Stoudts Fat Dog Stout (Vintages 2004 and later)

Brewed by Stoudts Brewing Co.
Style: Imperial Stout
Adamstown, Pennsylvania USA

Draught at MacGregors in Henrietta. Pitch black with a fabulous tan head: thin, ultra-fine, smooth. Fruity aroma with chocolate and coffee. Sweet, creamy, and smooth, with chocoalte and coffee; not at all assaulting on the palatte. Very higly drinkable, though a bit too sweet. Very sessionable for such a strong beer. Great balance.

Pours dark with a nice frothy head. There is a rich sweet, roasted malty smell. The flavor is delicious with a sweet flavor that hits the palate at the end. There are undertones of booziness through the rich, malty flavor.

bottle, pours black, tall tan head. Dark fruit and roasted malt aroma. Nutty malt, sweet coffee, and yeasty flavors. Nice and mildly sweet. I like it.

Huh - I’m sort of surprised to this rated so highly. It wasn’t bad by any means, but it also didn’t strike me as being a particularly special beer. I had this shortly after a Troegs Rugged Trail Brown Ale, and didn’t find this Imperial Stout to be altogether more roasty or have that much more body than the brown ale, which sort of surprised and disappointed me. Imperial stout is sort of a superlative style - more malty, roasty and higher ABV than other styles, and while this beer was pleasant enough, it was hardly superlative. A little light in color for a RIS, with a medium amount of head. Aroma was roasty, but pretty faint for the style. Flavor was as described above. Mouthfeel was a bit thin. I bought this bottle at Jungle Jim’s in Fairfield, OH.

From a 12oz into a pint glass. Pours dark but not oily with an inch of head which dissipates but never disappears. Smell is of bitter coffee with light alcohol. Taste is Mainly of coffee, oatmeal, vanilla and alcohol. The alcohol bite remains in your mouth with the coffee flavor as an aftertaste. Overall a very good stout. Not too heavy as some imperial stouts are. The one drawback in my mind is the alcohol bite. I’ll let a couple sit for 6 or so months and try again.

A deep and dark reddish brown; only shows color through bright light. Puffy light brown head, the color of a paper bag; leaves a tan bishop’s collar. The smell is sweetish caramel and that smooth oatmeal aroma. Light chocolate. Balanced by a dry, slightly nutty graininess, like spent mash. Strong and complex. The taste is heavy alcohol flavor, immediately followed by bittersweet malts. Coffee and choco-caramel. Hard to tell where the sweetness ends & bitterness begins, because they mesh so well. A chewy concoction, thick ... like an oatmeal indeed! Both smooth and gritty. Sweet in a dark way, bitter in a pleasant way. Outstanding.

Pours a viscous black with the same glass coating qualities as East End Toaster and Dark Lord. Not much head but a small tan crown. There are some highlights around the glass. Smell is a very sweet chocolate scent with some hints of coffee. Taste is a very creamy chocolate/coffee concoction. Tasty, very similar to FFF’s moloko. Surprising considering the higher ABV in this one. I couldn’t put this one down as fast because it is a bit thicker in the mouth, but the carbonation is nice and low. It’s between this and Blackout Stout for my new favorite readily available brew. That may be a Gala Apples to Fuji Apples comparison, but you get the point. Try it!

This is one great beer. Not too overpowering, but full of complexity and flavor. Has a nice sweet tone, but not too over done. It’s not like biting into a ripe orange where you pucker your cheeks, its calm and relaxing. Very Very enjoyable.