Pike XXXXX Stout

660ml bottle. Very black, dark thick bready head. Oily burnt aroma. Milky and very burnt taste. Pleasant in the mouth, but a bit drying after swallowing. Quite well balanced for a very burnt stout.

Tap at GABF 2007 Aroma is chocolate goodness. Taste is sweet fruit, chocolate, citrus hop bitterness. Complex and very solid.

Pour is a dark, dark brown with nice dark tan head. This one is full of bittersweet chocolate and coffee. Slightly roasty with hints of fruit and hops. It has the silky mouthfeel of an oatmeal stout. Tasty.

Bomber bottle. Dry toasted malts. Hints of smoke in the background. Nice medium body. After letting it linger on the palate a bit of dry hop pops out. A bit of coffee flavor in here, but not cloying. Just a solid stout that doesn’t try to do too much, and remains well balanced.

22oz bottle. Nearly opaque black-brown with a small dark brown head. Heavy dark alefruit aroma, some nuttiness. Meaty roastiness up front, tinges of chocolate. Figgy alefruit manifests, some acrid floral hop component. Lingering coffee bean astringent roastiness in the finish, slight chocolate flavor. Mouthfeel is a heavy medium, somewhat drying.

on tap-pours a light brown head that laces and black color. Aroma is dark malt-chocolate, roasty, secondary hops acidic. Taste follows. Lots of hops, the dark malt balances it nicely, more towards a porter. OK carbonation. Occasional.

Draft at the brewpub. Sweet, roasty aroma, plenty of dark cocoa and brown sugar to go with light touches of flowery hop and espresso. Very nice. Thoroughly opaque black color with a lasting tan head. Flavor is full of roast and cocoa as well, bittersweet, with a good dosage of fresh, leafy hop flavor, not much in the way of bitterness, though, as the bittering balance in the equation seems to belong solely to the dark, coffeeish, grainy malts. Good blend. Piney, very lightly fruity hoppiness, malts are very darkly roasted and sweet, working well in conjunction. Very full-flavored, makes for an appropriate dessert beer or digestif. Creamy mouthfeel, smooth and full. Nearing Imperial caliber. This is just a great stout, and I need more of it.

Appearance: Pours an opaque black body with a medium-sized, beige head. Smell: Aroma of rich, roasted dark malts with plenty of dark chocolate and licorice. Faint hint of soy. Taste: Dark maltiness with an airy sweetness to it. Some licorice. Full roasted grain flavor. Super soft touch of floral hops near the roasty, dry finish. The taste, overall, has a little sourness to it. Mouthfeel: Medium-full body. Moderate carbonation. Drinkability: Best beer in history? No, but it’s a tasty, nicely drinkable stout.