750 ml for $4.79 Canadian. How would that rate on a Beer Price Index (BPI)? Stan gave me the nod about the BPI. I think it needs to have a BAI factored into it - Beer Advocate Index - as this brew got a "D" from the one Advoctonian who rated it. I don't know if I have had a "D" rated beer before. Let's see how it goes...

Pours black with a mahogany rim when held up to the light with a light mocha thin rim and the lightest froth. Looks like a stout. On the snort, definitely black roast malty flavours with coffee and dark chocolate. Smells like stout. In the mouth... OK, I see what the guys means - but "D"? There is a bit of lightness to the body but I have had lighter stouts. There is roastiness, too, as well as minty hops. But then there is something that is sort of like bubble gum and something else that is like parsnip. The beer is not fouled, sour or suffering from anything else I take as a brewing error. It does not pour in chunky lumps.

So, it's a poorly designed beer. Yet it is only $4.79. Is there a place at the lower end of the BPI for a parsnippy stout? Can a little lower price justify a little lower quality while still not falling off the scale? It's not like I am pouring out the bottle... though I am wondering why my lips are going numb.