Back Road Belle Gunness Stout

Brewed by Back Road Brewery
Style: Dry Stout
LaPorte, Indiana USA

Date: 07/18/2007
Mode: Bottle
Source: Tasting, Cellar Party

black, wispy tan head, streaks of drippy lace, strong roasted aroma with sweet dark chocolate, creamy body, rich roasted and chocolate malts, mostly dry with only a touch of sweetness, light and drinkable,

Aroma: 6/10; Appearance: 7/10; Flavor: 6/10; Palate: 7/10; Overall: 11/20
Rating: 3.1/5.0
Drinkability: 7/10
Score: *4

One of the best that Backroads has to offer.....A bit flatter than Guinness...One of the top sellers at our local taverns in NW Indiana......Recommended if you like dark beers.......

Moderate malty aroma, with hints of chocolate, coffee and molasses. Moderate floral hop aroma and a light yeasty aroma. Light off-white head with low head retention and lacing. Clear, brown color. Bitter dry initial flavor with dark chocolate malt middle that drys to a lingering hoppy finish. Medium body, light carbonation with a smooth mouthfeel with aslight grain astringency. This is a great improvement on the other samples tasted from this brewery.

Pours a mostly opaque black with a thin ring of tan head. Aroma of some dark chocolate, mild soy sauce and light roasted malt. Body starts with decent viscosity, semi-sweet caramel malt and dark earthy flavors with some lingering dark chocolate toward a drier finish. A pretty good dry stout.

On tap at the Back Road 10th Anniversary, served in a pint glass. This stout poured a deep brown color with light mahogany edges. There was a two-finger thick tan head that slowly diminished, leaving some light lacing. The aroma was mostly roasted malts with some light coffee and chocolate notes. The flavor was more of the same, but with a stronger cold coffee presence. Also a bit of spicy hops at the end. The mouthfeel was medium-bodied, with light carbonation. A bit watery for a stout. Not bad.

12 oz bottle. Pours dark brownish black with thin tan head. The aroma is day-old coffee, some caramel and raisin, and a small bit of chocolate. The flavor is stale coffee, brown sugar, and some dry, somewhat grassy hoppiness. Prickly mouthfeel. Ok, but not great.

Bottle. Profiting from a serial killer? Nose light chocolate with roast and light funk. Near-opaque - but not quite - black/ruby with a soapy light brown head. Bitter, dark taste, the roast malt is most-emphasized. Mildish. Cream, smooth mf. Light body with a long-lingering dryness afterward. Lacks the sourness of Guinness but otherwise paints it by the numbers.

Courtesy boboski. Black with modest off-white head. Mild malty roast aroma with some nutty undertones. Well-carbonated. Tastes pretty bland at first with a bit of the roast flavor coming through, but the finish has an unpleasant bitter almond taste that develops and won’t go away.