Lost Coast 8 Ball Stout

Brewed by Lost Coast Brewery & Cafe
Style: Sweet Stout
Eureka, California USA

Bottle from Sam’s. Used to really enjoy this one, so pleased to see I still do. Near-black pour with thin light tan head. Smells of sweet roasted malts, with chocolate and cafe con leche notes. Mild fruits and some grain. Some ashy notes, but in a pleasant bitter way... good way to finish off the initial sweet taste. Dig it.

Bottle. Pours a nice black, with brown/red highlights when held up to the light. Small tan head that is not persistent. Nose is fruity, ashy, very oaty, and sweet. Palate shows good chocolate and oat character, wiht more cigarette ash, mildly roasty and sweet. A bit lean, but overall an above-average oatmeal stout.

Pours jet black with red accents when held to the light. The head is small and mocha coloured. Aroma is sweet and full of chocolate. Milk chocolate, hints of coffee, fruit, and licorice in the aroma. Tastes nice and sweet. Milk chocolate, red berries, oat, licorice, leather and coffee on the palate. Mouth feel is soft and creamy. Nice sweet stout!

Pours dark brown with khaki head. Nose is roast, some lactose-esque sweetness, some cafe con leche, sweet cream, and some ripe dark fruit. Flavor is lots of roast and some coffee bitterness. Medium-bodied and lacking a bit of the sweetness promised with the aroma. Good sweet stout overall.

Pours a shade darker than milk chocolate into a cola deep brown with little head to speak of. I’d think I just poured a coke if I didn’t know any better. Aroma is very subtle, with a bit of malt and chocolate. Flavor hits strong immediately of milk chocolate, toasted almonds, and creamy oatmeal. Nice almond and licorice flavors linger with moderate carbonation. A bit weak in presentation and aroma, but I’m willing to sacrifice those for the fairly strong and enjoyable flavors.

12oz bottle. Pours a black body with a thin, fizzy, brown head that dissipates quickly and leaves lots of lacing on the surface and some sticky lacing on the glass. Aroma is moderately roasty with some leathery chocolate and sweeter malts. A touch of burnt toast and cherry licorice. Flavor is quite nice. Starts out with some sweet, semi-toasty malts before a light roast and creamy charred flavor comes in. A hidden brown sugar-molasses-dull fruit remains in tact throughout. Finishes very dry with an underlying sweetness as the charred flavor increases, but stays relatively subdued. Lingers with some sweet chocolate, creamy roasts, and a hint of sweet burnt accents. There are some hop flavors in this, but they stay fairly subdued. Palate is creamy and medium bodied. Overall, an interesting stout. Not the bold stout I usually crave, but bold enough. Lots of unique flavoring. I guess I would consider it more "dull" than most, but I’m really liking this right now.

Nice roasted aroma with hints of coffee and nut. Flavor has notes of coffee, biscuit, roasted malt, hops and some dark brown sugar. Mouthfeel is moderately creamy. Overall a great session stout.

[2043-20090320] 12floz bottle. Mild roasty grains aroma. Hazy, dark brown body with a quick creamy light tan head. Coffee flavour has lots of coffee roast malt. Full body. Good!