Might be better with a splash of Chambord.

I’ve been salivating for this beer ever since I first heard of its inception a month or so ago. And last night, I finally tasted it at Big Bar.

(I’ve also heard they have it on tap at the Molly Malone’s in St. Matthews and at HopCat as well, and I’m sure it’ll be popping up all around the city eventually.)

It’s the unique combination of two Cincinnati-based companies — Graeter’s Ice Cream and Braxton Brewing Co. — into a Black Raspberry Chocolate Chip Milk Stout. And at 7% abv, it packs a slight punch that had me buzzed before dinner. #buzzedb4dinner

But let’s get to the taste. It’s definitely more stout beer than ice cream, so don’t go in thinking you’re going to have this amazing dessert-gratifying experience. I also didn’t taste much black raspberry and would have liked that flavor bumped up a bit more than it was. However, all in all, it was quite delicious and filling, and the chocolate chip flavor works nicely with the milk stout.

A month or so ago, I had that Ben & Jerry’s-inspired beer and didn’t like it at all. It had a fake, astronaut-food-like taste to it, which this does not have at all.

I’m wondering if it might be slightly better if, next time, I order a pint of it on draft and add just a splash of the black raspberry liqueur Chambord to it. They do that in Ireland all the time to Guinness, so I don’t see why this would be any different, and I bet it would kick that raspberry flavor up to where I’d enjoy it more.

Just a thought.