Kern River Class V Stout

Brewed by Kern River Brewing
Style: Sweet Stout
Kernville, California USA

Bottle... This beer rocks!... Pours very dark with a small, creamy, light tan head. Decent retention. Chocolate and toasted nut aroma with undertones of rich vanilla and caramel alongside a light waft of smoke. The flavor is all about sweet milk chocolate with modest burnt, bitter notes. Full-bodied and silky with medium carbonation. Burnt, medium bitter finish. This world class stout was shared with the Tampa Crew by Quake1028!

(MANY THANKS TO IRISHBOY FOR PICKING UP A GROWLER OF THIS ON HIS WAY HOME FROM SKI PATROL.)black body with red highlights.small light brown head that leaves nice lacing on the glass.wonderful aroma of roasted malts,coffee,chocolate,and cocoa.flavor is of chocolate chip cookies,powdered cocoa,molasses,coffee,and roasted malts.for a regular stout the mouthfell is nice and full and the palate is long lasting.

Growler from the Brewpub and sampler at the brewpub! Nose of chocolate, roasty coffee, and caramel malts; almost opaque dark walnut with a small tan head (nitrogen pushed beer, the haed was better at the brewpub); Silky smooth mouthfeel in the medium body; flavor showing chocolate, caramel and roasted malts, with light coffe notes. This brewpub is a jewel in progress!

Dark brown, thin ring of tan head mostly dissipates, slippery lacing on the glass. Nose is mild coffee grounds and milk chocolate. Flavor is rock solid and full of coffee-cocoa malts, slight roast, faint hop bitterness for balance, finishes dry and malty. Medium-full body, creamy texture, medium carbonation. A top tier stout, great balance and malt flavor profile, super drinkable, would love to have easy access to this gem!

Courtesy IrishBoy. Dark brown to black pour, small brown head. Nose of coffee beans, milk chocolate, vanilla extract, dark malts and fruits. Flavor is spot on, huge notes of coffee and milk chocolate. Ending balances everything out with a nice roasty kick. Finish is dry and sweet at the same time. Great beer, but not a sweet stout.

Courtesy of Irishboy via Quake1028. Chocolate, coffee, roasted malt, vanilla cream and a fairly heady alcohol perfume make up the aroma. Nice. The body is black with a diminishing, but originally quite thick and full, mocha head. The fore is very hot for a sweet stout which I don’t think this really is. Cocoa/chocolate liqueur is the effect. It has a nice mouth feel and never loses that smooth semi-sweet chocolate flavor profile from start to finish. An Imperial Sweet Stout I guess. Whatever it is, it drinks very nicely and I enjoy it.

22oz bomber, no date from IrishBoy, thanks Richard! Black with 1/2 finger beige head, fair to good retention. Lots of milk chocolate, roast, and brown sugar toffee up front. A bit of vanilla and hints of alcohol round out the aroma. Flavor is a bit more roasty, though not overly so. Vanilla and brown sugar are there to keep the roast from getting acidic, and some added piney hops help round everything out. Semi-dry finish with bitterness peaking at a 2-3. Full body with low to moderate creamy carbonation. The flavor actually got an 8 1/2, but I ended up adding it to the overall score.

Courtesy of Quake1028. Pours very dark, dare I say black, with thin lasting tan head. The aroma is roasted malts, burnt malts, mild malt sweetness and licorice. The flavor is smooth and blended nicely. There’s burnt malts, roasted malts, some licorice and very mild malt astringency. Very nice stout.