Mountain Sun Cherry Belgian Dip Stout

Draft [nitrogen-dispensed]: Black with russet highlights. Fat khaki head diminishes fairly quickly. Lifeless and watery on the palate. Overly firm and mineralic, from the get-go. Earthy yeast bite generates more astringency while being slightly softened by a prune-mimicking cherry-derived fruitiness. Roasted barley lends a feathery softness which thwarts the lurking gritty roast elements. Body comes off as overly slick and lacking in depth as a result of the absence of counterbalancing coarseness/roasty grit. Finishes with a rounded note of molasses dabbed with milk chocolate and caramel. Very muted, yeasty, and rather ordinary. Sorely needs greater depth and heft in the malt realm. And the nitrogen only serves as a hindrance.

Nitro draught at Souther Sun. Pours opaque with an average, creamy, light brown head, lasting with excellent lacing. Aroma is heavy malt (chocolate, toasted grain), light hops (herbs), average yeast (leather) with notes (light) of cherry. Full bodied, creamy texture, soft carbonation, and a chalky finish. Long duration, moderate sweetness and bitterness, light acidity. The cherries are there in aroma, lightly, and even more faint in flavor.

Draught. Head is mostly lasting. Body is dark brown to black. Aroma is moderately malty (roasted grain, chocolate, coffee), with a note of alcohol. Flavor is moderately sweet, lightly acidic, lightly bitter. Finish is lightly sweet, lightly to moderately acidic, moderately bitter. Medium body, creamy texture, lively/soft carbonation, lightly alcoholic. Dunno where the cherry is in the nose, as I couldn’t find it. It turns up as tartness in the mouth experience, but it’s quit faint as a retronasal aroma. Not a big fan.

Draught at Southern Sun. Beer poured a nearly opaque, dark warm-brown color with a thick, creamy, tan nitro-fueled head. The aroma was moderately malty with notes of sweet roasted grain and light notes of coffee and cocoa; moderately hoppy with notes of pine and herbs; a trace of yeast with a note of cellar; and trace miscellaneous notes of sour cherry, milk sugar and pencil shavings. The flavor was lightly acidic, lightly sweet and lightly bitter with a long, moderately acidic, salty finish. The body was medium, the texture was velvety and the carbonation was nitro. I was disappointed that the cherry character was so faint. And the sour quality the fruit addition imparted only served to cancel out some of the nice, sweet, chocolate character of the original Belgian Dip.