Russian River OVL Stout

Brewed by Russian River Brewing
Style: Dry Stout
Santa Rosa, California USA

Cask @ Real Ale Fest

The beer pulls from the cask an onyx color the head thick and tall, the color chocolate brown, the texture creamy with the lace a glutinous sheet to cling mightily to the glass. Nose was sweet chocolate; coffee with a rich toasted grain aroma to end it all, start was ambrosia, rich in malt and the top full and creamy. Finish was gentle in it acidity, the hops perfection, somewhat bittersweet and dry aftertaste, I voted this the hit of the fest at least for me, and just missed by a frog hair of getting some at O’Brien’s, damn well better luck next time.

Draft. Deep black color with a chalky tan head. Rich chocolate aromas with some burnt coffee notes. A very smooth, dry stout with chocolate, coffee, fruit and maybe even a bit nutty. Crisp, dry finish. A great beer.

Dark black to chocolate-brown color with a ridiculously creamy cappuccino-type head. Honestly one of the most visually appealing beers I’ve ever seen. Aroma is like slightly burnt chocolate chip cookies along with some burnt toast, dark roasted malts, and a bit of coffee. Flavors lived up to the hype created by the aroma: burnt toast, cookie/biscuit maltiness, dark roasted/burnt malts, a bit of molasses, chocolate, and some coffee. Palate is smooth, silky, slightly viscous, but with an extremely clean and crisp dry finish. Maybe a small amount of a residual sweetness/stickiness. Amazing stuff, I could drink endless amounts of this.

Had on cask at O’briens...This stout pours with a black body topped by a thick, tan head with a good amount of lacing. The aroma is slightly sweet and malty with a nice roasty note and notes of coffee with a touch of chocolate. The flavor is great. It’s sweet yet slightly bitter and malty with a nice mocha note and a slight roastiness. Very smooth, creamy and full bodied.

on tap at the brewery - in September 2006. Pitchblack color, nice chocolate, slight sour milk taste. Roasty nose and taste. Small sticky pillow on top.

On tap at the brewery. Aroma is roasty with a coffee bean and chocolate combo that’s incredibly interesting. Appearance is black, black and just a little more black with a thick tan head. Flavors are all melded together so well, it’s nice to drink a stout that doesn’t make you feel like you swallowed a watermelon. Creamy smooth with a nice bitter finish that reminded me a little of a good espresso.

On nitro tap at the Russian River Brewery. It pours black with creamy light brown head. The aroma is mild sweetness, burnt malts and faint coffee. Yum. The flavor starts with highly roasted malts then burnt malts mixed with chocolate malts. This is an excellent combination of malts. It is tasty, mildly sweet and roasty.

Roasted woody nose, opaque black color, creamy sticky head. Complex deep malt tastes of wood, chocolate and coffee. Smooth going done. An excellent stout.