Pike XXXXX Stout

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

Great big fluffy head over a impenetrable black body. Lace is amazing, I can see a ring for every time the beer changed lowered another level. Excellent roasted coffee malt with just th right amount of bitterness. Nice warm full flavor and body with the the right amount of smokiness. A little linear, as their is nothing astoundingly original here, but just an incredibly balanced tasty stout. 2/1/04 - I feel it's important to keep ratings up to date as time passes, because beers change, so after trying a new batch of this is winter of '04 I felt this took a slight turn for the worse. The coffee influence has increased dramatically with a slightly decreased palatability, and I just haven't seen the gread head retention of the earlier batches.

Nice pour, deep opaque black with an easy, thick creamy head that clings to the sides of the glass. It’s not exactly long-lasting, but it never fully fades (ends up thin cream layer that’s too thick for a film, but kind of like a like coat of moss or lichens). The aroma is a little weak, but roasty. The flavor is as strong as it should be but it dominated and unbalanced by too much burned bitterness. A bit of smokiness lingers underneath. The lack of balance makes this less than a joy to drink, but intriguing at the same time.

Got a bottle of the new batch.Aroma of roastedness and expresso, but not that strong, taste a whole different story; thick almost porter like big taste heavy on the coffee side. Its either very smooth or very low carbonated. Not to sweet.Will buy it if its around here, but probaly wouldn't pay for shipping again

Tap @ Eichardt’s Sandpoint, ID. This stout is full bodied. At no time did I think thin or watery. Minimal sweetness with nice bitterness that seems to come from the almost burnt malt as much as from the hops, alcohol is just slightly noticable. There is a very slightly burnt rubber taste on the very dark, almost burnt roasted malt. The hop flavor is there but not overdone. Dark chocolate and black coffee are in the mix. This stout is a bit monotoned, lacking real complexity but it’s consistant full body is a big plus. Looking foreward to enjoying this again.

Bottle Pours a black with a modest dark tan head that settles into thick sticky lacing. Aroma is stron Molassas, nutty, coffee and bittersweet chocolate. Bittersmokey molassas is at the front, with a charcoal aftertaste that is quite bitter. Less sweet than most of its type. Feel is moderatley thick and very smooth. Nice but the harsh bitter trailer puts me off a bit.

Bottle. Pours a deep, dark black with a beige head. Aroma is slight chocolate coffee bean. Flavor is bitter chocolate and powdered chocolate coffee bean. Nice, full mouthfeel. Very enjoyable stout.

This dark brown ale poured with a decent tan head and a coffee aroma. There is a rich malt flavor that is heavy on coffee and chocolate. This is not a sweet beer but is, rather, very dry with a bitter chocolate finish. A nice brew that is quite unique among stouts.

Outstanding. A nice suprise considering it didn’t appear to be much of anything special. It looked like a redheaded stepchild but packed all the right flavors. Chocolate, a little coffee, some toasty flavors, all-around goodness