Pike XXXXX Stout

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

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.

[2006 GCBF] This is a textbook stout. Not too thick, pure black, really coffee flavoured, not watery at all. Exactly what you could want from a stout.

22oz bottle from yonkers65 thanks:pour a black colour with a nice foamy coffe coloured head. aroma is of smoke and choaolate, and some malt. a wonderful chocolate flavor that is very full very smooth with a perfect bitter espresso bite in the finish.

On tap at Pike: A large black almost imperial stout. Looks great, lovely texture, tastes of chocolate.

Draft at Brouwer’s Cafe Hopfest ’06. Opaque black with a light tan head. Aromas of coffee and dark chocolate. Full, oily body. The taste starts lightly sweet with coffee, chocolate, burnt toast, roasted nuts, but cleans up on the bitter and slighty smokey finish.

22oz from SamuraiArtist - thanks, Ezra! A simply beautiful beer, in looks, smell, and taste. Thick and black, with hints of ruby peeking through - maybe not quite as viscous as I like but quite fine. And certainly the thick, almost oily mouthfeel is pleasing in the extreme, with subtle (!!) roasts emerging from the smooth chocolates. Slight bitterness in there (from wood or dark choc?), and just a hint of dark fruit. Man, I need more of this stuff.

22oz bottle from Secret Santa. Aroma: Deep, semi sweet roasted malt with big chocolate character. Coffee, anise, chalk, and some dark fruits. Smells really good. Appearance: Pours very black with no discernible highlights. Dark tan head was full and creamy with great retention. Great lacing. Flavor: Heavy roasted malt, coffee, smoke, dark fruits, and a light hop pineyness. Roasted malt and hop bitterness is fairly high. Palate: Medium-full bodied and creamy. Moderate carbonation. Overall: Good one. Nice roasted malt qualities and a great rich mouthfeel.

12/10/2007: Pike Stout XXXXX Extra Stout is near black to black. The pour results in about 90% dense, rocky brown foam (that never fully disappears) and 10% silky black liquid. There is a lot of lacing on the glass. A large amount of semi-sweet chocolate along with some roasted malt and hints of smoke/char and coffee. The flavor is very robust and contains lots of roasted malt, semi-sweet chocolate, and some dark, bitter chocolate toward the finish. It is also somewhat dry with a coffee and mocha-flavored finish. This beer has a medium-full body and is super smooth with a silky texture. This beer goes down amazingly easy despite the full flavor and body. Overall this is an excellent stout.

1 pint 6 fl. oz bottle (6.6% Alc./Vol., IBU 65, OG 1.073) from trade with bitbucket in November 2006. Thanks again Bob. I appreciate it! Rating #205 for this beer...