Redfish Gastons Swollen Delta Stout

Formerly brewed at Redfish New Orleans Brewhouse
Style: Dry Stout
Boulder, Colorado USA

Name: Gaston’s Swollen Delta Stout
Date: 03/01/2006
Mode: Bottle
Source: Tasting

black with ruby edges, scant head, sweet creamy chocolate aroma, thin tart roasted flavor, dry finish, hint of burnt bitterness

Aroma: 6/10; Appearance: 5/10; Flavor: 6/10; Palate: 5/10; Overall: 9/20
Rating: 2.7/5.0
Drinkability: 7/10
Score: *4

Pours a barely transparent dark brown with a nicely-lacing tan head. Aroma of sweet toasty caramel malt with some freshly mown grass character. Body starts with some sticky earthy bittersweet caramel, mild soy and a drier mildly roasty finish. This bottle was at least a few years old and probably past its prime.

Haha, just as I thought... same brewmaster as the Oskar Blues thing... read my rating of THAT stout... I just cleaned my mouth out and now I'm opening this one. Smells like a slightly sweet coffee and creame mixture, with some hickory smoke (think good BBQ) and some tobacco. Ok palate... soft but empty, with mild flavors of oats and smoke. Too thin.

Draught. Body is dark brown to black. Aroma is moderately malty (roasted grain, dark chocolate), lightly yeasty (dough). Flavor is moderately sweet, lightly acidic, moderately bitter. Finish is lightly acidic, moderately bitter. Medium body, watery (almost creamy) texture, lively carbonation, lightly astringent.

Poured a clear very dark ruby brown color with a small tan head. The aroma is big and full. Plenty of aged roasted malt. A light tartness and smoke. Pretty sweet. Light soy sauce and some chocolate notes. The flavor continues with a good amount of roasted malt. Light milk chocolate flavors with a little bit of dark chocolate bitterness on the finish. Carbonation is light. The mouthfeel is creamy and a little acidic on the finish.

Lovely head; thick and lofty, light tan in color; sticky and lingering lace. Dark black in color. Roasted and bitter-sweet with a vegetable/herbal aroma. Not great, but far from bad. On tap at Oskar Blues: Black as night with a tan, lasting head. Soft, creamy texture with a mild carbonation. Thick and rewarding. Huge coffee and bitter-sweet chocolate notes throughout. Roasty burntness too. Richly hopped, providing a nice bitter nip. Slight mustiness; yeasty and earthy. Tried this side-by-side with the Sandi's; liked Gaston's much better.

I’ve had this one in the fridge for a few months now. What the heck - when you look at the label, it’s kind of confusing - I started to think it was from New Orleans, but it’s from Boulder, CO. We had a hard time pouring this - if you pour 2 inches of beer, you’ll get 6 inches of brown/tan head. Once it settles down, you get good lacing and the color is deep black with hints of red.. Sweet aroma. Taste was a perfect desert brew - sweet with a nice amount of coffee roastyness.

Appearance: deep, dark color, almost solid black, if not for the lighter, reddish sides and bottom, with a huge, booming, bubbly, cocoa-tan head. Aroma: soft and creamy, hints of coffee, anise, chocolate, dry and a little bitter, gritty and roasty, but nice. Taste: great mouthfeel, tremendous texture, palate-coating, but not too heavy, and exquisitely drinkable. This perfectly capture the "Extra Stout" category, and is smooth and eminently drinkable. Hops are here, just enough, and malt is in unfailing supply. Remarkably smooth and drinkable, without losing it’s edge. Fully-flavored, richly roasted, and with a hint of fruitiness, just a little. Sure they didn’t smuggle this over from Dublin? Definitely a keeper in my book, an "Extra Stout" that really nails it!