BridgePort Black Strap Stout

Brewed by BridgePort Brewing (Gambrinus Company)
Style: Dry Stout
Portland, Oregon USA

Thick, frothy & foamy, tan head. Deep black-brown hue. Roasty, dark and baker’s chocolate aroma. A bit of anise and vanilla. Tastes much like a bigger and chewier Guinness (which I hate using as a reference point for dry stouts, but, spot-on). Leaves behind a sweet, tacky stickiness in the front of my mouth. Medium body, velvety/sticky texture, average carbonation.

Dark brown opaque body with a medium tan head. Some mild roast in the aroma with cocoa and a hint of coffee. Roasty, rather bitter, some light chocolate and coffee notes. A fairly solid stout.

Bottle. Nice looking dark body with a thick foamy beige head. Nose-malts and molasses. Taste-very crisp and kind of mediciny, in a good way. There is a taste there that reminds me of the taste of malt extract-and trust me, I know what malt extract tastes like. Very smooth, but seriously, the finish has a hardcore extract twang. The twang is going to cost it some points.

I expected to really notice a heavy sweetness from the molasses, but I should have realized it would ferment out and leave a pretty dry beer, as this was. Roast is the featured theme here, lots of dry, burnt, ashy charcoal of barley. A little touch of caramel once you focus. Hops not prominent, just balancing. Bittersweet chocolate. A fun beer when you want something a bit out of the ordinary. Attractive near opaque showing some red at the edges, nice head and lacing, as with most of their beers.

Bottle. Dark black pour. Roasty malt aromas and flavors. Some chocolate, but not a whole lot. While it was a little syrupy, it also felt a little thin, and a little too active in carbonation. Still fairly smooth.

Bottled. Full-on toasty, darkly sweet, roasty aroma, some hint of the molasses to be found here along with lighter notes of milky coffee and brown sugar. Black with dim red-brown highlights and a slight, fading head. Flavor profile begins with a rush of dark, sugary sweetness, thereafter becoming roasty and lightly bitter before the chocolatey, lightly hoppy and drying finish. Fairly well balanced. Smooth palate, low effervescence and a medium body. Noticeably better as it warms.

Poured a clear almost black color with a tan head. Sweet malt of chocolate and a light roast with a dry mild bitter finish.

Nice, very dark pour with little head. Certainly, it does not have its own weather system. ;-) Hints of chocolate and molasses, and a little caramel in the aroma. Not too strong, but smooth. Nice, crisp taste unlike a lot of stouts. Finish is coffee tasting, not too sweet. Really enjoyed this stout. As a rookie, I’d have to say it’s one of my favorite stouts so far.