Hopworks Organic Survival Stout

Brewed by Hopworks Urban Brewery
Style: Stout
Portland, Oregon USA

Name: Seven Grain Stout
Date: September 21, 2009
Mode: Draft
Source: Brewpub
Words: cold pressed coffee
Appearance: black, fine beige head, drippy lace
Aroma: rich roasted coffee aroma
Flavor: rich coffee flavor, touch of caramel sweetness, lots of roasted, touch of bitter dark chocolate
Aroma: 7/10; Appearance: 7/10; Flavor: 7/10; Palate: 7/10; Overall: 15/20
Rating: 3.7/5.0
Drinkability: 8/10
Score: *** /4

From the Jug at the GABF Colorado Convention Center, Denver 11/10/2008 Roast aroma. Small beige head. Black smooth and a little rich on the palate with a crisp and slightly dry coffee roast finish.

Draft @ HUB, Portland, OR. Pours a black color with a small tan head. Has a roasted malty coffee aroma. Roasted malty chocolate and coffee flavor. Has a roasted malty coffee finish.

Bomber from Liquid Solutions. Pours quite black with a four finger tan head. Lots of coffee and chocolate in the aroma. Body is a bit thinner than anticipated. Carbonation is mild. Flavor is harshish coffee and darkly toasted malts, or perhaps grains is more correct in this case. Coffee tends to dominate the chocolate which is more noticeable in the finish. Really a joy to drink.

(Draft) Sampled at GCBF 2009 in Victoria on September 9, 2009. Nice velvet texture. Good coffee base. Sweet, some under tones of vanilla. Good start to beer fest and remarkable brewer/brewery. 8/4/8/3/15

Tap @ Cafe Vita in Portland, first brew of the trip. Pours black with a nice tan head. Nose is sweet and roasty and quite malty. Taste is rich and smooth with nice notes of chocolate malt.

2008 Spring Beer and Wine Festival. Pours ebony black with a tall beige head. Big roasty stout, chocolate and coffee icecream flavors, rich and smooth. I’ve found myself less then impressed with a lot of stouts since I enjoy imperial stouts so much, this was very well done while still allowing you to drink a few pints. Smooth on the palate, not a watery boring mess.

Appearance: Pours out a clearish, dark brown, near black body with a well-sized, frothed, khaki-colored head. Smell: Hearty and fulfilling - it’s like the reunion show of some long ago canceled television sitcom. Retired, aging, has-been grains sitting alongside barley and wheat, who’s beer careers have been on an unprecedented meteoric rise, to share memories and swap stories with limited commercial interruption. Taste: The Survival Stout utilizes more well-known grains including barley, oats, and wheat, but it also contains a number of ancient, oft-forgotten grains: amaranth, spelt, quinoa, and kamut. Starts with a flavor of fine dark chocolate syrup with touches nutty oats, molasses, Dutch cocoa, and with a background taste of crisp, blackened grains. Medium degree of sweetness throughout. Also, there’s a buildup of smooth, tasty espresso. Meager earthy hop character and bitterness, with more perceived bitterness attributed to the grains than the hops. Finishes dry and roasty. Mouthfeel: Medium-bodied. Medium carbonation. The mouthfeel is velvety to a point. Yes, yes, it is. Drinkability: Somewhere, in a secret, candlelit room, the uninvited, unwelcome Rye Grain sits alone brooding. From floor to ceiling, the walls are plastered with iStockphoto.com stills of the various grains all X’ed out with bright red lipstick. This won’t, this cannot end well. Survival Stout, with its wide array of various grains and added cold-pressed espresso presents a rich, inviting complexity and yet there’s a very, very sensible ABV%. Recommended!