Ottos Sumatra Stout

Brewed by Ottos Pub & Brewery
Style: Dry Stout
State College, Pennsylvania USA

Draft at KClinger’s. Pure black gold, nice resilient and foamy thick top. With just a light ashy aroma, this drinks creamy and smooth, mildly chocolatey. Not too much different than chocolate milk. Quite mild and enjoyable. (#3285, 1/10/2008)

Nitro @ Otto’s. Pours the color of oily coffee beans; no light coming through; huge, foamy chocolate-milk colored head with perfect retention and lacing that coats the glass; a beautiful pour. Dense, roasted coffee and chocolatey malts in the aroma; gorgeous coffee presence with a bit of cocoa powder. Huge amounts of well-roasted coffee in a medium-to-full mouthfeel: soft, creamy coffee grains and bitter chocolate; biscuity, chewy malts at the core; incredibly drinkable with a gorgeous coffee character. Lengthy finish showing coffee, milk chocolate, and dough.

very nice strong fine espresso aroma. vey fine dense yet slightly small, espresso like head. this brew has a more full and refined coffee flavor than any I have tried. finishes sweet nicely balancing the coffee and bitter start. finishes dry and bitter eriely like a fine espresso.

On tap at the brewpub on 5/16/07: Pours an opaque black with a dense, dark tan frothy, well-lacing head. Aroma of fresh brewed espresso and dark chocolate with a touch of roasted malt and sweet caramel. Body starts fairly full and lightly sweet with great balanced coffee presence and mild complexity toward a smooth, creamy finish. This would make an awesome session brew.

Growler filled from a nitro-pour... Appearance is near black with a dark brown hue and a mild, tan cap that slowly fades into a gentle cap. Spots of lacing are left around the glass. Smell is of the obvious coffee, cocoa, vanilla, and toasted nuts. Taste is of the mentioned aromas with the coffee being the huge standout among the flavors. Mouthfeel is very much full of coffee grounds with a dryness and mild astringency that takes you for a ride. Overall, not bad.

Sample courtesy of axilla. Poured a dark and deep brown (nearly black) color with a very small sized off white head. Without initially knowing what beer had been poured, I immediately though, yummmm, coffee beer! Aromas of coffee, coffee grounds, roast and some chocolate. Tastes follow with some vanilla (coffee latte). Nice - I sure love real good coffee beers.

Poured a black color, with a medium sized, tan head that left nice lacing on the glass. Aroma of roasted malts, coffee (the good stuff, not the shitty coffee you sometimes find in stouts...) chocolate, and a bit of vanilla bean as well. Taste of more chocolate, with dry, roasted malts, and a bit more vanilla in the taste.

Aroma was big on coffee, but I think stifled by the nitrogen, there just wasn’t that big stout aroma pouring out of it. Very dark beer, with typical pretty nitro head. Flavor was coffee in a noticeable way, but also had some chocolate, and dark dray malt flavors. Palate was similar to a Guinness from the nitro, oddly thin feeling for a stout. Despite all my gripes I still liked the beer, however, I was expecting much more.