12 oz single. Really not sure what's going on with this. A dark brown body with a decent enough head, but it fades pretty quickly to leave very little lace. Poor retention. Nose gives a little malty chocolate. The tastes are odd. The cherry obviously manifests itself, but to be honest it is simply a sour, "beer gone off" type taste. It's odd. I can't really work out if the beer is rancid, or if the cherry notes are indeed supposed to taste that way! Difficult to distinguish between the...
Notes on beers in the style
American Stout
Chocolate Stout
12 oz bottle as a single from Total Wine, Perimeter, Atlanta, GA, USA. Pour gives a still looking, dark brown body with some spotty lace on top of the mill pond body. Nose and tastes reveal some gentle, dry, bakers chocolate (cocoa) like notes. Light acidity falls in the back end. The beer seems to round out with an odd, solvent like feel and another blast of acid. Not much to like here. Mouthfeel is a bit weak and this doesn't help the apparent acidity much at all. Beer with not a lot of...
Breakout Stout
Drunk at the brewery just a few days after the first batch was brewed. (This was brewed for the first time in April 2010, but will eventually become a winter seasonal according to JBC). Classic, black pour with a few reddish highlights in the strong light. Head is thick, well formed, offers excellent retention and some nice lace. Creamy head. The nose gives a distinct oatmeal aroma (even though the beer is NOT an Oatmeal Stout) - Glenn (the brewer), suggested that this could be due to the...
Harpoon Chocolate Stout
Many thanks to DrDogBeer for the chance to try this as part of 2009 Secret Santa. Shared at The Brick Store. Pour is a fairly standard, mid-chocolate brown color with a better than expected head. Retention and lace are OK, not great, but OK. Nose is deinitely the strongest aspect of this beer wih a great, truly rich chocolate aroma coming from the glass even without much agitation. Very strong - very nice. Frankly, after that, things go downhill quite a lot. The beer is a little acidic and...
Dark Horse Fore Smoked Stout
12 oz bottle from a recent trade. Wow, quite a shocking beer in many ways. Firstly the pour is really, really, really good looking. Jet black with with no light penetrating and ome incredibly colored head - literally like a deep, rich espresso. The appearance is so striking that I am almost expecting a coffee-based RIS with twice the alcohol that this thing has. Looks viscous. The next odd thing is that there really is hardly any smoke here at all. Not in the nose or the tastes. It "sort of"...
River Company Stout
Very solid example of the style. Simple, black pour with a fine head and lace. Not much to report other than solid. Decent roasted notes with a finish that was dryish but still left me wanting more. Not the best of the beers at The River Company but quite acceptable in terms of quality and the style. Tasty and drinkable, with a solid look.
Star Spangled Stout
12 oz bottle from casemw. Finally got around to trying this, hand-labeled, bootleg bottle from the source. Cheers. Pour is a requisite blackish/brownish brown pour with those strage green highlights that a good stout sometimes produces (in my eyes at least!). A few ruby red highlights on standing. Head is small, poorly retained and doesn't create much lace - a bit of a let down considering the pretty nature of the body. Nose has a simple, sweet balance that one would expect, with very mild...
Cadillac Mountain Stout
=== Updated review 05/10 === This time the 12 oz version as pictured in the BA db. Note to self - check up on the different versions of this beer; contract brewed?? Still has a nice liquor, rich note with some decent sherry. Alcohol is present but warming and has a nice feel. Definitely has the sugary molasses taste that the other bottle had. Tasty. === Original review 11/08 === 22 oz bomber, the original. Thanks go out to.... Jet black, Guinness colored body that lacks the presence of almost...
Fuel Cafe (Coffee Flavored Stout)
12 oz bottle as a single from Total Wine in Kennesaw, GA, USA. Dark brown, almost black pour with a thin film of froth on the surface of the body but no lace in the glass. Instant Coffee nose (Nescafe) but a thin body a little lactose taste backing the whole thing up. Some bitterness in the finish. Ends dry. Certainly coffee based, but it gets lost a bit in the mix. To compete in this league you need to be much higher ABV, and probably a limited release. There is no reason why this couldn't be...
Bison Organic Chocolate Stout
12oz single from Total Wine, Kennesaw, GA, USA. Black pour with some impressive ruby red highlights especially a the bottom of the pint glass. Spotty, creamy head (after an aggressive pour), but not much lace. Nose contains a cocoa based, dry chocolate powder. The taste however goes the other way and had plenty of milky chocolate creaminess - the full chocolate spectrum. The finish is especially milky and creamy. I enjoyed this more than I thought I might. A manageable ABV and a creamy beer...
Bell’s Special Double Cream Stout
12 oz single from Liquor Barn, Lexington, KY, USA. Batch #7684. Jet black pour with some orange highlights at the extremeties. Nice milk chocolate head froms which provides good lace. A mild funk in the aroma that I suppose is the lactose/cream element but it smells a little odd - slightly sour. Taste reflects the style but lacks any serious sweetness and the lactos element seems to have turned to mild cheese in my sample! Doesn't really do it for me, the beer lacks a certain depth and taste....
Old Plowshare Stout
A Whole Foods purchase as part of a four pack. Good head on the pour that tends to fade, but still leaves some lacing and a little spotty, creamy film on the surface of the beer. Color is a dark brown. Nose is a good, deep chocolate cocoa with some espresso notes. Tastes are mild, milk chocolate and a tiny bitter coffee. Very nice. Dry is the keynote here, and a very, very nice mild creamy chocolate aftertaste. Quite impressed.
Iron Horse Stout
Black with ruby port colored highlights. Mouthfeel and body is very, very light but surprisingly (especially for a stout) this does not really detract from the beer. Some alcohol with roasted rather than bitter flavors. Some Porter tendncies, this is a light stout that doesn't really suffer from this lack of depth. Smooth and drinkable, I enjoyed it. Apparently a gold medal winner in the sweet stout category at the 2004 Beer World Cup.
Highland Black Mocha Stout
22oz Bomber. Opaque black body excpet for the bottom half inch of the glass where there is a detectable ruby red highlight package. Head is large and frothy but disappointingly short lived and no lace is apparent. Medium body with very little carbonation. Definitely all dark roasted, chocolate malts but the nose is bigger than the taste. Slightly dry finish. Drinkability is above average for me in terms of the style. I enjoyed this, and it went down quite well.
Black Strap Stout
Black pour with plenty of rum colored highlights. Nice persistent small head, with some creamy lacing. Massive aroma is apparent as soon as the bottle is opened and is really rather surprising and impressive. Rich, sweet chocolate aromas are the most impressive. Lots more creaminess than normal. Although this is thinner than a traditional stout in my view, it makes an absolutely delicious Porter! Nice alcohol presence too. Absolutely no bitterness at all. Finishes long and smooth.
New Holland Dragon’s Milk Oak Barrel Ale
Thanks go out to Beerinator for the opportunity to try this as part of XBIF 39. 22 oz bottle, with silk screened notes. Pour is dark, dark garnet brown with a nice head but it is short lived. Very little lacing to speak of and only a small film of fine tan bubbles are left behind. Sweet vanilla notes in the nose with some lactose sweetness too. The mouthfeel is thin for a 9.00 ABV beer, but this is not really a problem as the tastes hold it up well. Tastes have a lactose sweetness and a...
Black Hawk Stout
To me this a much more traditional stout than many of the more modern representations out there. A black pour with hints of brown too, there is a distinct smoky aroma present. Good head and nice lacing. Tastes are on the dry side of things with some burnt malt character and a really good astringent hop bite. Not "hoppy" hops as such, but dry and bitter - the kind of stout my Dad would have enjoyed drinking. Dry and short finish, this is an old-time stout where double this and uber that have...
Bell’s Kalamazoo Stout
Jet black, inky pour with some very small red highlights at the bottom of the glass when held up to strong light. Small but perfectly formed, mocha coffee head and some decent lacing. Creamy mouthfeel and a classic lactose, sweet stout nose and taste. A very, very mild smokiness lightly touches the senses, but there is no roastiness at all. Very mild. A tiny bit of bitterness in the finish but its insignificant and the drinkability is exceptional. Perfect balance. Delicious.
Obsidian Stout
Best Before 4/21/05, drunk in November of '05, so six months or so late, but I doubt that it matters a great deal. Jet black body, some nice spotty lacing and a tiny bit a lacing. The body is very attractive, super-inky! Mild, burned smokiness in the aroma, not strong but still observeable. Drinks much like a Porter, with a little bit of the typical stout bitterness in the short finish. Some dry cocoa in the taste.
Dominion Oak Barrel Stout
Apparently black body with a small tan head and a little lacing. On holding to strong light some dark ruby red highlights come through. A little smokiness in the aroma, but the taste is sweet with the vanilla just pushing through a little. The combination of sweet vanilla and the oak smokiness make this a stout with a really good body, but at the same time quite light. As a result its drinkability is pretty high. Nice lingering , balanced sweet and bitter finish. Nice example, slightly...
Cabezon Stout
Picked this up as a single bottle on the clearance shelf. This beer was originally brewed by Cabezon but was swallowed up by Rio Grande when the Cabezon outfit closed. I'm not sure if they are still brewing this, or if this was a bottle left over from the original brewer, but I've added it at Todd's suggestion. Good looking pour, jet back with a lovely tan head. The head fades quickly to reveal a creamy, spotty layer on the surface of the body. The fact that there is no lacing gives away the...
Old North State Stout
Delicious example of the American stout. Plenty of dark coffee bitterness is the initial experience followed by some creaminess. Nose is hoppy, dark and nutty against the backdrop of the truly black coloration. Some extensive lacing too makes for an attractive looking pint. I'd highly recommend this to both the malt and hop lovers out there since it's one of those beers that manages to pull off the delicate balance between the two tastes very well. Well worth trying.
JW’s Stout
A decent if somewhat thin offering. Good appearance, with a foamy, bubbly thin head thst diappated quickly. Very little lacing. There were some spicy, chicory flavors up front and a body that was preetty drinkable and not substantial. the alcohol comes through in a pleasing way, but strong, but it's there. No real chewiness associated with this stout, but a nice Sunday lunchtime drink. You could drink this in fairly large quantities because of it's light body, or alternatively just have a...
Sierra Nevada Stout
Large head resulted from an agressive pour, but it disappointed quickly. After that it looked good with an opaque black, solid looking appearance. A lot of bitterness in the whole taste and experience for me. Some of it wasn't really the usual burnt chocolate or dark malt and hops, it was simply bitter and rather unappealing. There didn't seem to be a real softer side to take the edge off the bitterness and as a result it left a clawing aftertaste that I was singularly unimpressed with....
Chicory Stout
Very nice experience. I was a bit dubious about the Chicory part of the name as I thought that this could lead to some interesting taste clashes, but the beer pulled it through. Black, but with some reddish brown hints, a small creamy head that didn't last long. There is a distinct burned coffee aroma to this one, and a lot of dark chocolate tastes. Not chocolate that is smooth and creamy, but more like bitter chocolate. Nice balance of malt and hops, with a pleasing bitterness for me - not...
Chocolate Stout
I had heard an awful lot about this beer, and as a result I was concerned that it would not live up to the hype. In the end it was just about what I had expected. It poured like liquid mud! Tan head. The chocolate character did two things for me. Firstly it took away the bitterness of the stout and secondly it made the aftertaste somewhat dry. Given that stouts are not my favorite style, I enjoyed it, but not as much as some others seem to have. Real stout lovers would certainly write better...