Cottonwood Almond Stout

Brewed by Carolina Beer Company
Style: Sweet Stout
Mooresville, North Carolina USA

A nice, rich, black brew with a nose of vanilla malts and smoke. The smoky, nutty flavor underlies a deep chocalatey vanilla base, with a hint of smoke swirling through. Overall, a better than average stout.

The almond is a nice touch... this is actually a pretty enjoyable stout. Since it is brewed here in town, I will definitely pick this up again next winter.

Name: Almond Stout
Date: 07/20/2005
Mode: Bottle
Source: Tasting

black, whispy tan head, big sweet almond aroma, lots of vanilla, dry roasted malt flavor, touch of artificial flavor that shows up more like a tartness, a bit of nutty character that’s nice, just a hint of burnt bitter finish

Aroma: 7/10; Appearance: 5/10; Flavor: 5/10; Palate: 5/10; Overall: 10/20
Rating: 2.8/5.0
Score: *4
-------- /> The score was calculated based upon the notes and an old scoring system.

Oily black color. Thick tan head. Looks very good. Good lacing. Almond comes through in the aroma with faint traces of fresh roasted coffee. What would be an enjoyable but thin stout is tainted by an unpleasant metallic aftertaste. Still the almond shines through in extract form with a bit of chocolate. Blast you blasted aftertaste!

Bottle. Thanks to OldGrowth for sending me this. Poured a dark body with nice size head. Aroma had a sweet nutty smell, If the beer hadn’t been called "almond stout" I would never had guessed almond; maybe I don’t eat enough almonds to have the smell register with me. Also smelled was a slight cheery aroma, odd. Flavor is way to sweet with a sweetened dry taste that lingers on the palate a little too long for my tastes. Slightly thin with a nutty taste and an odd feeling going down. This wasn’t that bad but not one I’ll drink again. It did have a nice creaminess to it.

bottle, from Raleigh Whole Foods. Good aroma, sweet. Almonds, Almond extract, Almond biscotti, those toasted almond ice cream things I used to get from the ice cream truck. Blackish brown color, good head that faded quickly to nothing. Sweet bitter flavor, like aroma with a roasty chocolaty addition. Medium body, oily smooth mouthfeel, finish is almost invisible except for a lite almond taste, but very lite. Better than I had expected, but I do like almond. It went down easy. Unique and I think it works well.

Bottle. Pours black as black with a small brown head, which goes away quickly. Sweet almond aroma, like almond cake or biscotti, rose. Flavor of sweet almond cookies, rosewater, hint of coffee with cream. After taste of almonds, lactose sugar, but that disappears very quickly. Bit stick in the back of the throat, like soy milk. Body is nice and thick but not too thick, again like unsweetened soy milk. Damn! This is a fine fine beer. Sooooooooooooooo smooth.

Bottled - This poured a tight black with a dark tan head... The aroma in this beer is amazing.. smells like an ameretto wedding cake... awsome flavor to accompany a stout.. but the flavor lets u down... Its a very astringent tinny almond flavor.. very much like cherry Nyquil.. not enuf roastiness..bad aftertaste... buy it if u want a nice smell.. or save urself the trouble and get an ALMOND CANDLE!