Bonaventure Stout

Brewed by Bonaventure Brewing Company
Style: Dry Stout
Los Angeles, California USA

On draft at brewery, 11/19/07. VERY dark brown pour with ruby notes if held to strong light. Nice head retention, outlasting the other beers on my sampler tray. Served on nitro, as creaminess of texture reveals. Aroma is all coffee grounds. Mouthfeel, despite creaminess, is somewhat thin. Rich coffee flavor overwhelms almost everything else, though a hint of roasted malts peeked through mid-taste. Didn’t notice any hop character. One dimensional.

Their manliest offering, its smoky, warm, nutty, and smooth. Its well done, but not an overwhelmingly good beer. I’m not a sucker for stouts, but I found this to be very drinkable.

Draft. Blackish beer with a beige head. Lighter bodied - some malt and roast flavor but watery and flavor seems toned down. Roasty aroma. Finishes clean.

On tap at Bonaventure. Dark brown body with a small off-white head. Aroma of chocolate with coffee and a bit of hops. Flavor was nicely balanced between the hops, chocolate, and a malty sweetness. Palate was a bit thin. Decent, not great.

Nitro... Very dark, hazy, burnt orange ale with a creamy, beige head. The aroma is very roasty with notes of coffee grounds, dark chocolate and hickory smoke. The flavor is decently-balanced and mirrors the aroma. Medium-bodied with a creamy mouthfeel and very soft carbonation. Very dry, roasty finish.

Way too light to be a stout. Now, not every stout has to be black, but this is barely a deep brown. Coffee and chocolate on the nose and palate. Roasted, nutty malts. A little too thin on the palate.