Nonna Tiramisu Stout from Ora Brewing Beer Review

I picked up this can of Nonna Tiramisu Stout from Ora Brewing at the Strait and Narrow in Lincoln. I have to say I'm really looking forward to it as I love stouts, I love Italy, and I love Tiramisu so really this should tick just about every box for me. Ora Brewery is based in Totenham, London despite originally been founded in Italy. I guess my one concern about all this is that it says 'designed by Italians, brewed in London' and I'm not sure I can name a decent Italian stout, lets face it they aren't exactly one of the beer brewing powerhouse countries in general are they, but maybe this will be a first.

Nonna Tiramisu Stout comes in a 440ml pink can dotted with coffee beans, it looks alright. The beer contains a not to be sniffed at 5.6% alcohol and pours really nicely, about as black as black can get with a good tan head which sadly dissipates far too quickly. It's probably best described as what most stouts look like in all honesty. The aroma very much matches the can in that it's absolutely all about the coffee beans. There's some roasted malts in there, and I'd say some vanilla too, but I was expecting something sweeter and more chocolatey.

There's already something just not quite right about this beer, and as the can cost me £5 I was really hoping for something to take me back to my days in Venice or the desserts of Tuscany we'll see how the tasting goes. Nonna Tiramisu Stout isn't full bodied enough for my liking. A real stout like this should feel like you're drinking something substantial and piling on the calories in the process, this feels at best medium bodied, a bit thin, a bit watered down, just not quite right. Maybe this is why Italians look so healthy if even their stouts are light beers. 

In fairness the taste isn't bad at all however it feels like I've bought a normal coffee beer rather than a tiramisu one. Sure there's lots of roasted coffee beans coming through, and a bit of vanilla, but where's the chocolate, where's the cream? Frankly where's the Italian flare? If I'd bought this as a £3-4 coffee stout I think I'd have enjoyed it, but I was hoping for something much more unique and flavoursome. I'm going to give Nonna Tiramisu Stout from Ora Brewing 6 out of 10. This is a decent, passable coffee stout. It's not a tiramisu stout.