Carlyle Black Walnut Stout

Brewed by Carlyle Brewing Company
Style: Stout
Rockford, Illinois USA

Black in color with a small light brown head. Really coffee rich aroma, with cardamom and cocoa. Chocolatey and walnutty flavor, like chocolate fudge. Really quite impressive. My favorite of the Carlyle offerings I tried during my most recent visit.

Served with a root beerish looking head; very thick, foamy head that sticks and stays for the whole drink. Very black and heavy looking with a light coffee hints and some nuttiness for the aroma but the beer as a whole has a very light aroma too it. Flavor has a nice bitter roastedness to start and moves into a slight raisin taste, followed by a strong walnut flavor and ending with a light coffee note to mix with the walnut. Overall, was a bit surprised at how well the nuttiness came through in the beer and would definitely recommend giving this one a try.

On tap at brewpub

This was the second to last sample before continuing our trip down through Indiana and Michigan. It was much like the regular stout with a hint of walnut. The two are similar enough to be almost interchangeable.

Aroma / Appearance - A deep black body swirled fluidly around the sides of the small glass. A thin tan head sat on tap from the time they gave me the glass to the time I finished the five ounce sample. Coffee, almonds and peat tickle the nose along with charcoal.

Flavor / Palate - The earthiness is a little different than the normal stout but the coffee is not. Black walnuts are obvious as well after a few seconds. This one is a bit smoother than the normal stout; given a choice between the two this one gets the slight nod.

tap at the brewpub-new batch that was just put on tap 12/22. pours black with a small soapy tan head. nutty aroma starts with roast, char, anise, dark chocolate and somewhat lactic. char becomes more present as the brew warmed. roasty, nutty flavors start with lots of char combined with the nuts on the finish. really quite interesting and tasty. very sharp roast. almost astringent, but in a good way-melds well with the big walnut flavors. body is a little lite, but given the alcohol content., this little boy is a session stout. drink up, because this is the best beer you can find in Rockford at this time.

Pours opaque dark brown with thin dissipating tan head, no lacing. Nutty aroma with dry roast grain and coffee. Big bursting flavor of toffee, coffee, roasted grain with moderate to medium roast bitterness. Big thick creamy palate. Man, this stuff is tasty.

Sample at the brewpub. Dense black with a small, dark creamy head...lots of roasty, burnt grains and licorice in the nose, and yes a hint of black walnut...the body is oily, nutty, with vanilla creaminess throughout...fairly short and lightly acidic finish....the nose really exploded after a few minutes, offering deeper and deeper drafts of dark candy-nutty goodness and some fresh if muted coffee...a delight.