Pike XXXXX Stout

Brewed by Pike Pub & Brewery
Style: Stout
Seattle, Washington USA

Bottle in trade from thethrone. Thanks man! Pours black with a nice creamy tan head. Smell is dark roasted malt, coffee, a touch of burnt ashiness, some dark chocolate and and some creaminess as well. Very nice. Taste is very much along the lines of the smell with some bitter dark chocolate, burnt malt and rich dark, dry coffee flavors abound. Just a slight twinge of faint fruitiness near the end, but bitterness takes it over and lingers subtly in the end. Very flavorful for what it is, and a solid mouthfeel and drinkability. Very nice stout.

On tap at pub. Deep black with nice head. Wow, heady brew. Robust chocolate and roasted notes are there, and are delicately presented in this extremely smooth and drinkable brew. Great mouthfeel and resounding finish leaves one quite happy with this wonderful example fo the style.

05.11.2008. On Tap at the brewpub. The Pike Brewing Co, Seattle, Wa. The colour is black. Aroma is rich with a strong mouthfeel. Some coffe aroma.

A solid pour produces a cresting, almost four-finger thick, rich, creamed chocolate brown colored head in my 25cl tulip glass. The head leaves lots of sticky lacing as it slowly recedes. The beer is just about perfectly black and doesn’t pass any light no matter how close I hold it up to my desk lamp. Sharply acidic roast notes mix with a rich cocoa aroma up front. Other aromatic notes of salty smoked peat, burnt toffee, a rich toasted grain base, a concentrated cocoa note and an almost meaty rich malt driven note that I can’t quite pinpoint (lots of Maillard browning and an umami effect), but it really boosts the richness of the aroma and provides a substantial foil to the up front burnt acidity.

Lightly sweet, but significantly rich, towards the middle the roast malt provides an acidity and dry burnt flavor that almost drowns out the malt sweetness, but in the finish the malt sweetness makes a comeback. Ultimately this beer finishes dry as a sharp, softly acid, burnt bitter roast character is what ends up lingering on the palate. Burnt, dark chocolate notes envelope the tongue for a time as the malt sweetness lingers and this beer has a certain velvet-like texture that helps boost the chocolate notes as well. This really is pretty thick and rich (especially for a beer of 6.6% abv), it is quite chewy, though the burnt, acidic, slightly acrid, roast malt definitely cuts through the richness a fair amount. Lingering in the finish is also a significant hop bitterness that couples with the roast bitterness. As the beer warms I begin to notice an almost salty, smoky character to this beer.

Despite being so roast dominated (and by this I mean the sharper, harsher notes), I am really enjoying this beer, there is enough other rich, offsetting / balancing flavors that this beer is just quite enjoyable. Just a fantastic, rich, stout that isn’t too strong; in fact it is much richer than its alcohol might suggest and this is actually quite nice.

Purchased: Liquid Solutions

Bottle at home ... depp black ... nice tan head... sweet chocolate nose ... bitter chocolate front with some coffee ... quite dry with hoppy back bone thats maybe a bit heavy ...

bomber. Pours black witha beautiful brown head which lasted to produce intricate lacing. Smell is of roast malt with a hint of smoke. taste is of roast malt and harsh coffee. Mouthfeel is medium with a bitter, dry chalk finish. ok brew.

(bottle): Pours a black body, tan head good lacing & lacing, watery. Strong aroma of coffee, bitter coffee grounds. Coffee taste, some chocolate. Bitter chocolate. Pretty rough for me.

Draft. Great example of what a stout should taste like, though I certainly prefer imperials. Mild carbonation in a rich, black pour - small, mocha head. Milk chocolate blends with bitter hops and a bit of roasted malts (though not so roasted as to bring out coffee notes). A great fallback when nothing more intriguing is available.