DrBayern (1135), Morehead City, North Carolina, USA Jul 26, 2007 Draft at Pike in Seattle on 7/11/07. This beer represents #600 for me, and is in thanks to the owner of Pike Pub and Brewery, Charles Finkel, who spent quite a while discussing beer with me, and taking me on a personal tour of the facility. See my Places rating for more on this.
An essentially opaque brown/black pour with a substantial brown head introduces this well known offering. Beautiful sticky lace clings to the glass indefinitely. The chocolate and coffee aroma is accented by some woody or roasted notes. This is so smooth and creamy that the heavy body isn’t easily noticed. Beautiful flavor balance of rich dark malty sweetness and some bitterness from the roasted malts and understated hops. This is really a good beer. waolsen (1220), Littleton, Colorado, USA Jul 15, 2007 bottle. thanks moonbeam! black with forthy tan head, chocolate, coffee, hoppy, mild sugar, mild dark fruit in aroma. medium body. coffee grinds, sweet chocolate, mildly bitter. solid balance. nicely done. impressive strength for a regular stout. bhensonb (4187), Woodland, California, USA Jul 13, 2007 Undated bomber. Pours like a thick liquid. Aroma of smoke, roasted malt, yeast, coffee and chocolate. At least. Wholly opaque brown/black color with a tan head that sticks around. Thin to medium mouthfeel; so much for illusion. Moderate carbonation. Really toasted/burnt malts like the Guinness of old. Coffee; dark fruits; not getting chocolate. There is some malt sugar, but it is more dry than otherwise. Strong, near espresso, impression for the finish. Really whacks the mouth. Then a slight toffee sweetness came forth. Very slight. This is relatively humongous in terms of aroma and flavor. If it were an imperial stout, the overall combination might be fatal. JB175 (1654), Bucks County, Pennsylvania, USA Jun 8, 2007 Blackish-brown color with a really nice looking tan head. Aroma is a creamy mix of coffee, well-roasted malts, a bit of chocolate, and smoke. Taste is a great mix of dark malts, peat, coffee, chocolate. Wonderful - I’ll put this up against any Dry or Regular Stout. If only this one was at my local Irish pub in place of Guinness............. sneagrams3 (1704), St. Louis, Missouri, USA Jun 7, 2007 The Dan Journal #26. Tasted 5/30/06. 12oz bottle vintage 1989! Thanks to Joe at Corral for this absolute gem! Pitch and thick. Toffee and sugary aromas. Notes of caramel grapes port wine and anise. DAMN! This is a complex brew! Full bodied and oily. Flavors of peat and vanilla. port and prunes. Flums and dark fruits. Leather. Damn! This was amazing. This is on the top five all time best! jake65 (1657), Williston, North Dakota, USA Jun 5, 2007 Bottle: Pours an immensely dark brown with a large brown head. Thick lacing. Nose is strong of coffee, heavy roast, and chocolate. Hints of bitters. Taste rich of heavy roast, cocoa, coffee, and finishes dry with a lingering coffee/bitters kick. Good, but a little drier than I prefer in a stout takes a bit off the overall rating. Still very good. Naven (864), Poway, California, USA Jun 3, 2007 Updated: Jun 5, 2007This is a pretty interesting ale. Kind of a cross between guinness and an Imperial stout. Hops are very prominent too. Dare I say, this is a session stout. Something I could probably drink everyday. Very very good. Maria (6056), Thisted, Denmark Jun 1, 2007 It’s pitch black and the head is huge, creamy and nougat colored. The aroma has notes of roasted malt, chocolate and preserved fruits/berries. The flavour is smooth, nice and harmonic - and it has a delightful "mean" streak of heavy roastiness. I find notes of dark roasted coffee, dark chocolate, preserved fruits/berries, that give a vinous touch, and it has a nice bitterness all the way through. It’s a really, really nice beer - thank you so much Tom/After4ever for this one!!! 2300
|