Pike XXXXX Stout

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

Dark black color, medium head. Roasted malts, some hop bite. Flavor is full, coffee and chocolate. Mouthfeel is full and round. Finish is clean and smooth. Aftertaste is malty with a slight bitterness. Very similar to the 2000 release. The flavor is slightly less intense, subtler in this release.

This draft brew from the brewery poured a head of foamy fine to medium sized brown colored bubbles that were long lasting and left behind a opaque dark ruby red brown colored body and a good lacing. The mild aroma was brown malt and dark malt. The semi-thick mouth feel was tingly at the start with a mediumly tingly finish with a lingering malty aftertaste. The mild flavor contained notes of mild hops roasted malt and dark malt. A special thanks to Charles and Roseanne for sitting and talking with us on our vacation. It was a pleasure to meet the founders of the brewery and Merchant Du Vin.

#18 Bottle [Sk8viking great American blind tasting] Small brownish bubbly head that mostly diminished. Spare display of lacework. Pitch black color. Aroma of chocolate, coffee, burned malt, liquorish. Wood, hint of vanilla, and bitter liquorish. Medium to full bodied with an average carbonation and dry thick alcoholic texture. Moderated to heavy sweet flavor with good counter bitterness. Lingering pine dry and bitter liquorish finish. 8 / 3 / 8 / 4 / 16 = 3.9

Bottle shared by Patrick, thanks man. Pours a black body with a coffee tan head. Chocolate malt, minerals light roast y body. Roast dry coffee rinds. Nice brew.

Black color with a thin head. Interesting aroma of barley and black currant. Totally unexpected flavor that reminded me of madiera. Sour and malty with a strong bitter finish. Syrupy.

Draught pints at Redbones, 11/7/06 and 12/10/06
Deep, deep raven-black beer is opaque through the middle, but upon settling, and against the light, shows garnet-auburn tints on the edges, with some clarity at the sides. Creamy, beige/light-tan head sits atop the beer, not very much of it, but quite well-retained, providing moderate lacing.
Very interesting bittersweet nose has a cohesive mix of cola, prunes, raisins, brandy, dates, maraschino cherries and moderate roast. It smells fluffy....with vanilla cream notes lingering long on the finish and medium sweet cherry notes really adding a great strength of aroma. Not sure what’s creating the cherry vanilla-like nose, but it’s tastefully done. Some light milk chocolate and very light bakers chocolate give additional balance, while a light, fruity hoppiness emerges with warming. Probably the responsible party for the cherry notes, and sure enough, some light citrus notes emerge as well, over time. But aromatic and juicy are the hops, only lightly done and not bitter in the least. Promising is the aroma.
A combination of chewy, almost caramel-molasses-like consistency, well-placed jabs of dry roast and then a softly sweet cherry vanilla flavor certainly pleases. Very well balanced, though tending somewhat sweet, the initial chocolate-caramel-vanilla flavors evolve in to a vast sea of dark fruits. Raisins, prunes, dates, cherries...A faint bit of tartness, be it dark malt or lacto induced helps nip the sweetness and the finish ends with a toned-down roastiness, that incorporates more light chocolate and a touch of leafy, juicy hops. This beer is all about warming. Though it’s good cool, the complexities that emerge as it breathes/warms are just plain impressive. All the interesting, unique flavors of a foreign stout, even something like De Dolle’s, but with plenty more chocolate, light hops and vanilla creaminess bringing back in to the American realm. None of the sugary sweetness of a foreign stout and more complexity than your usual oatmeal or standard brewpub stout. No alcohol noted in aroma or flavor. Fairly engaging carbonation is low to moderate, fitting the bill aptly.

(Bottle) Medium, creamy brown head and opaque body. Head dissipates quickly. Nice viscosity. Nose is tart, red wine. Chalky coffee. Gritty, cocoa, roasted malt and coffee.

660ml bottle. Very black, dark thick bready head. Oily burnt aroma. Milky and very burnt taste. Pleasant in the mouth, but a bit drying after swallowing. Quite well balanced for a very burnt stout.