Pike XXXXX Stout

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

12 oz bottle, 05-06 vintage, via acertain. Pours a thick black, almost motor oil in color. Small but attractive chocolate brown head that faded to a thin ring quickly. Aroma is burnt, roasted, and chocolate malts, raisons, coffee, a touch of alcohol, and a dry yeast character. Flavor is burnt malt, coffee, and chocolate. Finish is very dry with a little astringency and bitterness. Very good length to the finish. Full bodied with an oily texture up front fading to a drying finish. Minimal fine bubbled carbonation. A pretty awesome beer, very near the top of the heap for regular stouts.

Courtesy of Acertain. <P> Baker’s chocolate, coffee and roasted malts pop out in the aroma, but overall the aroma is less intense than my ideal. Poured a very deep black with a dark prown/purple tinted mocha head. Fore is full of dark roasted notes along with chooclate, plum, molasses, raisin, bourbon and even some Brown ale nuttiness. A whole lot of flavor points here. Finish is laced with cream, chocolate, low bitterness coffee and a kick of alcohol. A damn fine beer.

2002 Vintage. Pours black with brown head. Lots of roasted malt and molasses in aroma with a litte coffee and chocolate as well. Exactly same on flavor. Was a little bit thin, otherwise a fine stout.

Deep Black pouring, coffe toffee and roasting nutty flavor almost a walnut flavor in the nose and taste. tons of flavors and tons of aromas. Drink slow to enjoy this big stout with a porter link to it.

2005: On tap at the College Inn in Seattle; also bottled.

Pours a deep black with a nice tan head.The aroma is the expected coffee and roasted grain, with a lovely full nose of black cherry. Flavor is rich - dark chocolate, coffee, cherry, molassas, plum, with a well-balanced but unobtrusive hop finish - and the mouthfeel equally so, full and satisfying and not the least bit watery like some of its competitors. The commercial description alludes to the "strengh of character of Imperial stout"; this is not an idle claim. An excellent big-beer styling at only 6.2%.

Sampling the ’05-’06 in Febraury ’07, the beer retains a very nice roastiness along with a lactic, almost sour aroma and flavor that is quite enjoyable.

2006: In bombers this year, at 6.6%. The coffee flavors are really heavy, especially late in the flavor profile, but this is really nice stuff. It’s drier than most of the imperial stouts, with a powerful burnt-coffee bitterness in the finish.

Note: This one comes into its own as it warms, and needs to be served at cellar temperature or above.

2002 Vintage: Poured a very very dark brown with a small tan head. Aroma had a big chocolate presence. Nice amount of rasted malt. Flavor of roasted malt with some sweetness and more chocolate. Finish is semi-dry and leaves you with a big roasty finish. Held up very nicely for an 3+ year old stout. Tasty. I need to find out if they start out this good..or even better.

12oz bottle 2005-2006 release via trade with Indiana_Red - Thanks Ken! - Gushed out of the bottle when the cap was popped. Poured thick black with a big mocha head that fades pretty quick. Big aroma of coffee. molasses, and some baker’s chocolate. Flavor is nice coffee, and baker’s chocolate with a touch of molasses and nuts. Nice dry finish. Palate is full bodied but very smooth and drinkable. Nice dry finish makes this seem more like a dry stout. Lots of burnt flavor throughout. Very interesting and quite tasty.

Black Coloring with Tan Head. HEavy Load of Sweet/Dry Barley. Pretty Crazy Tasting Stout. Really Sweet Barley Taste That Quickly Becomes Bitter and Dry at the End. Syrapy Mouthfeel. Really Tasty but Wimper at the Thought of Having Another.