Oggis Black Magic Stout

Brewed by Left Coast/Oggis Pizza and Brewing Company
Style: Foreign Stout
Del Mar, California USA

Maybe im drinking something different than the rest of you, but I thought this was an awesome stout. It’s as if Emeril Lagasse had a pint of Guinness in front of him and did his signature "BAM" and magically infused his "essence" into my glass. Because this is like Guinness with balls. Big, malty, chocolate, coffee balls. Don’t get any ideas, I dont swing that way..

Tap, Mission Valley. Pours pitch black in color. Rich slightly bitter roasted malty aroma. Some sweetness. Strong roasted coffee flavor right up front. Some chocolate as well. Sweet milky finish. A hint of alcohol.

As others have said this was to be Hop Whompus, but hey, I have had that before, time for something new. Light chestnut color with a moderate canvas colored head. Darker malts drift by as a mild caramel, coffee and cream scent also passes by. A thicker feel in the front that seems to thin out as is reach the back of the throat. Flavors seem to match the aromas quite well. Slightly grainy, but a nice dark chocolate linger.

Growler of Hop Whompus magically transformed at extreme altitudes... many thanks to 1FastSTi and MIBRomeo. Very deep caramel/amber pour with a short, loose beige head. Coffee, brown sugar, and other dark malts provide the bulk of the nose, with hints of floral emerging. Mildly roasty coffee and caramel maltage provide the bulk of the flavor, again with some floral bitters around the edges. Carbonation was on the low-side.. almost remniscent of cola.. with some husky graininess... really flowed well, though. Medium-bodied. Nice brew.

Growler, c/o 1FastSTi and MIBRomeo. Semi-translucent and cherry-wood / lacquered brown in color with some saliva bubbles cresting at the edges. Blackened brown sugar marinating prunes kick starts the aroma. Chocolate peat edge, rum raisin, licorice lined with grape jam and blueberry coffee grinds further ensue a quite intriguing aroma. Syrupy black currant edges in for flavor. Nutmeg takes on blackened plums and bakers chocolate with a boysenberry lining in the center. Modestly interactive mouth feel, matched with a caramelized brown sugar edge. Concord jam stuffed in whole wheat brown bread. Finish brings on dark candi sugar, blueberry graham crust (slightly flame scorched) and an unmolested semi-sweet chocolate facade.

Pours to a transparent dark coppery brown body. The aroma is a nice coffee. The flavor is coffee and light chocolate malts. The palate is medium bodied, velvety.

From a growler, shared by 1FastSTi and/or MIBRomeo. Aroma of chocolate, coffee and toffee with a nice cream or milk touch to it. Dark brown in color, light head that thins. The flavor is a little dissapointing, thin cofeee and chocolate flavors overlayed with a lot of grainy malt and a fairly abrupt finish. Thin body, fairly light, slightly metallic finish.

Brewed & sampled on tap at Oggi’s Scottsdale, AZ
This beer has an incredibly long lasting, light creamed-chocolate brown colored head. The beer is a pitch black color. There are lots of roast aromatic notes found here, just like a rich espresso. Rich, because of the malt complexity that is found here; hints of a dark chocolate that is rich and bitter like the best most complex chocolates. There is a bit of alcohol in the aroma as well, which combines with the other notes to make me think of a chocolate flavored, coffee liquor (or perhaps it is the other way around). This has a really nice, burnt, roasty aroma.

There is a very creamy mouthfeel to this beer, I am guessing that this has been dispensed via nitrogen. Rich flavors lean towards chocolate, with a roast character as a back drop (which is opposite of the aroma). The chocolate note almost has a milk chocolate leaning to it. I think the sweet maltiness accentuates the milk chocolate perception. There is a certain chalkiness here, which I have been associating as of late with roast grain notes. This is quite drinkable, almost light, despite its richness, and I think that the nitrogen tap has helped with this. The roast character adds a certain acidity to this beer as well, which seems to lighten things up a bit as well. This beer has been the best of the beers that I have had from the Scottsdale Oggi’s; it is rich, flavorful, satisfying, yet still dangerously drinkable.