Laguinitas Brewing Co.: Cappuccino Stout

As all my good friends know, coffee and stouts are basically my two favorite beverages. The coffee stout is becoming a pretty common sub-genre at this point, which is just fine with me.

Lagunitas's take on this variety is pretty solid. It's pretty heavy on the malts and actually kind of light on the hops as stouts go, which means that this is actually a lot less bitter than you might expect for a coffee stout. The predominant flavor is a sort of sugar/vanilla malt, but the hop kicks in nicely at the end to give it a crisp finish. It rates remarkably high on the drinkability scale for a stout--I put away an entire bomber without really noticing, and I was even still craving a little bit more when the bottle ran dry.

This one doesn't quite manage to crack into my top 5 stouts, but it is certainly a cut above average and a stout that I'll be keeping an eye open for in the future.

Founders Brewing Company: Breakfast Stout

Brews like this that are the reason that I've become a huge stout fan over the last couple of years.

Founders (another one of the fine breweries from the Great Lakes State) advertises this one as a "Double Chocolate Coffee Oatmeal Stout." That's at least three different subgenres of beer plus a numeric multiplier all rolled into one bottle. It sounds intense. It tastes intense. The first flavor you taste when this hits your tongue is chocolate--not the gross "is this beer or is this chocolate" taste you get in some chocolate beers, but rather a pronounced malt flavor that has a distinctly hot-chocolately accent to it. Then coffee. Then more chocolate--this time of the dry cocoa powdery variety. Then hops. Then a finish that manages to somehow combine chocolate, coffee, and hops, and somehow it all works out. A thick oatmeal-malt body serves as the backbone for these multifarious flavors, and a mild carbonation helps keep the beer from tasting syrupy. The overall taste experience is supremely satisfying.

I've never had a stout for breakfast. But, if I ever do, this is gonna be the one. Admittedly, the flavors are big and unapologetic, and if you don't like stouts generally, this will be no exception. But if you do... dear God, please help yourself to one of these!

North Coast Brewing Co.: Old # 38 Stout

I really liked Rasputin, so I figured I'd give another one of North Coast's stout's a try. Old number 38 is a little bit milder than its Russian-inspired cousin. The predominant taste is dry smoky malt flavors, giving it a sweet-yet-dry flavor. The hops don't come through very strong at first, but as the malt flavors begin to fade, they become quite pronounced, leaving an almost leafy aftertaste. The beer is medium bodied and lightly carbonated, but despite the bold malt flavors, it's not at all overpowering.

I rarely go for Irish-style dry stouts, but I founds this one quite enjoyable. It wasn't so great that it's going to displace my preference for oatmeal and Russian stouts, but it's good enough that I might be tempted to pick it up again sometime. North Coast once again proves its mettle as a first-rate brewery.

Old Dominion Brewing Co.: Oak Barrel Stout

It's bloody cold here. We've seen very little in the way of above-freezing temperatures in the last week or so, and it's not supposed to get any better any time soon. So it's definitely the season for big, bold stouts, be they Oatmeal, Milk, Java, Russian Imperial, or--in a totally new twist--vanilla-oak.

Dominion Brewing Co. presents a new twist on a very old genre. At base, this is an irish-style dry stout, a la Guinness Draught. But Dominion's brewers took this venerable stalwart and infused it with vanilla beans and oak wood chips. Consequentially, this brew has a pleasant sweet vanilla flavor to offset the otherwise dry bitterness that defines this sub-genre. The oak taste is substantially harder to detect, just barely coming through as a pleasantly woody finish. It's got a medium body to it and is mildly carbonated. It's very tasty and approachable for a stout, though by the bottom of the glass the vanilla gets a little bit tiring.

Overall though, I'm pleased with this one. I'll definitely be looking it up again in the future.

Dogfish Head: Chicory Stout

A couple weeks ago, my buddy Joe told me I needed to try Dogfish Head's World Wide Stout. Problem is, by the time I got to the beer store, I couldn't remember the name of the beer I was supposed to get. I grabbed the first Dogfish Head stout I saw. So I made the wrong pick, but I wouldn't really call it a bad pick.

Dogfish's Chicory Stout is a very creamy stout, almost a milk stout. It's even got that faint chocolaty sweetness you tend to get in good milk stouts. But this brew's got some notable coffee flavors as well, which gives it a faintly mocha-esque taste. For a stout, it's got a very mild hop kick. Usually I would complain, but since the malt flavors are not nearly so big and bold as you might otherwise expect, the reduced hoppiness actually works out pretty well.

In fact, the flavors in this beer are so nuanced and carefully balanced that it seems to be a little bit of a departure for Dogfish. The Dogfish brews I'm used to make bold moves with pronounced and unconventional flavors. This beer, on the other hand, is a lot more traditional and reserved. The upside, of course, is that this is definitely a beer that you could have 2 or 3 of in a night before getting tired of it, which I can't say about their 90 minute IPA, as much as I love it.

A very tasty and approachable beer, especially on a cold winter night.

North Coast Brewing Co.: Old Rasputin Russian Imperial Stout

It's been dropping into the 40s at night. While that's not really all that cold for Philadelphia, for a thin-blooded Californian, it's definitely chillier than I'd like. So for me, it's officially open season on porters and stouts.

North Coast has put together a pretty solid brew here. It definitely tends toward the sweeter end of the taste-scale, but there's enough hops in there to keep the sweetness from becoming unpleasant and which come through strong in the finish. A smoky malt taste persists throughout the whole drinking experience as well. Between the intense flavors and the thick mouthfeel, this is a beer that really does a number on your tastebuds. But if you're a fan of stouts, that's not necessarily a bad thing.

This is definitely a quality brew. I don't think I like it quite as much as Stone's or Lagunitas's versions, but that's not to say that North Coast didn't do a fine job on this one. And Rasputin has the distinct advantage of being available in six-pack form. So if you're looking for a quality imperial stout but don't feel like plowing through a 22 oz bomber, Rasputin is your man.

New Holland Brewing Co.: The Poet Oatmeal Stout

Last time I tried a brew from New Holland I was very disappointed. Their amber ale just wasn't all that exciting. But everyone deserves a second chance, so I figured I'd give their stout a try.

The Poet is a respectable oatmeal stout. It's got that characteristic dark roasted taste well balanced against a substantial dose of hops. For an oatmeal stout, the malt flavors are pretty subdued. There's a faint sweetness right as the beer first hits your tastebuds, but the hops--particularly leafy-tasting hops--roll in very quickly. The hoppy bitterness and light body of the beer combine to create a very crisp and dry finish, which is somewhat unusual for a stout I think.

All in all a decent offering--not bad at all considering how light-bodied it is. But it's nothing to get too worked up about.

Elysian Brewing Co: Dragonstooth Stout

Hanging out with a fellow beer lover last weekend. It's always fun to grab some beers before we head out for the night. So that was the plan.

My friend suggested some Elysian beer. A Seattle brewery that I had never had before. Having lived in the northwest for a few years I wasn't opposed to trying some Washington brew.

One of the beers we grabbed was the Dragonstooth Stout. Sorta a strange name for a beer. Maybe Elysian Brewing Company was going for a dark name to match this dark beer. This is a thick brown-black brew with a foamy light brown head. No light penetrates the liquid and the taste starts out mighty strong. However this is an oatmeal stout, so despite the roasted coffee flavors there is also a sweet aftertaste. The sweetness is almost a creamy orange-cream type flavor and it balances out the initial bitter taste.

Because of the relative limited availability of this brewery, combined with the strange labels and names, I'm not sure when I would have tried Elysian Brewing Company. But I'm glad my friend suggested it, because Dragonstooth stout is a solid brew and definitely worth trying again. I guess that's what friends are for. Cheers.

Rogue: Shakespeare Stout

As you've probably noticed from prior posts Hof is a huge fan of Rogue Ales Brewery. Despite the fact that I have yet to review one of their beers, I too love Rogue beer. In fact I finally made my love official by joining the Rogue Nation (see membership card to right).

The Rogue Nation is nothing more than a declaration of drinking good beer and enjoying the experience. Those are ideas I can get behind of. In the spirit of my new citizenship I've purchased a lot of Rogue of late (another review to come soon).

One of my favorite Rogue ales is their Shakespeare stout. Ideally Hof should have reviewed this literary titled brew as he was an English major and has read far more Shakespeare than me. So while I can't make as many references to famous soliloquies or clever iambic pentameter as Hof, I have spent just as much time downing Rogue beers.

So onto the brew: First as you can see this is a beauty of an American stout. A very dark hue with a thick persistent spongy brown head. I wouldn't been surprised if I found some malted barley hidden within the foam because this ale has tons of toasted malt flavors. Many stouts have strong toasted malt flavors but this beer has more than pretty much any dark beer I've had that wasn't a porter. The roasted and toasted malt flavors are cut by a sharp acidic hop burst. Despite this citrus hops and roasted flavors the stout is actually very smooth. Which was sorta unexpected because of the powerful tastes.

The great look in the glass, rich flavors, and smooth taste make for a fine stout. So I clearly enjoyed this beer. Which makes me think I need to drink and review more Rogue beers. While Hof has a huge head start on Rogue reviews, I'm proud to say I took him to his first Rogue meeting hall. And now that I'm a citizen in the nation, I'll be taking him more often, as I new get discounts on Rogue pints. Booyah. Cheers.

Weyerbacher Brewing Co.: Heresy

I have to get in at least one more stout before the season's over. Soon the warm weather will be here and I'll be on a steady diet of Coppers, Pales, Wits, and Czech Pilsners. So it's time for one last hurrah, and we might as go out with a bang. Here's another Pennsylvania brewery for you: Weyerbacher. They call their imperial stout "Heresy," which seems like a fitting name for any imperial stout you'd consume on Easter weekend.

Imperial stouts are without a doubt the biggest and baddest of beers. In terms of raw flavor power, they are unmatched (except perhaps by Ruination-esque IPAs). And Heresy does not disappoint on this front. Right away you get blasted by an overload of roasted malts and a slight alcohol kick to boot. As the alcohol and malts begin to fade, a collection of other flavors begin to emerge: There's some dark fruit (cherries and blackberries I think), a little bit of vanilla, some black licorice, as well as some mild hoppiness that lingers on after the rest of the flavors have subsided. The mouthfeel is pretty thick, though not as thick as some of the truly devastating Russian stouts (Stone and Lagunitas come to mind).

I'm a big fan of imperial stouts, and Heresy certainly didn't disappoint. It's a little bit sweeter than I would have preferred, though the benefit of the mild hoppiness is that you can really start to pick up on all the other flavors that are hiding in the pitch blackness of this brew (no joke--this beer is an alcoholic black hole). A solid offering--better than most, though not quite up to competing with the likes of Stone and Bell's.

Lost Coast Brewery: [8 Ball] Stout

I don't know what took me so long to try this brew. Lost Coast has a stout with a giant 8 ball on the label. Right up my alley: I love sampling California brews, I savor stouts, pool is a great bar game, and '8' is my favorite number. Well, Lost Coast only sells this ale in 22oz bombers, so it can be difficult to locate. I found a store that sells 'em and it's time to give the brew a review.

Not surprisingly this stout pours with a pitch black color and is topped off by a decent sized head; evoking imagines of a liquid 8 ball. While the head is more a light tan than a true white, I still like the title. The beer is very carbonated and bubbles dance around on the tongue during the first sip. Flavors of dark chocolate initially emerge and are followed by bitter hops and coffee. A coffee bean after taste lingers in the mouth for a few seconds after each sip creating a very strong overall flavor. While the stout is initially too carbonated for my tastes if you let it sit for a while, the fizzyness dissipates and then the beer has a creamy body to compliment the powerful flavors.

With a title designed for my liking, after drinking the beer I was hoping to shout: "Eureka, I found it!" However, this Lost Cost offering is not the best stout I've ever sampled. But it's pretty good. Definitely worth a try. I definitely get behind the 8 ball again. Cheers.

Victory Brewing Co.: Donnybrook Stout

It's started to warm up finally, but it's still plenty cold out for a stout. I went with another offering from Victory, since their Storm King didn't disappoint. This one is totally different, but equally respectable.

Donnybrook is a stout made in the image of Guinness Draught. It's got a super-smooth mouthfeel, is only mildly bitter, and has a very dry taste. It's a tad bit maltier than it's Irish counterpart, and as a result it comes across a little bit sweeter. But it's definitely closer in spirit to Irish stouts than to your big, bold, malty American varieties.

Maybe my tastebuds are not properly attuned to appreciate Irish stouts, but I did find that this brew a little bit boring in the end. It's very well balanced however, and is perhaps the first stout I've had that could really qualify as a session beer. So take it for what it is: a no-frills, back-to-basics, and eminently drinkable beer.

Victory Brewing Co.: Storm King Imperial Stout

Now that I'm finally reunited with my computer, it's time to get posting again. As we're still in the depths of winter, it's still prime time for stouts and porters. So I decided to go local with another Pennsylvanian brewery.

Victory's Storm King is a quality stout. It's a definite flavor overload: the roasted malts and pronounced hops fight a veritable death match on your palette. On the malt side the prime contenders are hints of coffee and chocolate. The hops are primarily earthy, but you can taste a little bit of citrus coming through too. It's got a medium-thick mouthfeel, but for a stout it's pretty well carbonated. This tends to accentuate the bitter aspects of the flavor. Finally, there is a slight alcohol taste, which is to be expected, given the imperial label.

I'm a little bit of a snob when it comes to stouts, so I can't really pretend that this is a truly top shelf stout. But it is certainly one of the better stouts I've come across. So if you're in Pennsylvania, give it a try.

Descutes Brewery: Obsidian Stout

Before drinking this stout you need to prepare yourself for a big west coast style beer experience. The brew is black. Blacker than soot. It's a very dark stout and produces a deep tan and brown head to match.

The flavors are also very powerful and build off the shadowy color. Incredibly strong roasted malted barley sensations are present in every sip. Despite these intense flavors the beer is very well carbonated. There are some monster sized bubbles floating around in the head. In addition, the carbonation cuts through the roasted malt flavors producing a smoothfeeling that is necessary to cleanse the pallate. If you didn't have the high carbonation this beer would taste similar to an imperial stout. It's boasts a high alcohol content and rich flavors all around.

I wasn't expecting such a strong stout when I cracked the bottle. Deschutes' black butte porter has less alcohol and softer flavors. I'm glad I branched out from the Deschutes brews that I know. This is one of the most powerful stouts I've ever have and sometimes that's what you want. A dark deep black beer. Cheers.

Alaskan Brewing Co: Stout

Happy New Years to all beer drinkers out there. If you celebrated 2009 with some drinks I hope you are feeling refreshed and recovered. This past NYE, I somehow mixed in a variety of beverages including tequila and champagne: which I immediately regretted the next morning. Despite some poor alcohol choices, I did manage to enjoy a couple fine beers before the festivities spun out of control.

One of the beers I sampled was Alaskan's Oatmeal Stout. I had this beverage really early in the night (with dinner actually) and thus I was able to sneak in a photo and I can remember enough to give you a solid review.

The first point of note is that the head on this stout is very dark. A heavy tan color with hints of brown. The foam is an indicator of a rich flavor to come. The drink hits the pallate with a sharp coffee and dark chocolate bitterness. The mouthfeel smooths out with some dark malty flavors. Overall I was quite surprised as a lot of oatmeal stouts have a light sweetness and oat flavor. This oatmeal stout reminded me of a traditional or export stout more than the oaty cousin. Maybe that's the reason Alaskan Brew Co. puts 'oatmeal stout' in small letters at the bottom of the label and the singular word 'stout' covers the center of the trade dress. Despite my surprise, it's a pretty tasty stout. It wasn't too thick and I was able to enjoy a couple before moving on to some other less worthy drink choices. Definitely a fine way to prepare for the new year. Cheers.

Reaper Ale: Mortality Stout

Rojas and I were looking for a new brew to try and to blog, and we found our attention drawn to a bomber with a picture of a skull and a raven, labeled a "Mortality Stout." We were quite surprised to find that such an ominous-looking bottle came from such an unassuming brewery in Davis, CA.

Images of Death notwithstanding, Reaper Ale is a fairly tame brew. It's a very malty stout, and the main malt flavors are a bit suggestive of either coca-cola or maybe caramel of some sort. The hops are noticeable from the start, but definitely are not the main flavors of this beer. The flavor also has a pronounced smokiness to it, which tempers the sweetness a little bit.

The beer is medium-bodied, which means that it doesn't have that coat-the-tongue sensation that accompanies a lot of stouts. It finishes rather clean, which means that the sweetness manages to come through rather strongly without being overpowering. It's certainly a drinkable and respectable stout, though I don't think it'll crack my top 10.

*CORRECTION: This beer appears under the label of "Reaper Ale," while the company that actually does the brewing is Sudwerk. This contract arrangement explains why this beer does not appear in the style of Sudwerk's own brews. It is, however, currently brewed in Davis.

Stoudts Fat Dog: Imperial Oatmeal Stout

Only a couple hours left in the week, so I better make good on my promise to review a new beer from a new brewery every week for the last five weeks of class. Week 3: Stoudts Fat Dog Oatmeal Stout. Stoudts is a Pennsylvania brewery, and a well-known one at that, so I've been a bit remiss ignoring them up to this point. I figured I'd give them a fair shake on their first review by choosing a variety of beer that I generally enjoy.

This ale is quite unique. Lots of different flavors going on. It's got a peculiar sweetness to it that is a bit like cola or licorice, though there's also some smoky coffee notes and a dry finish that hints of a red wine. Mouthfeel is about par for the course so far as stouts go--it's fairly thick but not milk-stout thick. It finishes with a dry hoppiness that manages to take the edge off the sweetness, though in the end it's still a little sweeter than I'd like.

Nevertheless I have to give credit to Stoudts for packing so many different flavors into a single brew and making them all work together pretty well. For an imperial, this one goes down pretty smooth too--there's just a hint of the alcohol in the aftertaste. All in all, a respectable stout, but certainly not on the order of Barney Flats or Bell's Double Cream.

Samuel Smith Old Brewery: Oatmeal Stout

As promised in my last Samuel Smith review, I wrote that I would buy, consume, and post on Samuel Smith Old Brewery Oatmeal Stout. If you just clicked on that prior post, you may notice my varying use of this brewery's name. To tell you the truth I'm quite confused. On the pale ale I purchased, the label states "Samuel Smith's Old Brewery Pale Ale. However, this beer label reads Samuel Smith Old Brewery Oatmeal Stout. I don't know what happened to the apostrophe 's' but it disappeared somewhere. If you don't believe examine the pictures.

That all being said I'm pretty sure these beers all are produced from the same brewery. A brewery in Tadcaster, Yorkshire, England. A very very old brewery in Tadcaster, Yorkshire, England. Apparently Samuel Smith uses 200 year old yeast strains for its beers and ancient brewing techniques; specifically the Yorkshire Square.

As a result, Samuel Smith's brews have unique flavors you just can't find anyone else. If there is any continuity between the two beers I reviewed that might be attributed to the old brewing methods it could be a noticeable sweetness. I thought the pale ale had very sweet toffee flavors and this beer has some syrupy sweetness to it. For being a stout, the beer's sweet aftertaste was a little surprising. The sweetness reminds me of a little of coke or pepsi. That may sound gross, but it works. The sugar sensation is not overpowering at all and rounds out a pretty hearty initial mouthfeel. Besides the sweet, the stout smells like oats which isn't surprising, as it is an oatmeal stout, and the malt flavors finally start to emerge as the beer warms a little. Combined with the sweetness it's pretty good.

So I followed through on my promise to review this beer. And while I can't promise it, I'm very confident that this very old brewery will produce a brew that any beer drinker will enjoy. Cheers.

Left Hand Brewing Co.: Milk Stout

For being a state of a modest population, Colorado seems to have a lot of breweries that get recognized nationally. Being generally impressed with their offerings thus far, I decided I try one I hadn't had before. And as it's definitely getting cooler around here, I figured it was the right time to get back into dark beers. And you don't get much darker than a milk stout.

This one's pretty thin for a milk stout, which means that you don't get the creamy mouthfeel that you might be expecting. The predominant taste here is a sweetness that I'm having trouble describing. It's not very malty (nor hoppy for that matter). It reminds me a bit of annis, perhaps. It finishes with a dry earthy bitterness.

In sum, I can't say I'm terribly excited. The taste is far from boring, but the odd sweetness followed by earthy bitterness isn't all that pleasant. A rare miss for the mile-high state.

Brooklyn Brewery: Black Chocolate Stout

It's 82 degrees outside. This isn't really proper "stout" weather. But I'm moving out tomorrow, so all beer must be disposed of, and there's no way in hell I'm giving away the last bottle that's hiding in the back of my fridge, so here's one last east coast post: Brooklyn Brewery's Chocolate Stout.

The stout pours out an almost entirely opaque black with a touch of redness around the edges, and minimal head. The taste is predominantly chocolate-smoky malts. It starts off very very sweet, though it's really more of a straight up malt flavor than chocolate. The hops aren't very strong in this one, but there is enough there to balance out the sweetness as the beer rolls off your tongue.

Overall a solid brew, but not my favorite stout. It's a bit sweeter than I'd like, and the aftertaste lingers too long. On the plus side, Brooklyn has managed to mask the 10.6% ABV pretty well, so you get a pleasant buzz without the accompanying taste of an alcohol kick. Probably best for those who like big malt flavors and don't mind a sweet aftertaste.