summer drinking, the medium body and active carbonation keep it reasonably light. However don’t mistake the lightness for sessionability — the ABV measures 7.4%.

Patio and Variety

Mountain Toad’s Golden Stout is maybe best enjoyed — this time of year at least — in the brewery’s large and shady patio, decorated with a huge toad mural. And should 7.4% prove a little too high, the brewery offers 15 taps of all styles. “Our theme is mainly diversity and variety of brews,” said Morrison. “We always try to cater to the various kinds of tastes that come through the door.”

The town of Golden is certainly spoiled for choice when it comes to craft beer, with many excellent brews. Mountain Toad’s Golden Stout sits squarely in the top tier and merits a try.

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