Pike XXXXX Stout

Bottle. Pours a deep, dark black with a beige head. Aroma is slight chocolate coffee bean. Flavor is bitter chocolate and powdered chocolate coffee bean. Nice, full mouthfeel. Very enjoyable stout.

Black pour with a bit of a dark red tinge to it and a small to medium tan head. Sugar and toffee in the smell, very thick and inviting. Heavy malt in the flavor with some caramel and toffee taste and some chocolate and coffee lingering in there as well. A very nice chewy mouthfeel that lingers on the tongue. A slight bitter finish, similar to but far more mild than a dry stout. Extremely tasty, hope to visit their pub the next time I am in Seattle.

Black with a 1/2" tan head. Aroma of sugar and milk, and toasty malt. Flavor is malty sweetness all the way. Superb intricate lacing. Consistency is like skim milk. The flavor finishes with a slack bitterness.

Bomber poured an opaque black with a lasting creamy brown head. Aromas of roasted malt, bitter chocolate, coffee, light vanilla, light licorice and a hint of dark fruit. Palate was medium bodied and smooth with a dry finish. Flavors of roasted malt, charcoal, bitter chocolate, light coffee, light vanilla and a hint of dark fruit with a smooth dry lingering bitter roasty finish.

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