Recently Vocation Brewing announced that they had rebrewed their extremely popular Waffle and Blueberry, Breakfast Stout. 'Breakfast Club'
The original, brewed in collaboration with Yeastie Boys has been a very popular member of the Tesco craft beer range. The 2nd version 'Breakfast Club 2.0' sees Vocation go it alone, and in their words is, bigger, thicker and fruitier!
2.0 is very shortly set to replace the original on the shelves of Tesco.
Therefore I thought in the name of research I should taste them side by side and put Vocation's claims to the test.
The pour was similar, both were well carbonated with a slight purple tinge. The original appeared slightly thinner letting a little light bleed through. 2.0 was completely opaque.
The aroma of both was fruity, chocolatey and sweet. The original however had a distinctive spicy aroma which was missing from 2.0. I later realised this was due to the lack of cinnamon in 2.0. As I'm a fan of cinnamon this was slightly disappointing.
The taste of 2.0 certainly made up for the lack of cinnamon. Compared to the original it was thick, fruity and well balanced. Loads of tart berry character woven into a sweet doughy and chocolatey beer. The original was very chocolatey, but the fruit was actually muted slightly by the spicy cinnamon. The irony....proof that a great aroma does always equal a great taste!
2.0 had a much thicker body, probably due to the addition of Lactose in the latest version, sorry vegans. The original for a 6.9% ABV was a little on the light side.
In conclusion. 2.0 has done exactly what it promised. It was thicker and fruity. The lack of cinnamon and the addition of the lactose has resulted in a better balance and improved mouthfeel. Although I enjoyed the spicy character of the original I understand why the cinnamon is not present in 2.0
For those who love the original I'm sure you won't be disappointed by 2.0. Be sure to try it for yourself.
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