Goo Goo Ale from Yazoo Brewing Company

I drove through Tennessee a few weeks back and picked up a six-pack collaboration between Yazoo Brewing and the candy bar that’s the pride of Nashville – Goo Goo Cluster. The original Goo Goo is a patty of caramel, marshmallow, and peanuts – covered in milk chocolate. So, Goo Goo Ale is a brown ale steeped with vanilla beans, peanut butter powder and cocoa nibs.

On the pour, Goo Goo Ale looks like your standard brown ale – reddish-brown with a head of tight bubbles that quickly fades. The aroma is roasty with a definite vanilla note. If you’re worried Goo Goo Ale is going to be syrupy, it’s not. Sure, there’s a bit of sweetness, but I’ve also had cloying brown ales that aren’t based on a candy bar.

To get the most out of Goo Goo Ale, make sure that it’s not too cold. When I tried a can in my hotel room back in Nashville, I definitely got the vanilla, peanut, and chocolate. Back home, I just got the vanilla at first and then just the roastiness of the grain. After the glass warmed up to about 55 degrees, the peanut and the chocolate reappeared.

Is this going to become a beer anyone drinks all the time? I’m sure somebody out there will hoard Goo Goo Ale, but most of us just won’t want three or four vanilla/peanut/chocolate beers in a night. Think of Goo Goo Ale like the weirdo OREO flavors I wrote about. It’s fun to try, but once is enough.

Goo Goo Ale is a limited-edition beer from Yazoo Brewing in Nashville, TN and is 5% ABV. It’s available in cans and, as I write this, at the Yazoo Taproom in Madison, TN.