Cottonwood Hazelnut Stout

A- Pours very dark black with a brown 1.5 finger head. S- Very strong hazlenut, almost like coffee creamer. T- Starts out with hazlenut but fades quickly to roasted malt, hints of coffee. A little light and cloying in the finish. M- A little thin with quite a bit of carbonation. D- This one definitely seems like a novelty to me. Too sweet for my tastes but it was interesting to try.

Roasted hazelnut pours from the aroma. Upon closer exam, there is a deep bitter bakers chocolate and perhaps some vanilla in there as well. Pours a very dark brown with a viscous tan head. A bit of tartness lends a very drinkable quality to this thick strong stout. The alcohol content is very obvious in this one. Flavor is bittersweet with hazelnut in every corner and crevice of this beer. Don’t even think about trying this one with dinner. This is a desert beer all the way.

If you love hazelnut then you will love this beer. I love hazelnut. Rich hazelnut aroma fills the room the moment the the cap is popped. This taste like the best hazelnut coffee I’ve had, but only better.

Thanks to BleacherBum for this!! "Cottonwood High Cotton Hazelnut Stout", 2006, Bottle #243. Poured medium-viscosity, deep garnety brown with a short cap of very deep brown head. The aroma reminded me of coffee with the creamer my wife used to use in it (chocolate/hazelnut).. rich coffee and chocolate with powerful hazelnut that I could smell from 4 feet away.. a bit of oak in there as well.. I must say that I enjoyed this! The flavor had much more chocolate than coffee.. dry-roasted and semi-sweet.. hazelnut, coconut, vanilla, and grainy oak surround (also some mild sourness from the oak).. finished dry with roasted chocolate and toasty coconut (I don’t like coconut, but I’ll make an exception when it’s presented this way). Medium-bodied, dry, and slightly sour on the palate.. I wish it was a touch thicker.. grainy back-end worked well for presenting the chocolate and hazelnuts. Excellent brew!

Pours black with tan head. The aroma is great as long as you want hazelnut. I could smell the beer as soon as it was on the bar. I have to say I have never had a beer with a stronger aroma. With that in mind I assumed it was going to be a disaster in the flavor. However the flavor is definately dominated by tha hazelnut it was queit nice. There was some hint of malt and some bitterness. We then decided that this beer needed something sweet so we ordered a wood fired chocolate cip cookie and vanilla hagendaz ice cream (wood on south in Charlotte) and the combination was a treat. Suddenly the hazelnut was much more balanced with the sweet desert. I would still like more bitterness in the beer itself but as a desert beer with a nice sweet chocolate desert I would have it again in a heartbeat. On its own once is enough.

Name: Hazelnut Stout
Date: 05/02/2007
Mode: Bottle
Source: Tasting

black, wispy beige head, huge sweet hazelnut and vanilla aroma, big sticky body, lots of sweet nutty flavor, well balanced chocolate, sticky sweetness but restrained but the nutty character, light roasted and bitterness, the flavor mellows but the aroma stays strong

Aroma: 7/10; Appearance: 6/10; Flavor: 7/10; Palate: 7/10; Overall: 15/20
Rating: 3.6/5.0
Drinkability: 8/10
Score: **4

Thanks to Ross for sharing bottle #295 with us at the Tennessee Spring(ish) Tasting! This opaque black beer forms a tan head. Complex nutty aroma, big malt, coffee cocoa, lots going on here. The flavor follows the aroma and develops and changes nicely as the beer warms. Sweet, smooth palate. Excellent as well as different!

Body thanks to Ty5592: Pours an opaque black with dark brown edges and a small frothy of lightly-lacing dark tan head. Huge coconut and hazelnut sweet candy aroma has a touch of oatmeal. Body starts slightly fizzy and dark caramely sweet with some earthy hazelnutty flavor with interesting complexity and a hint of tartness. Really reminds me of cookies with nice flavor.