November 06, 2011

Moo Thunder Stout from Butternuts Brewery


By Guest Reviewer Jim Walter of Chittenango, NY

I enjoy cooking with beer almost as much as I enjoy drinking it.  Almost.  I have a pot-luck dinner to attend tomorrow night so as I’m thinking about what to bring it dawns on me that soup might be good.  You don’t often see soup at a pot-luck and I like to make homemade soup so it is a match made in heaven. 

I came across this recipe for a sausage and stout cheese soup and thought I’d give it a try.   The best part is it would allow me to use up some stout that I was given from Butternuts Brewery in Garrattsville NY.  I’m not a big stout drinker but I enjoy one occasionally and it is a fine beer to cook with.

The Moo Thunder Stout pours into a pint glass from the can (yes all of Butternut’s beers come in a can) like you would expect a stout to pour with a big frothy head on it.  The beer is only 4.9% alcohol and is lighter in body than many of the other stouts I’ve enjoyed.  The beer and its name honor the brewery’s former life as a dairy farm only about 30 minutes from Cooperstown.  It has a strong chocolate aroma to it, but the flavor is more on the side of coffee. 

Not being a regular stout drinker, I’m not completely sure what to think of the beer.  I like that it is lighter than other stouts, but it does leave you wanting a little more body.  I think regular stout drinkers may be a little let down.   It is a drinkable beer, so if you come across the six pack of cows being chased by lightning you could do worse in your selection. 

On a side note, Butternuts just bought Cooperstown Brewing Company so this is not the last we will hear of this growing farmstead brewery.  I expect more interesting beers and packaging to be on the way.

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