Olde Hickory Stick Stout

Brewed by Olde Hickory Brewery
Style: Imperial Stout
Hickory, North Carolina USA

A rich Cascade hop and toasty stout aroma, with some bitter chocolate. Great 5 liter can, inky black-brown beer, with a stiff tan head. A manly beer with lots of dark malt and Cascade hop bittering. Well-balanced, with lots of bitter chocolate, lightly sweet, and much more complex as it warms. Medium-bodied, this makes a good session stout. Has a looong bitter finish, and every time that you move your toungue it comes back. Though this isn't high enough ABV to be a true Imperial Stout, in my book, it was still a fine pot of stout. This was a good tip from an old friend. Note on shelf life after opening: I've had a couple of queries about how long this lasts after you open the 5 liter keg. Mine is in good shape after a week, but speaking as a homebrewer, you need to be careful about sucking in bad germs when you vent the keg to pour initially. If you're only going to drink, say, 2 liters of the 5, then I'd recommend pouring it off into a clean 2 liter bottle for the session and resealing your keg tightly. That way you only vent for one short pour from the keg.

From notes 5/17/03: Dark dark dark chocolate color. So dark that light just fights to peek through the edges. Tan head dusted with cocoa sits proudly on top. The lacing is magnificent, itself fighting the physics of light beams and their quest to peek through. Thick creamy lacing. The aromas are mainly a roasted malt, bitter chocolate variety, with the added bonus of an earthy hoppiness too. The taste is more complex than I imagined going into it. Starts rather bland (which made me instantly sad for all it had going for it initially) but them the magic happens! More of the roasted malts and chocolate, followed by more of the earthy hops soaked in bitter coffee. True to its name, a little bit of "hickory stick" involved too. Earthy. Definitely an aftertaste beer. Most of the flavor party occurs towards the end and then after the tasting.

Very dark, even on a sunny day. Nice thick tan head with aromas of malt and chocolate. Flavors were full and balanced-nice strong black malt tastes with some woody(hickory?) hop flavor. Dry, bitter finish, but easy to drink and impressive.

On tap at the SunSpot on the Strip. Very good! Nice black pour with a thick tan head. Nice, solid aroma. Roasted malts, and a hint of hickory. Good taste. Kind of a dry hickory taste, hence the name. Pretty solid stout overall. A nice try!

Color is motor oil black with a mega huge head of light brown hued foam. The head is super lumpy and has big divets laying across its landscape, looks alot like a sponge, I kid you not, and the lacing is reminisent of thickly applied glue. Amazing sight to behold! It has a very soft, faint aroma of sweet roasted malts and definate hop notes located in bigger wiffs. Taste is a hard one to nail down, but here goes.....its sort of split in two, the front or start is airy smooth and not much of anything in flavor, everything gets going from the middle to mostly the back, which is nicely roasted dark malt, flavors are of sweetly tanged malts and espresso-like. Fairly deep and strong, but mellow enough as not to overwhelm. Its a bit uneven, could be heavier and bolder. There's a bit of a smokey taste and feel very late in the back as well. Feel is medium bodied and moderately thinning a bit throughout. I'll tout this stout any Ol' time.

Black, but not opaque. The head is a light khaki that takes a while to fade. The aroma is surprisingly hoppy, some sort of c-hop dominant. Good coffee and dark chocolate. Good mix of fresh hop flavor and roasty malt flavors. Yum.

Got this from www.kegofthemonthclub.com in a 5 liter keg. The appearance was black as night with a nice mocha colored thick everpresent head. Aroma is faint but pick up hints of coffee and chocolate. Very enjoyable bitter flavor with hints of bittersweet chocolate. Not as sweet as other Imperials as I have had - but still very pleasing. A tad thin on the mouthfeel but does not distract from the quality of this. Overall, an excellent stout - more like a dry stout - but who's counting.

really hoppy for a stout. coffee aftertaste that lingers a while. a pretty good imperial stout brewed in NC, the only one i know of actually. you can tell the alcohol is a little lacking since it is probably under 6%. poured from another 5L keg. thick creamy head. good beer