Schooners Vindication

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

Draft. A black beer with a red shine under a brown head. The aroma is sweet and acidic with notes of berries. The flavor is sweet malty combined with an acidic note of berries.

From one of our few busrides - out of a keg. Pours brown with a lacing white head. Cherry fruity aroma and dense malty aroma. Smooth mouthfeel and flavour. Holds a nice chocolate base flavour with a lot of milky and fruity accents on top. Mild liqourice note too.

(BCTC, 12oz handbottle, thanks frumptydumpty) Muddy brown-black body with smooth brown head. Aroma is moderately sweet, sour raspberry, cocoa, some alcohol. Taste is moderately sweet, cocoa, sour raspberry/cherry, alcohol. Medium-full body.

Draft... RBSG ‘08... This beer rocks!... Murky, dark brown ale with a small, creamy, beige head and fat bubbles here and there. Cinnamon, brown sugar, tangy acidity and cherries are a few of the snippets I’m picking up in the nose. The aoma, in fact, reminds me a bit of the Lost Abbey 2008 Sinners (blend) I sample earlier in the day. Full-bodied and creamy with moderate carbonation. The flavor starts off sweet, but is also very nicely bittered with additional notations of fruits and cherries. Dry finish. I love it!

Muddy dark brown colored body with a tan/light brown head. Weird funky chocolate and bretty milk nose. Medium to low acidity, some smooth milk and cream, some roast, chocolate, coffee, etc., strange throughout, but better than many of the other sour stouts I’ve tried. Turns somewhat bland and pallid in the finish.

RBSG ’08: Keg provided by Mike. Poured a very dark brown to black color with a thin beige head. Nice roasted aroma with a lightly tart fruit to it. Cherries are my guess. The flavor was roasty with some chocolate notes wrapping over more of the fruit. Medium bodied. Good stuff.

From a keg at RBSG. Poured deep, murky brown with a lively cap of beige head. The aroma picked up sour dark fruit skins over semi-sweet chocolate, molasses, and a touch of caramel.. interesting. The flavor had dry, dark fruity tartness hitting first with lightly-smoked caramel, chocolate, and molasses coming through after.. very candied at the end.. finished dry and sour with a scratchy, oaky feel. Medium-bodied with an interesting interplay of sourness and roast on the palate.. OK feel. This was an odd duck.

Tasted at the May Northern California Beer Tasting. This stout pours a deep black color from the bottle. Small to medium sized tan foamy head. The aroma is tart cherry and chocolate. A medium bodied stout. The malts are chocolate and coffee. The hops are earthy. Lots of sour cheery and funk, with some of that nice stout chocolate and roast malts. The sour flavors dominate. Totally unexpected and very nice. Interesting beer. One of two sour stouts during this tasting. Mouthfeel is full. Finish is clean and crisp. Aftertaste is slightly tart and funky.