Great Lakes Blackout Stout

Brewed by Great Lakes Brewing Company
Style: Imperial Stout
Cleveland, Ohio USA

Appearance: Pours a dark brown, near black body with a full, frothed, khaki-colored head. Smell: Roasty, creamy, chocolatey aroma with an underlying spiciness and a scent of vanilla powder. Taste: Creamy dark chocolate and smooth, sweet caramel. Light fruitiness. A touch of wood, roast, and light spice. Sprinkled vanilla-flavored sugar. A bit warming in the chalky, chocolatey finish. Mouthfeel: Medium-bodied. Medium carbonation. Drinkability: Though I could use a bit more fullness to the body, it’s still a very good stout. Good one, Great Lakes.

Bottle courtesy AllAboutStout. Pours cola brown with a tan head. Nose is coffee and cocoa powder with a subtle fruit influence. The flavor is similar, but a touch bitter in the finish. Not very smooth on the palate and a bit hot in the finish.

Pours dark black with a reddish hue, and a finger of tan head that fades quickly. Excellent roasty aroma, with strong chocolate notes. Great complex taste, an initial burst of dried fruit which gives way to chocolate followed by the warmth of the roasted malts and alcohol. Great stout.

Dark brown with small, quickly dissipating white head. Scents of chocolate, burnt roast, and minor dark fruit. Taste is incredibly balanced: sweet fruit and chocolate, bitter roasts, and a fantastic hop background. Imperial greatness all the way.

Black as an impy should be. Tan head is short lasting and aroma is very prominent of chocolate and caramel. Mouthfeel is more on the creamy side, flavour of dark chocolate, caramel not much coffe but very malty. About as good as any 9% imperial stout.

12 oz bottle (I have no understanding of this crazy Imperial measurement stuff, metric all the way for me!) shared with Jan Primus, his bottle, thanks so much Jan! Pours a great, thick and typical viscous Imperial Stout look. Aroma is really nice, a lot of dark chocolate in this one, something I like. Lots of the intense "chocolate milk" character. Taste is more of the same, just a really good, enjoyable Imperial Stout. Chocolate, toned down hops and anise, but still good roasty bitterness. The key to this one is the nice thick, creamy mouth-feel. Very nice. I wish, had I not been under-age, that I’d had this stuff back during that blackout in 2003 (or was it 2004? 2005? whatever).

Pours black with thin lasting tan head. Malty aroma, not much there, hint of dark fruits. Sweet, caramel, a little coffee. It’s full bodied and worming but still a good drinker with the low ABV and not too much harshness.

Bottle. Pours black with a little dark amber around the edges and a thin brown head. Aroma is roasted malts. Taste is roasty chocolate with coffee. A bit of hops in the finish. Smooth and tasty.