Schooners Vindication

Brewed by Schooners Grille & Brewery
Style: Imperial Stout
Antioch, California USA

Massive tan creamy head. Black and opaque. Strong sour aroma similar to cherries with a dusty chocolate aroma underneath. Very tart up front tempered by the extreme creaminess of the beer. High abv is completely hidden in this beer. Wow, this is excellent. Right up my alley.

Some insanely generous person brought a whole keg of this to the RBSG grand tasting. It was my first beer at that tasting. Pours blackish dark brown with a medium tan head that had good retention.The aroma was rich with sour dark fruits and a bit of funk. The taste was of dark roasted grains, sour cherries, plums, dates, and a fair bit of acidity. The mouthfeel was silky smooth and full with lively carbonation. The finish was long and sour. Overall: Very nice, very tasty; a great way to start the grand tasting, I had to go back for a second glass.

12oz handbottle, courtesy of FrumptyDumpty, Friday at BCTC. Thanks, Ryan! Tried this during my "volunteer" shift. Woops. Nose of tart cherry, roasted malt, a bit of chocolate. Flavor is very complex and tasty, cherry pits, roasted malts, cocoa. This was delicious. My comment was this was what I wish Bells Cherry Stout tasted more like.

The official beer of the RBSG 2008 Bus tour. Nice tart sourness over an overall malty beer. Perfect for a morning hang-over.

Draft @ Bistro BA Fest. Pours a dense, ruby-brown color; light tan head with decent retention and patchy, fine-bubbled lacing. Loads of dried, solidly tart red fruits, intense, full fruit leather, and just a touch of tobacco in the aroma. Medium-to-full mouthfeel: intense, chewy and sour tart cherries and red fruit, heavy, lively presence in the mouth, with excellent levels of viscosity; nicely dense, solidly drinkable sour ale with plenty of tart red cherries. Medium finish: tart, bing cherries, fruit leather, and some honey; nicely reserved sweetness. 8.4.9.4.16=4.1

12oz handbottle, courtesy of FrumptyDumpty, Friday at BCTC. Thanks, Ryan! Pours a murky, chocolate-raspberry color; slightly oily; light tan head with patchy lacing. Lots of pitty red fruits (raspberries, cherries), fruit rollups, and solid citrus tartness; touch of chocolate. Medium-to-full mouthfeel: chewy dried red and dark fruits; touch of warming alcohol; very dense, viscous, oily goodness; lots of pitty red fruit character and viscous cocoa-tinged maltiness; great stuff. Lengthy finish: dark chocolate, pitty red fruits (raspberries, especially), and toasted malts. Really nice beer. 8.4.8.4.16=4.0

Tap. Pours pitch black, with a huge, froth light brown head. Smells of tart fruits mixed with chocolate cream, and light acidity. The flavor is a really nice blend of those flavors as well. Wouldnt call it sour, but it was definitely tart, with a combo of dark fruits, and lightly roasty chocolate and vanilla cream. Im not usually a sour stout fan, but this is probably the best Ive had to date so far. Pretty darn good.

On tap at RBSG. Black. Fluffy tan head. Sweetish. Easy to drink. Nice twang of sour. Not sure if this should be called a stout.

Tap From a keg @RBSG not on the bus at the grand tasting. Pours black 1 finger black with a 1 finger tan ring. nose is sweet. Taste is tart and sweet and wow.