Santa Cruz Mountain Organic Devout Stout

Brewed by Santa Cruz Mountain Brewing
Style: Stout
Santa Cruz, California USA

Couldn’t wait for this one to end. Almost had to force myself to finish it. Horrible. Very mild aroma with tiny hints of chocolate and pine. Very bland flavor with a sour off taste. It was smooth, and that’s about the only good thing it’s got going. So much for organic...

6/29/08 From the bottle. Aroma is very rich with red and dark fruit, creamy sweetness and light roast. I wish I knew more style specifics, but this smells rediculous regardless. Appearance is very dark brown with a medium maintained light tan head. Flavor is much of the same as the aroma, but not as well balanced, as black or heavily roasts come through to wipe out the sweetness, but there’s good complexity. Mouthfeel is medium-full bodied with a heavy grainy feel and low carb texture. Overall, the flavor was a little bit of a let down, but not a major one; this is worth trying.

22oz bottle. Black body with a fine tan head. Roasted and chocolate aroma, with a little burnt toast. Bitter and pretty dry flavor with typical coffee flavors, but just enough malt sweetness to keep it pretty balanced. Hops are pretty earthy, blend in well and don’t over-assert themselves. A light acidity gives it some bite. Smooth and silky body with pretty mild carbonation. A pretty nice stout, without too much burnt flavor, which I like. My favorite SC Mountain offering thus far, and the only one that I’ve had bottled, which makes me want to seek this out on tap.

Sample at the Most Honorable SuperHappyFun Stout Tasting, thanks Dogbrick: Can I describe a beer as "fluffy"? If so, this beer is fluffy. Aroma is earthy chocolate malts and lightly roasted, dark sugars. Body is over-carbonated and fluffy in my mouth. Some coffee notes, sweetness, and chocolate malts that make for an average porter, but by no means a good stout.

Sample at the Most Honorable SuperHappyFun Stout Tasting. Bottle from Bevmo in Palmdale, CA. This beer pours blackish brown with a thin beige head that dissipates quickly. Stringy lacing. The aroma is both roasty and vinous with touches of malt and chocolate. Medium, dry body with notes of roasted malt, wine and coffee. The finish is roasted malt and caramel, with a light hops aftertaste. Slightly above average overall.

Bottle. Black pour, almost no head. Aroma is mostly coffee and roasted malt. Flavor has significant roast as well, with a hint of dark chocolate, and some mild malt sweetness. This is about average for a stout.

I am extremely disappointed. Pours black with hardly any head. The head was a promising mocha color, and then it was gone. Smells like old coffee grounds, and tastes like old coffee. Watery palate. Makes me sad to see a stout turn out like this.

Bomber. Pours opaque black with a big and creamy tan head that subsides without producing much lace. Coffee, brown sugar and grapefruit nose. Creamy medium-to-light body, light carbonation. Sweet taste of roasted malt, chocolate, caramel. Smoke and espresso finish with a slight grapefruit edge to it. Not rock-my-world great, but a pretty tasty stout.