I got around to sampling Neapolean Neapolitan Stout a few days ago, the latest one-time release from the prairie’s only liquor store that produces its own beer, Sherbrooke Liquor (usually produced on their behalf by Alley Kat). The concept is utter brillance – a stout brewed with chocolate, vanilla and strawberry (neapolitan, get it?). The original creative mind behind the beer, homebrewer and beer savant Ernie Boffa, won a gold medal in the specialty category at the 2009 Aurora Brewing Challenge for this beer, and it caught the attention of Jim Pettinger, the mad genius over at Sherbrooke. Jim added the comic twist of associating it with Napoleon and thus the beer was borne. (As an aside – yes – Napoleon’s name is spelled wrong on the label. Sometimes even the best proof-readers miss something.)
I had the great fortune of trying (and judging) Ernie’s homebrew entry last year in the Best of Show round and so I was curious how a commercial version stacked up to his original. It is an interesting enough story to warrant a Vue or CBC column, but I am quite backed up with topics right now, and I fear by the time I get to it for those venues it will be gone. So onbeer.org will have to suffice.
It pours a deep, midnight black with virtually no head, just a thin ring around the edge (I suspect this is a crime caused by the chocolate oils). The aroma is chocolate and dusty cocoa with moderate roasted barley. The flavour offers a bittersweet chocolate upfront followed by a lingering burnt coffee roast at the end. I also get some dark rum raisin notes as well. I detect some background of vanilla but it is subtle. Sadly, the strawberry gets absolutely lost in all the roast and chocolate and stout-i-ness. The finish is moderately sweet and both the cocoa and the roast linger after the swallow.
My memory is that Ernie’s original had more of a tri-flavour impression to it, but even then the strawberry struggled. I think it is too delicate a fruit to compete against the bold footprints of cocoa and roasted barley. However, his version holds my memory for invoking neapolitan ice cream in a way that this new version doesn’t. This one is more of a chocolate stout with some complexity.
I hasten to add that is not a bad thing. It is an enjoyable, assertive stout that will appeal to stout fans, chocolate fans and fans of interesting beer. I am glad to have tried it. Plus the label is pretty funny.
I also suspect that if Napoleon had found homebrewing he wouldn’t have felt the need to march across Europe to prove his manliness (likely one of the many reasons why Ernie is a far nicer person than Napoleon ever was). All he would have to do is brew a kick-ass stout. Which is maybe the real lesson in this beer: homebrewing contributes to world peace.
June 14, 2010 at 6:15 PM
I agree 100% about the difference between the commercial brew and the homebrew. Unfortunately the logistics of bottle-conditioning the beer with ten cases of strawberry schnapps made a true clone difficult. I suspect that the lost ice-creaminess was an artifact of non-fermentable sugars in the schnapps.
June 14, 2010 at 10:24 PM
The spelling was intentional. When I was a kid, I always got “Neapolitan” and “Napoleon” mixed up, so I called it “Napoleon Ice Cream”, so we chose the name as a mix of the two. Jim found the quote, which I thought was just perfect.
The original homebrew was long gone, so Neil never got a chance to try it, so the closest thing I had to let him taste was the Chocolate Butterscotch Ripple Stout, which turned out to be a much darker stout with the butterscotch and vanilla downplayed, so he actually did a pretty good job of mimicking the mix the a large brew just off tasting it (even without 10 cases of schnapps), but the large scale was definitely more beer and less ice cream, compared to the homebrew which was more of an equal beer-ice cream mix. The strawberry and vanilla come out a little more if you are patient enough to leave it out of the fridge for 90-minutes, or drink it at cellar temperature. Either way, throw in some ice cream and it still makes a pretty tasty float. 🙂
June 15, 2010 at 10:03 AM
Although not a serious stout drinker, the second I heard about this beer I knew I had to try it. Congrats to Ernie and Jim for coming up with an all-around very intriguing beer! From the name, the slogan and label, and all the way to the last sip it is a very unique brew.
I’ve only had one good session so far, but I feel Jason’s review is spot on. Reading about the differences with the original homebrew version, I understand why I had a hard time tasting the strawberry as well. Next time I plan to take Mr. Boffa’s advice and let the beer warm a bit longer to see if I can find that elusive berry in the mix.
Cheers!
June 15, 2010 at 4:53 PM
Oh thank God. I thought I did that!
June 16, 2010 at 11:25 AM
Sounds like you could just add a little strawberry schnapps to your glass.
Having tasted some of Ernie’s creations at various competitions (I think my favourite was an “oatmeal raisin cookie” beer), he is without a doubt the most successful brewer I know of that incorporates fruit/spices/oddball stuff.
June 18, 2010 at 9:04 PM
After reading this I need to go buy some tomorrow!