Pike XXXXX Stout

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

NorCal tasting Jan 07 - Pours out a beautiful jet black color with a nice beige head. Aroma is sweet molasses, roasted coffee beans, cocoa, and black licorice. Mouthfeel was thick and viscuous with a coating feeling. Flavors were roasted malts, coffee beans, dark chocolate and burnt sugar. My only complaint was that burnt coffee/black patent was a bit too strong here. It lingered so damn long I tasted it the next morning. Nice brew.

Bomber. Pours black with just slight ruby glints in the light. The head is sparse and spotty, though really nice lacing is left on the goblet after a swirl. I get baking chocolate, nutshells, hickory smoke, and coffee in the aroma. It seems to be bittersweet and borderline tannic. Yeah, this is rather bitter in the flavor and dry all the way to the finish, though it is clean. The bitterness comes across with lots of wooden flavors and suggestions of cacao and espresso. Very little sweetness is present. . .maybe some licorice in the finish. This is one dry stout and remarkably balanced and drinkable at that. Pretty well put together, if I do say so myself.

Bottle courtesy of tpd975. Pours a dark brown to black color with thin tan yellow head. Aroma is sweet and malty with notes of chocolate, dark ripe fruit, some notes of caramel, coffee, smoke, and wood. Flavor is roasted and malty with a slight hop presence, hints of chocolate, coffee and caramel. Generally full-bodied with a pleasing coffee/chocolate finish.

Bomber. Pours a deep black with a thin light-brown head. The aroma is really smoky, also some roasted malt and fruits. The taste is mostly dominated by a bitter/sweet mix, with the sweet brown sugar and malt dominating. There is also a strong smoke and fruity aspect. Really nice.

Bottle.Rating #750. Thanks to Degarth for sending me this one. Dark black body with thin head. Aroma is chocolate, molasses, cocoa, and roasted malt. Flavor is bittersweet with a nice malty taste. Chocolate and cocoa are present. Smooth and delicious.

Bottle shared by emacgee. Pours dark brown with a small tannish head. Nose of lactose, oats, malt, light cocoa, molasses. Flavor is roasty with some cocoa and smoke and finishes very bitter in an unpleasant way.

Bomber courtesy of LilBeerDoctor. Pours deep black with a half finger brown head that results in nice lacing. The nose is roast, burnt malt, dark fruit and coffee. The taste is ashy cocoa, charred caramel, burnt malt and black coffee with some hops in the finish. Medium creamy mouthfeel. Good stout. Thanks Margaret!

Black color; Small head; Bitter chocolate in the nose. Lots of bitter flavors early in pint. Mild sweetness. Standard borderline Imperial Stout. I am surprised by the higher rates from other well respected raters. I will put back a bottle for a few months and re-rate.