Moonshrimp Brewing Salted Caramel Stout

Moonshrimp Brewing Salted Caramel Stout

100% Gluten Free & Vegan

It’s definitely STOUT SEASON over here in Oregon. Temperatures are regularly below freezing, snow is not a stranger, and I feel cold constantly. I also have a few gluten free stout reviews in the queue now, so let’s start with one from a brewery that I haven’t reviewed in a little while.

Today’s review is an exciting one for me. Why, you ask? Because in addition to being gluten free, I am also dairy free. So every time a milky or carmely gluten free beer is released, I can never seem to partake because brewers almost always use milk products to get the right effect. Enter…the Salted Caramel Stout brewed by Moonshrimp Brewing, the first gluten free–and VEGAN caramel stout I have ever come across.

This Salted Caramel Stout is packaged in 16.9 oz. bottles and has an ABV of 7%. I don’t know much about its ingredients, apart from the sea salt and vegan caramel, but I can tell you that this beer is guaranteed to be 100% gluten free and oat free. Moonshrimp’s owner can not tolerate oats, so you can always count on his recipes to be free of them.

Below you will find the speed pour for Moonshrimp’s limited release…

The Taste Test

Salted Caramel Stout

Moonshrimp’s Salted Caramel Stout pours with a moderate head and cherry chocolate color that turns more purplish red when held up to a light source. The head of the beer bubbles down into an absolutely decadent espresso-like foam that thickly coats the top of the glass. It goes no where as I continue to type away at this review. It’s absolutely gorgeous. 

The aroma is a bit stone-fruity and teases you with caramel. The first taste reveals a dry and fruity medium-bodied stout. Its vegan caramel creates a wonderful creamy texture that leaves an impression of thickness, despite its actual body.

This Moonshrimp Brewing stout is not sweet and it is not bitter at all upon first taste. When it first hits the tongue it has a light toast and fruit quality. Then your attention shifts to texture and mouthfeel as the silky caramel character carries you to a rich roasty dry finish. Sweet never really enters the mix honestly. 

It’s worth noting, the bitterness does gently build in the background as you make your way through the pint. It lingers on the tongue in the form of roasted coffee flavors.

My favorite part about the Salted Caramel Stout is its head. Even as I consume the beer, the top still presents with a wispy layer of foam. It is beautifully dark unless held up tot the light, and has legs of foam hugging the emptying glass. The visual appearance is a 10/10 in my opinion! The head never seems to go away which is so rare with a gluten free beer. It’s also one of the darker offerings I’ve seen from Moonshrimp.

The carbonation seems mild to me from a textural perspective, but the beer certainly doesn’t look flat from a visual one. There’s a little mini fountain of bubbles permeating and perpetuating the top foam. The carbonation sort of rides in the backseat through the tasting experience, letting the flavors and textures shine through without distraction. 

Overall I would say that this is a pretty unique offering from Moonshrimp Brewing, and I’d be curious to hear how many of you out there have tasted it and what you thought. If you feel like sharing, drop me a few notes in the comments below! Until next time…

Cheers!

P.S. Like what I do for the gluten free beer community? Consider buying me a beer for my efforts! ;)