Finch Secret Stache Stout

Secret Stache Stout is a robust stout. The specialty ingredients, vanilla bean and lactose, lend to its complexity and full flavor.
While no actual chocolate was used to brew this beer, heaps of chocolate malt give the beer its color as well as its chocolate and coffee notes.

3.7

319 reviews

Chicago, United States

Community reviews

3.6 Can. Black in color with a tan head. Roasted malts, light sweetness, milk chocolate and coffee in aroma. Coffee and cocoa bitterness in taste. Good drinkability. Longlasting roasted finish. Quite smooth too.

3.4 500ml can (Tommyknockers, Helsinki) Pleasant roasty aroma, a bit sticky, maybe scalded milk too. Taste even better, super rich, but mellow too, nice coffee cake creaminess. Full palate, roast sticks to the tongue. Finish is milky coffee. That might be because they added lactose and coffee? So, yes, this tastes of beer with stuff added. However, it’s very drinkable.

3.6 Can at One Pint Pub, Helsinki. Colour is dark brown with small slightly brownish white head. Aromas and hops: Dark chocolate, chocolate, some vanilla and roasted malts. Very strong flavours for this abv.

3.2 Some vanilla in the aroma. Crisp, carbonated body with only mild vanilla in the flavor. Really dry finish. There is something missing from the overall brew.

3.8 Can, 1pt @ Ville ja Vilja. Pours black, beige head. Smooth, malty, roasted, vanilla aroma. Smooth, vanilla, caramel, malty flavor.

3.8 1 pint can @ Ville & Vilja, Tampere. BBE 12/2016. Pours black color with a large beige head. Roasted malts and caramel on the aroma, cocoa and mild vanilla, fair amount of hops too. Flavor is very pleasant creamy chocolaty, roasted notes and malts, cocoa and sweet vanilla, subtle coffee, mild hops also. Slightly bitter yet creamy palate, nice balance. The amount of vanilla is just right here. Very tasty. 4426

3.9 A small taste from wiosna (can) @ One Pint Pub. Pours very dark brown with a low off-white head. Aroma is dry roasted malts and dark chocolate. Flavor is dry roasted malts, dark chocolate, coffee and hops. Great.

3.6 Can to tulip. Black with an average tan head and ok lacing. Aroma is cocoa, chocolate, coffee, and roasted dark malts. Flavor is coffee with cream, dark chocolate, and a slight sweetness. Medium mouthfeel and a creamy dry finish. Nice beer.

3.0 Draft. Black color with thin tan head and minimal lacing. Chocolate and vanilla aroma with a hint of tobacco. Chocolate malt with vanilla. Creamy mouthfeel with some bitterness in the finish.

1.8 Cigarette taste alert! Light body for a stout. I am not a fan of this canned incarnation. The 4 of them were pricey. And for what? A bland, bodiless stout with very low ABV?

4.1 A very tasty stout. Pours dark with a thick head. Thickish mouthfeel with a ton of bitter chocolate and residual lactic character.

3.8 Nice aroma of chocolate, vanilla, and a hint of coffee bean. Ebony color with a dark tan head...nice volume on the head. Sweet malt up front. Dark roasted malt flavor, bitter chocolate, with a nice sweet balance Some vanilla hidden in there. Bitterness is like bitter chocolate, nice flavor, coats palate on the way down. Coffee flavor echoes as well. Slightly slick mouth feel. Nice stout.

3.5 On tap at Brasserie Beck. Dark black body with thin head. Nose is malty and toasty. Tastes also nice and malty and spicy. Syrupy thick texture. Pretty good.

3.9 Pours an opaque, extremely dark brown with an ample dark tan head with a reddish hue. Spider webbing around the inside of the glass. Coffee and lactose on the nose. Thick and smooth with some fine carbonation. A lot of depth in the flavors. Coffee, vanilla, and lactose.

3.9 Really enjoy this one; nice blend of chocolate, coffee and a touch of vanilla. Smooth, creamy, not too boozy - lovely.

3.1 Can. A- Dry cocoa, bitter chocolate, roasty. A- Black color, black liquid, brown head. T- Roasty, cocoa, slightly bitter, dry, subtle coffee, subtle vanilla. P- Full body, thin texture, average carbonation, dry finish. O- The vanilla should have been a lot forward considering it advertised the vanilla on the can yet it was very subdued. Quite dry and roasty and didn’t seem very complex or rich at any point.

4.1 Can poured into pint glass from Lucia’s Bodega, Windham NH. Aroma is strong chocolate, vanilla, and roasted malt with hint of coffee, fruit, and liquor. Appearance is pitch black with negligible, transient coating of light brown head and no lacing. Taste is sweet chocolate, vanilla with smoke/ash and mild coffee bitterness. Palate is medium bodied with creamy thick texture from the lactose, average carbonation and nice long balance of sweet and bitter finish with a pleasant sensation between the back teeth. Overall, this is a nice beer.

3.0 バニラスタウト、あますぎないけど、あまい.

3.4 Very refined easy drinking stout, barley, coffee, chocolate, moderate carbonation, would buy again

2.7 Pours coffee blaque with tan head. Aroma of some roasts and cocoa and shit like that. Flavor is a lot of roast with some vanilla and other sweets. okay.

4.7 Draft from The Porch restaurant in Oakland, Pittsburgh. Lots of roasted dark goodness. Like biting into a savory brownie made from oats.

3.9 Had a can of this with my father-in-law for Father’s Day. Nice coffee taste with some chocolate. Not overly thick or heavy. Great value beer.

3.8 This pours a pitch black color with a slight head. The aroma is extremely robust to roasted malts and slight hint of vanilla. The flavor is pretty thick and rich. The robust flavors are big, bold and linger on well into the after taste. Fairly decent for the style but yet not what I was expecting from a sweet stout.

3.7 Sometimes you think you’re getting a stout with frills, but you really don’t and it ends up being a fine beer anyway. Finch’s Secret Stache Stout is an example of what I mean: it claims to be a milk stout made with vanilla, but I really didn’t get any. That’s okay, but the result is a solid, good-tasting, easy-drinking beer at a good price, too. I poured a 16oz can into an English pint glass. It had an enjoy-by date of 9/23/15 and cost $2.59 ($0.16 per ounce). Appearance: Typical black color with ruby red edges. Pours to a large, brown, frothy head which laces and retains quite well. Smell: Noticeably vanilla sweetness at first, but quickly overshadowed by the base milk stout brew with noticeable lactose aroma and roasted malt. A bit mild, though. Taste: Sometimes I notice when a brew is marketed as brewed with a certain specialty ingredient, that ingredient is only noticeable on the first few swigs and then blends in with the rest of the palette. That’s what happened here. The vanilla was relatively sweet, not unlike that of a candy bar. Far from cloying, for sure. It eventually fades and drinks like a familiar, traditional stout. The lactose sugar imparts some light sweetness while roasted malts offer a bit of contrast in the way of somewhat bitter/burnt flavors. Not much in the way of distinct hop flavor, though there’s enough to give the palette balance. Overall, it’s enjoyable but I can’t help but think so much more could’ve been done. Drinkability: At only 5.3% ABV, Finch’s Secret Stache Stout is far from any kind of obese, imperial brew – yet too hefty to be a session beer. There’s quite a lot of body to the mouthfeel – it’s soft and fairly thick, but calm with a smooth texture. It leaves a slight tang in the aftertaste, but is otherwise clean. This feels like a heavier beer than it is, though. One pint was more than satisfying. Score: 7/10

3.6 On tap at Daily Growler, UA: blackish pour with a tan ring. aroma of cocoa and coffee. tastes are toasted malt, milky, cocoa, vanilla, slight soy. oily light to medium palate. 7.2

3.6 Can poured into a tumbler..dark brown with a fluffy off white head..aroma of coffee,chocolate,vanilla,malts..lot going on for a lower ABV stout and it’s in a can..not bad at all.

3.7 Canned. No clear date. Pour into a tulip. Pours black with a very large very pretty tan head. Aroma is roasted malts, very sweet chocolate, coffee notes, slight sweetness (vanilla?). Flavor is again, sweet chocolate flavor. Pretty good body on it for a 5.3% beer. Not too weak. Vanilla comes through in the aftertaste.

4.0 Pint can. Jet black and tan head. Wow. What a flavorful chocolate and full bodied. Damb surprised how rich this is for 5%. Who needs an imperial stout when you can have this?

3.4 Sample at the brickstore. Good bit of roasty malt. Chocolate is present but well balanced and nice. Nice roasted coffee aroma and bittersweet flavors on the finish. A little thin malt body but the flavors are good enough.

3.3 4/18/15. Howells and Hood. Pour deep mahogany with little head and no lacing. Faint roasty nose. Drinks like a delicate milk stout w strong vanilla and swerve notes. Super smooth and drinkable. Doesn't leave much of an impression.