Cottonwood Hazelnut Stout

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

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

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.

Poured a dark brown brown with a golden rim with a thin off-white head. Huge hazelnut aroma. Smells like a candy bar. Disappointented by the flavor the hazelnut was light but still there but there was a tartness and the body was light.

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!

This was easily the surprise of the Knoxville tasting. Keep in mind that this immediately followed the BA Speedway, which I figured would be akin to Charles Grodin following a coked up Robin Williams on the tonight show. But alas, this certainly held its own. Pours black, with a big beige head. Very nutty, sweet aroma, like Nutella, I think. Sweet, nutty flavor, too, with notes of walnuts, marzipan, and almonds. Nice brew here. Thanks to ross for bringing this to the tasting!

Bottle #295: Ross brought this limitied release goodie to the Tennessee Spring(ish) Tasting in Knoxville, TN on 3/10/2007... Cottonwood Hazelnut Stout is black in color with a diminishing brown head. The aroma is just bursting with chocolate, coconut, and marzipan. Very unique. Even better, this beer tastes just like it smells. Rich and pleasingly intense coconut and marizpan flavors waken the tastebuds to new and exciting flavors. An Almond Joy coconut flavor lingers long after the finish. These great flavors are accompanied by a moderate level of sweetness overall. The only thing that was a little disappointing about this beer was that seems to be over carbonated to the point of being almost to fizzy for the medium body to suppress. Ross, this was an extremely tasty brew. What an experience! Thank you so much for sharing it. I really appreciate it.

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!

Thanks to Ross for the chance to try this beer. A dark brown almost black pour. A huge aroma of coconut controls the aroma of this beer. It was hard to drink it because the aroma just held onto you. There was just a little let down on the taste but the aroma made the taste almost impossible to measure up. A slightly sweet flavor with the coconut bearing the majority of the flavor chased lightly by the hazelnut. The palate was a little thin and a tad over carbonated. The aroma carries this beer not a bad flavor but what could hold a candle to the aroma. thanks Ross!