Rock Bottom Chicago Terminal Dry Stout

Nitro... DLD’08... Black ale with a mid-sized, creamy, everlasting, light brown head. The black malts impart notes of coffee, dark chocolate and acrid smoke (“...and horse’s breath...” ;-)). Medium-bodied and creamy with feather-soft carbonation. It’s supposed to be a Guinness clone and they pull it off, only with better balance. Essences of dark roast coffee, carbon and cocoa, but a touch thin. Finishes lightly bitter and lifeless. The nitro really sucks this one dry... figuratively, of course.

In short: A offensively watery dry (ashes) stout
How: Tap at brewpub
The look: Almost black body with a medium tan head
In long: Watery, very watery. Some burnt malts and ashes in water. Ashes finish. It is dry alright. No sweetness apparent. Actually there are not flavours apparent other than that burnt/ashes feeling. At least it’s got an honest name, Terminal also means severely incurable and sick.

Pours black with a creamy lasting, nitro head. Smell is almost nonexistant at first, and as it warms, comes out just very faintly, still, and is moderately roasty. Taste is more robust and is dry cocoa powder, roasty malt, and smooth in the mouth from the nitro pour. Decent beer.

Draught during my Dark Lord excursion. Pours brown with a nitro cascade. The aroma is fairly spiced and sour for this style. It’s dry enough with creamy chocolate /coffee scents. Mouthfeel is pleasant, I appreciate a nitro well enough, certainly more than some. There is a significant bite up front which dries out the palate. There’s a really nice chocolate character and walnut shell flavor that seems a little too grainy. The biggest downfall here is a vinegary presence that was more noticed when I first sniffed the beer, but remained lurking around throughout the duration of my drink. This is a far cry from their excellent imperial stouts which I sampled the day prior.