Ithaca Anniversary Stout

Brewed by Ithaca Beer Company
Style: Stout
Ithaca, New York USA

Dark chestnut with ruby hues. Small, foamy dark tan head. Easy going carbonation. Warm aroma of lactose, oats, roasted chocolate and flaked barley. Initially fluffy with a solid body beneath, quick hit of alcohol and a deep malt backbone. Medium thick body. Dry, roasted and full with rich malt flavors and alcohol esters. Hint of lactic sweetness and oat smoothness. Long roasted chocolate aftertaste. Finishes with peanuts, a touch of plum and a thick roasted barley note. This is outstanding and even more impressive knowing it’s probably from last years batch.

An excellent stout. The flavor had everything that I look for. A bold roasted coffe body, perfectly balanced with a sweet chocolate flavor. The taste lingers on the tongue for quite a while and hides the alcohol content very well. The only downside to this beer is the head. It is very small and disappears a few seconds after pouring. Overall this is a terrific beverage.

Growler from the brewery. Pours a deep reddish black with a medium sized tan head. Sweet aroma of caramel and red wine, with perhaps a touch of molasses. Flavor is quite vinous with roasted coffee and a bit of chocolate which build in the finish. Minimal hops presense, and amazingly sessionable for a stout. Wish they bottled this, as I would like to experiment with cellaring this about a year, just to see what happened.

I am surprised to see the lower ratings of this by others after tasting it. I thought this was great. I didn't notice the strong alcohol presence that others spoke of. I did however notice lots of great roasty flavors, that lead into some sweet chocolate. Had characteristics of both a sweet stout,and an imperial. I reccomend giving this a try if you find it. Better than expected, and I will try it again.

Pours very dark brown, almost black, firm brown head. Huge roasted malt aroma, it was big but nice and soft. Flavor was quite roasty, some soft sweetness. Medium to full body, alcohol covered up well. Did I get the same beer as everybody else? Why is this rated so low?

[draft at MacGregor’s - Henrietta, NY] Deep red pour with a creamy tan head. Nice lacing and red highlights. Nice and rich aroma of roasted malts mixed with coffee and the slightest hint of chocolate. Smooth and chocolaty taste at the beginning with a nice and roasty middle and a slightly bitter yet sweet finish. A little thin, but otherwise very good.

This is is a sparkling deep brown-black beer with a rocky, warm tan head that disappears after a few minutes. When held to the light, I can see about 2 cm into it. The aroma is moderately malty. The primary smell is mild roasted coffee with some herbs and citrus. I can detect the Ithaca yeast: dusty and earthy. The flavor exhibits a good balance between malt and hops. The aftertaste reveals carbonized sugar and semi-dark chocolate. The mouth feel is slightly alkaline. This actually has some body-- not as watery as some of the other offerings from Ithaca.

My bottle reads "Ithaca Finger Lakes Stout." This stout poured dark brown with red highlights and a thin off-white head. Light didn't penetrate this beer through my St. Bernardus glass but I imagine it would have done so if I poured this in a pint glass. Roasted malt and dry chocolate aroma. I wasn't expecting too much flavor considering how thin the body was but I was nicely surprised. This stout has layers of roasted malt, toast, and chocolate. At first this beer had a tangy quality but it reverted to sweetness over the course of the bottle. A hint of caramel finishes the flavor profile. Surprisingly good for such a light-colored, thin-bodied beer. I doubt this version is 7% ABV, however. Thanks Dan (jah noth)!