Mountain Sun Trickster Stout

Brewed by Mountain Sun Pub & Brewery
Style: Stout
Boulder, Colorado USA

Draught at Mountain Sun. Black/brown with tan head. Big almost IPA aroma w/ pine and citrus notes. Flavor is hoppy citrus with bitter quick and wet finish that lingers stout chocolate and caramels after hop bitterness.

Draft: Mahogany black. Dense and clumpy beige froth. Garlic (Summit?), honey-drizzled mango, grapefruit, chalky roast and a touch of prunes on the nose. Creamy carbonation, though somewhat foamy. Brightly hoppy and captivatingly bitter with soft grapefruit pith textures caressing the palate clinching grassy, garlic-tinged bitterness and crunchy roastiness. Underlying zing of black licorice and metallic beautifully dovetails with the pervasive mango succulence and tongue-numbing oily hops. Hefty maltiness lends subtle smokiness as well as some grittiness which fends off the pungent hop acidity. Finishes grassy and juicy with a commanding yet balanced presence of grapefruit and mango kissed with delectable blend of bitter cocoa, coffee and dark chocolate. Tasty hop burps elicit thoughts of pinesap and assorted citrus. Generally not a fan of hoppy stouts, but this is enjoyable enough. I’d like to see more estery fruitiness as well as a less-simplistic malt bill (needs a bit more beefiness), but the beer is cleanly attenuated and nicely structured.

Draught. Head is brown, mostly lasting. Body is dark brown to black. Aroma is lightly to moderately malty (roasted grain), moderately hoppy (grapefruit, resin). Flavor is moderately sweet, lightly to moderately acidic, lightly bitter. Finish is lightly to moderately sweet, lightly to moderately acidic, moderately bitter. Medium body, watery texture, lively carbonation. Too hoppy for my tastes.

Tap. Pours black with a decent sized tan colored head, nice looking. Aroma is roasted malt, grapefruit, pine, cocoa. Flavor is predominatly grapefruit, pine, floral hops, than some roasted malt, coffee, and chocolate. Palate is medium bodied, mildly carbonated, bitter finish. I get the idea, but not too crazy about it. Looks like a stout but drinks like a IPA. In this case, the parts are better than the whole.

Draught at the brewery 2.5.7. Beer is very dark brown, nearly opaque, with a small, frothy, light brown, diminishing head.<P> The aroma is moderately malty with notes of roasted grain and chocolate; Heavily hoppy with moderate-heavy notes of resin/pine, bright apricot and grapefruit oil; Yeasty with a light note of basement; Light miscellaneous note of juicy fruity strawberry.<P> The flavor is heavily bitter, moderately sweet, lightly acidic. Finish is long, light-to-moderately bittersweet—bitter and sweet take turns being dominant until they fade away—kind of neat.<P> The body is full, the texture is velvety and the carbonation is lively.<P> Unexpected fruit character among the hops lends engaging brightness and juiciness.