You know, I’ve been known to go bananas for beer. Far less frequent an occurrence, however, is when my beer goes bananas for me. Mind you, it’s not entirely unheard of, as I have a fondness for Well’s Banana Bread Beer after all. Brouwerij de Troch in Belgium makes a banana lambic as well, though I’ve never tried it.

That makes Thomas Creek Banana Split Chocolate Stout my second banana beer. To be quite frank, I had never heard of this beer before I walked into my local Taco Mac and there it was on the beer menu. There seemed to be much debate about the beer amongst the bartenders, with the general consensus being that there was no general consensus. I asked for a sample, and it interested me enough to order up a glass.

Thomas Creek Banana Split Chocolate Stout is part of their “Atypical Series” of beers. It’s sold in 750 ML crown caged, corked bottles as well as (obviously) draft. Ingredients and specs listed on the website are:

Malts: Pale, Black Patent, Chocolate, Crystal, Roasted Barley and Flaked Oats

Hops: Chinook, Warrior, Cascade

ABV: 7.5% IBU: 52 Original Gravity: 18.71° Plato

No mention of banana, but the label says that dried banana is added, most likely as a powder. You might remark there’s no mention of chocolate, either, but there is chocolate malt, which is roasted in a similar way as cocoa beans to produce a chocolaty character.

Thomas Creek Banana Split Chocolate Stout pours to a jet black color with a moderate creamy head formation and a roasty chocolate nose. Didn’t really get much banana in the nose, though. Taking a sip, I get a creamy mouthfeel with dark bittersweet chocolate, powdered cocoa, and a delightful roasty bitter finish.

Now I know what you’re asking at this point. You’re asking, “But bruguru, this is a banana slit stout, just where is the banana? You can’t go very far in life without any banana in your banana split stout!” Well my friends, my first thought was that this was called a banana split stout because the banana had split.

Upon reflection, though, and careful pondering of Thomas Creek Banana Split Chocolate Stout across multiple gentle pulls, a little more smooth, creamy banana started to come through. If you try really hard, you'll get the faintest hint of banana, perhaps as in a hefeweizen, though not really as much as I want in a beer called Banana Split Stout. Still, there’s enough there to go with the chocolate to start to suggest a banana split in the mind’s palate.

Overall, I very much enjoyed this beer, if a bit pricey at $7 for a pint. It was a full mug pour at least, and not a short pour. Taco Mac had it listed as 7.4% ABV, while Thomas Creek has it as 7.5% on their website. It’s definitely a recommended try, and a beer that I for one would buy again.



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