I’ve actually written a review on a Sunday! It’s Stout Sunday so naturally I’ve gone for one of the new stouts in the latest Tesco range. It’s been quite a while since I last had a London Beer Factory brew and this one is a big beer. At a whopping 9.2% ABV ‘Zia’ is a Tiramisu Pastry Stout. I’ve not had a pastry stout before but supposedly they are on the sweeter side of life.

Visually, the beer pours jet black with a tan head. The dessert the beer is based on is super present on the nose, with a full on coffee aroma. There are also hints of chocolate and a light sweetness mixed in. The beer itself is most certainly sweet but not too overbearing and sickly with a nice caramel flavour. Really creamy and while the booze is noticeable it masks the 9.2% fairly well. Smooth finish and surprisingly drinkable. Main disappointment for me is that the coffee isn’t very present in the taste.

A quick note on the can art: London Beer Factory follow a similar mixed paint marble like style for their can designs. This one gives me a very ‘out of this world’ sort of vibe to it. The gold lettering is lovely.

If you’re not the biggest fan of stouts but have a sweet tooth a beer like this might be right up your alley. Really delicious actually, caramel smooth flavour and as mentioned dangerously drinkable. While incredibly tasty, for me a Tiramisu stout needs to have a decent punch of coffee present in the flavour which I think was missing. A bit of coffee bitterness would have really helped balance the sweetness of the beer and created a truly exceptional brew. Fantastic nevertheless.

Score: 8.5/10

Thanks for reading! Cheers!

Additional Information:

• Hops: Not Available
• Malt: Golden Primrose, Dark Crystal, Oats, Chocolate, Roast Barley
• IBU: Not Available
• ABV: 9.2%
• Gluten Free: No
• Vegan: No
• Purchase Price: £4
• Purchase Location: Morrisons