Pike XXXXX Stout

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

Draught @ the brewpub. Pours a black color with a small tan head. Roasted malty chocolate and coffee aroma. Dry roasted malty chocolate and coffee flavor with some hoppy hints. Dry roasted finish with a slightly bitter aftertaste.

Bottled - Chris O shindig 2007 - A black beer with a lovely tan coloured head. The aroma is light roast and good hoppy notes. The taste is full bodied with some great roasted flavours. A little lactic edge late on, and some good fruits. Very nice.

Chris O, August 2007. Black with a light brown, big and lasting head. Roast aroma with notes of licorice. Roast and dry flavour, with a nice burned aftertaste. Tasted again Nov. 24 at thewolf. Upped the numbers a little, much the same notes, with an addition of a hint of smoke in the aroma.

Thanks to Old Mr. Crow for this. Pours onyx with 1-finger of dark brown head. Aroma is patent malt, prunes, licorice, coffee, and chocolate. Tastes roasty, dark malty, with pruny, coffee, licorice, and dark chocolate notes, and a rich, complex palate. This is a very good stout.

A deep dark stout with a super thick lacing dark moka head. In aroma, dark chocolate over roasted coffee grinds, some vanilla beans, and some wooden notes. In mouth, a beautiful and classy stout, with loads of black coffee, herbal qualities, light licorice, and some nice light C-hops. Turely interesting. On tap at brewpub, Sept. 12 2009.

Bottle. Head is initially average sized, frothy, brown, mostly lasting. Body is opaque black (flashlight tested). Aroma is moderately to heavily malty (roasted/burnt grain, chocolate/cocoa, coffee), lightly to moderately hoppy (resin, grapefruit). Flavor is moderately sweet, lightly to moderately acidic, lightly to moderately bitter. Finish is lightly sweet, lightly to moderately acidic, moderately bitter. Medium body, velvety/creamy texture, lively carbonation. I just can’t get wild about the aroma (too heavily roasted and too much aromatic hop presence), but it’s pleasant enough. Very nice in all other aspects though...luscious mouthfeel, solid black with a nice head, well balanced (just a little too abrasive/tart for my liking...it’s definitely American styled). Not a 4+ for me, but not too far from it.

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.

Bottle from 2004. Pours with a thin orange colored head. Lots of bubbles stuck to the side of the glass in an otherwise black beer. Aroma is peachy with walnuts, sherry and some anise. The taste is a deep roasted coffee with notes of anise. It also has just a hint of a port wine. The roasted goodness lingers on the palate in a pleasant way. The mouthfeel is silky smooth with a hint of carbonation. A very well done stout that makes me rethink my enjoyment of the big Imperials. Thanks a lot to HeRftYDrF for first suggesting and then sending this in a trade.