Pike XXXXX Stout

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

65 IBU, 1073 OG
The color is absolute black, with a brownish creamy head on medium size. It has a mild aroma of bread and roasted malt. The body has a good strength, quite round mouthfeel, with a good flavor of roasted malt and dark caramel, the bitterness is a crescendo till the end, very nice; there is a trace of liquorice; long final. Very good, almost Imperial.

Very dark brown color with a full tight bubbled dark tan head. Head lasts and lasts, with a thick web of lacing. Dark caramel and a herbal hops twist. Lightly roasted grains in the background. Grassy to wintergreen hop scents. Somewhat light in the nose, a mild stout to strong brown aroma. Smooth and with a mild silkiness. A touch biting in the finish distracts slightly. Light dark chocolate in the start. Light grapefruit and lemon zest come in as the sweetness in brought into check with a touch of acidity that leads to a moderate dark chocolate bitterness. Linger is long and day with a chocolate nibby bar and mild coffee bitterness. A stout’s stout. It’s all in there somewhere. Nothing amiss, nothing extravagant; just a solid stout.

Thanks to jimbowood for sending this treat my way. Pours very dark brown, close to black, with a good sized dark orange head. The aroma has dark roasted malt with smooth heavy cream, milk chocolate, light licorice and slight veggie. Medium / thick body that is smooth and lush with minor carbonation. The flavor starts with roasted malt that is lightly harsh in a good way. There is also some coffee, hop bitterness, some spice and light cream. Thankfully there is no veggie traits on the taste. The finish has spicy and lightly wood hops added to the mix. A very nice stout.

’05-’06 bottle. Pours to a black body with a foamy tan head. Chocolate, grahm cracker and some prune in the aroma. Nice flavor! Milky coffee is a foundation to cherry and light roast. Above-average viscosity in the mouthfeel. Finishes with tart acidity over chocolate grahm cracker. Well done!

A deep dark Black hole, sucks light out of the room it’s so dark. Frothy tan head. Very rich, dark unsweetened chocolate, coffee, light floral & earthy undertones. A nice creamy feel with the flavor of bittersweet cocoa blended with yesterdays coffee that’s been reheated, served in a wooden mug. It sounds odd but it blends nicely into a full flavored tasty stout. I was lamenting that I missed it in Seattle and when I returned to Japan, I had this in a package waiting for me! Thanks for this one Josh!

2002 Vintage: Poured a very very dark brown with a small tan head. Aroma had a big chocolate presence. Nice amount of rasted malt. Flavor of roasted malt with some sweetness and more chocolate. Finish is semi-dry and leaves you with a big roasty finish. Held up very nicely for an 3+ year old stout. Tasty. I need to find out if they start out this good..or even better.

(bottled). This bottle was at least two years old. Very deep mahogany color with a tan, proud head. Rich, sherry aroma with background roasted malt. Full-bodied, strong malt with a phenolic twang and lots of roasted character. Lingering, firmish bitterness makes a nice finish. I'd love to try this fresh!

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