Smoky Mountain Brown Trout Stout

Brewed by Smoky Mountain Brewery & Restaurant
Style: Dry Stout
Gatlinburg, Tennessee USA

Damn I like stouts! Deep black with a nicely laced, though flirtatious light, head. Tastes of chocolatey hops with a bit of coffee dancing about at just the edge of sensibility. I could stand a bit more alcohol in it, but otherwise, a pleasure.

Finally I get this beer! After so many things going wrong last year that prevented me from ever trying it, I now have it in my hands. Draught, pours opaque black, with a two tone dark dark tan/brown head. My God, that is truly a beautiful pour. The aroma is still pretty nice, lots of coffee and roast. Flavor is almost watery at first, but the coffee and roast comes in, and finishes kind of like dark bitter coffee grounds.

Draft at Pigeon Forge brewpub. Opaque with a huge Guinness-style head (might have been N2, the ditzy bartender couldn’t tell me) that finally settles to a half-inch cream. Nice lacing left behind. Aroma of chocolate and coffee. Flavor is similar with some roasted nut and char in the aftertaste. Served way too cold, as all the beers in this brewery are, but most are lagers anyway. Heavy body is smooth and sticky, with just enough wateriness to make it a great session beer. The only truly good beer this brewery offers, but alas it’s a ’’Brewer’s special’’ and not in the normal house lineup.

On tap @ Turkey Creek. Pours a black color with a thick brown head. Lots of coffee in the aroma, fresh ground and roasted. Creamy body laced with coffee bitterness and chocolatey sweetness. Not bad!

Black, with a thick, creamy, brown head (with a little nitro help, I think). Burnt toast aroma, with a faint whiff of chocolate. Smoky and smooth, with notes of hickory and coffee. Finishes with a nice dark chocolate flavor.

had this at my second visit to the brewery. probably the best beer they have. definitely a dry stout, and i think this was nitrogenated. so it was pretty smooth, and pretty light. your usual roasty chocolate. milky, pretty creamy. no alcohol. not bad.

Draught at the PF brewery. Pours opaque black with amber at the very extremities, and cascades to a well-formed brown head that laces beautifully. The aroma is clean and roasty with some hints of mocha. The flavor is very chocolatey at first, then moves on to nuts and roasted malt, and culminates in a dry, slightly ashy finish. After a few minutes, coffee tones become increasingly evident. The mouthfeel is smooth and dense. Definitely the best offering from this brewery, and probably of East Tennessee.

draught. Well, before I talked to the brewmaster about this beer, I was basically expacting just another textbook nitro dry stout. Mr. Vellas informed me that he intended for this to be more of a foreign-style stout and my curiousty was piqued. This is a very attractive beer: black with the lovely rolling cascade which leaves a surprisingly dark tan, lasting head. The aroma is densely chocolate with a bit of black coffee and tree bark in there. Brown trout possesses a creamy mouthfeel along with rich, sweet chocolate and woody bitterness thought it finishes on a slight chalky, cola note. The head, though, leaves some very tasty bittersweet, smoky chocolate on my lips after every sip. This was a very pleasant surprise, especially given this brewpub’s other offerings.
[update April 2, ’07]
Ah, the brown trout is back. This is definitely this brewery’s best offering in my opinion. Smells pretty good with hints of rich coffee, vanilla wafers, bittersweet baking chocolate. The mouthfeel is nicely creamy. Unlike their porter, the flavor on this stout follows up nicely to the aroma. Flavors of dark chocolate brownies and dark roasted coffee come out. This beer could use more oomph, either in the way of malts or some more pronounced bitter notes, but it walks the line of true greatness.
[Feb 27, 2008]
Pours very dark brown/red with a nitro head. Rich chocolate and almond suggestions abound. The bitterness is appropriate and is represented mostly in a coffee/baking chocolate flavor. Mouthfeel is creamy and plenty of nuttiness is present. This is easily my favorite offering from Smoky Mountain.
[September 8, 2008]
Pours really dark with a huge dark tan head. Nitrogen is in full swing here and makes a perfect pour a no brainer. The aroma packs lots of roast, huge nuttiness, and black chocolate. For some reason, I can always tell a giant difference in flavor on the head. It’s sweet and milky, very creamy sweet. The body is bittersweet with very much dark chocolate, roasted wood, and coffee. This is far and away the best beer at Smoky Mountain.