Lion Stout

Brewery: Ceylon Brewery PLC
Style: Stout
ABV: 8.8%
Country: Sri Lanka

It had been awhile since I've had a stout so I picked up this interesting looking one from Sri Lanka. Color was a black color with hints of brown around the edges. The tan head was huge, thick, and bubbly. Nose was dominated by strong roasted notes. A sticky sweetness is apparent as well along with a wave of alcohol. Taste was surprisingly sweet. Toasted caramel along with molasses and dark fruits. Finish brought with it the strong roasted flavors that were present in the aroma. Espresso and a hint of chocolate are both present in the finish as well. Not much bitterness is present, but it is still noticeable. Body wasn't the thickest I've had but still had some heft to it. Mouthfeel also had a slickness to it. The alcohol was totally masked in the flavor which was surprised me. For an b% ABV beer, this went down nice and easy. B+

Samuel Smith's Oatmeal Stout

Brewery: Samuel Smith's Old Brewery
Style: Oatmeal Stout
ABV: 5.0%
Country: England

Mostly black with caramel. One finger, dark tan head leaves a lace that lingers the entire time. Aroma has plenty of sweet malts present along with slight roasted notes and a hint of chocolate.

First thing I noticed was the fantastic mouth-feel. This is smooth, silky, and feels great. Low carbonation feels nearly flat, but this is a good thing in this case. The lack of bubbles makes this a gem to swirl around. Light sweetness up front blends with typical stout toasted flavors. There is a metallic, acrid taste that is common in stouts. In this case, it is mostly subdued which is quite pleasing. Bitterness is almost non existent. Best way to describe this beer is mild, soothing, and incredibly pleasing. A-

Rogue Chocolate Stout

Brewery: Rogue Ales
Style: Stout
ABV: 6%
Country: USA, Oregon

Poured a pitch black, no hint of brown anywhere around the edges. Nice and thick head. The foam was a light chocolate color appropriately enough. Quite foamy and bubbly, it left a lingering lace.

Rich chocolate aroma with a touch of oatmeal. Quite a pleasing aroma, this is up there with the Founder's Breakfast Stout in the smell department.

Initial taste was sweeter than I initially expected but certainly not in a bad way. Earthy hop flavors mix with the sweetness initially. Smooth, dark chocolate flavors are present throughout. Finish is bracingly bitter. The aftertaste presents the toasted flavors that I was expecting. Best way to describe it would be roasted toffee. Bitterness lingers a long time.

Mouthfeel was nice and creamy from oatmeal malts. Carbonation gives this a nice spiciness that mixes well with the flavors. Certainly not a typical stout. Coffee flavors are much more understated than in a typical stout. By far, my favorite part of this is the aroma. So smooth and chocolaty, I could smell this all day. Everything else about this beer is incredibly pleasing to sip on. Fantastic. A

Brooklyn Brewery Black Chocolate Stout

Brewery: Brooklyn Brewery
Style: Stout
ABV: 10%
Country: USA, New York

This had been burning a whole in my fridge for a while now, so I decided to break this off. On a cold, snowy day, a stout is always a good choice. Broke out the ever useful pint glass for this one. I was greeted with a dark, black body that was thick and tar like. A coffee colored one finger thick head stuck around for awhile before settling into a nice lace. The aroma had a good amount of chocolate to it with some alcohol and a hint of toasted coffee.

The first sip revealed a thick body that had a good mix of the expected stout flavors, toasted malts, coffee, chocolate and plenty of bitterness. The light carbonation allowed me to easily swish it around and savor the flavors. There was also lots of alcohol at the end which isn't too surprising seeing how this beer is a staggering 10% ABV. I enjoyed this beer more when it was fresh out of the fridge while it was colder than how a stout is typically served. The cold temperature masked more of the alcohol taste while still allowing plenty of the malt flavors to shine through. Once it warmed to the standard stout temperature, the alcohol became too overpowering. Overall, keep this beer on the colder end of the stout spectrum and it is very good. B+

Sweetwater Tavern Giddyup Stout

Brewer: Sweetwater Tavern
Style: Stout
ABV: 6.4%

Yup its a cellphone shot, didn't think bringing my DSLR into a restaurant would have been too appropriate. None the less you can see the dark, motor oil like color and sticky head that is so common to a stout.

Per its brief description in the menu, "roasted malts & real coffee make this stout well balanced & smooth...decaf not available!" I settled down expecting a standard stout with a hint of coffee and a malty finish. I took one deep inhale and captured little to no aroma other than some faint malt but no coffee. This left me perplexed.

So down the hatch it went and I immediately found the coffee, it was all hiding in the flavor. It was an overpowering taste to say the least. Once my first try was finished the after taste set in and the first thing I could think of was the over roasted burnt coffee you get from Starbucks. This beer left a lot to be desired. Although I did have a second in hopes that maybe someone had accidentally given me a cup of coffee with some foam on the top, I was still sadly disappointed.

On a scale of 1-10 I rate this beer a D. If I had wanted a cup of coffee I would have ordered one.

-Roy

Also my amazing cell phone photography skills are available for weddings.

Great Divide Yeti Imperial Stout

Great Divide is a brewery in Denver Colorado that has been putting out some amazing stouts. I don't like to check online ratings of a beer before I post my review, but I looked up Great Divide on www.ratebeer.com and found them to have 3 different varieties of their imperial stout that all score the highest rating of 100.

This particular version comes in at 9.5% ABV and an amazing 75 IBU's (for a stout). It pours like motor oil, and instantly gives off a strong and delicious roasted coffee aroma when you start to pour. It has virtually no carbonation or head to speak of. Initially this beer tastes typical of a roasty stout, but has a toffee-like quality to it. It is a very heavy bodied stout. This beer shines in the aftertaste. After having this delicious nectar in your mouth for a few seconds and swallowing it, you get an amazingly complex taste in the aftertaste. I actually couldn't put my finger on it at first, until I read that this beer has 75 IBU (International Bittering Unit's), which is high for a stout. I also hadn't realized that it was 9.5% ABV until I was half way through with it and was wondering why my body was instinctively telling me to take it slow with this beer :)

I had this beer with a spicy chili... which probably wasn't the best pairing for such a heavy beer, but it was a great experience nonetheless. I'd give this a solid A rating.

-Bo

Bell's Special Double Cream Stout

I really wanted to do a specific beer for my first review, but unfortunately I could not get the 750ml bottle cold fast enough. My patience wore thin, and I decided to have this fine beer instead.

I picked this up at the Total Wine and More in Fairfax.

This beer hails from Bell's Brewery in Comstock, MI and comes in at 6.1% ABV. It's listed as a sweet stout and seems perfect enough for the winter months. It pours a dark brown sugar color, with not much head. It has a slightly bitter, yet sweet, chocolaty taste in the beginning. Better yet, it actually has a taste that lingers around well after, turning more roasty at the end. It is certainly a heavy beer, but one can expect that from most stouts.

My favorite style of beer is stout. It's great to see so many stouts come alive during the winter season. These beers are the "comfort food" of alcoholic beverages, and the Bell's Special Double Cream Stout is no different.

I will probably tend to stray from numeric ratings, as I have an unsophisticated palate, but I give this beer a thumbs-up. I give this beer an A-

-Bo

Founders Breakfast Stout

Brewer: Founders Brewing Company
Style: American Imperial Stout
ABV: 8.5%
Country: USA, Michigan

I'll kick things off on this blog by reviewing Founder's Breakfast Stout. I've had this before and thoroughly enjoyed it and wanted a nice excuse to drink it again.

I picked this up as a four pack from the fine gents at the Ashburn Wine Shop.

The bottle lists this as a double chocolate coffee oatmeal stout. With those kind of modifiers, 60 IBU, and a 8.5% alcohol content, you know this bottle packs a wallop.

The brew poured bubbles out of the bottle with a thick viscosity leaving a thin caramel head. It was as dark as oil with no light shining through the glass. Swirling around the glass, it left a thick, sticky trail of bubbles.

I fell in love with the aroma immediately. A sturdy coffee fragrance was complemented with a rich, dark chocolate scent. Images of Starbucks and milkshakes danced through my mind. I could inhale this all day without getting tired of it.

The first sip was thick and creamy. The body on this is wonderfully heavy. A strong flavor of the toasted malts shined through with wonderful flavors of creamy-roasted chocolate, dark coffee, and hints of earthy oak. A slight taste of alcohol leaked through and hinted at the amount concealed within.

The feel going down was warming and pleasing. The hints of bitter coffee lingered for awhile after drinking this. This is so good I had a hard time savoring this and I gulped it down quicker than I ought to have. This was certainly one of the best stouts I've ever had and I'll need a good excuse to buy more of this sooner than later. Forget about breakfast, this is so darn thick and creamy I would have it as a post workout meal.

Overall I'd give this a 5/5 stars. Update: We're switching to a grading system so I'll give this a good 'ol A+

This is an excellent beer that I could drink any time of the day. If you find this do yourself a favor and pick up a couple of packs.

Thanks to my lovely wife Marley for the photos. Check out her site for more: http://marleyphoto.oliad.com/