Stoudts Fat Dog Stout (Vintages through 2003)

750ml bottle from 10-23-03. Pours a dark coffee brown with a small tan head. Lots of chocolate on the nose with light oxidation present. Flavor and palate were both quite light and thin for this beer, mostly chocolate with light toasted malts.

bottled 10/23/03 - drank on 7/5/09. Nose was dominated by chocolate. A rough poor left a dark brown beer with a thin tan head. Taste was bog on dark chocolate, some dark fruits, and finishes surprisingly boozy with nice bourbon warmth.

Bottle shared by Trevor, thanks man, Vintage 2002. Pours a deep black body with a tan head. Rich and subtle but dry roasty chocolate. Licorice. Pretty much no oxidation and this held up dam well for a 6% brew!

In short: An old and slightly oxidized highly roasted stout with cacao notes. Nice despite being past due-date.
How: Bottle, vintage date 5/6/03, so consumed when 5 ½ year old. I’m sure I have to thank someone but I have no clue how this bottle made it to my cellar. Thanks… someone.
The look: Almost black body topped by a large fluffy head (WARNING: a major gusher)
In long: Highly roasted nose. Unsurprisingly the bottle was a bit oxidized and with its aggressive carbonation (big gusher) in mouth the beer felt like a cola soda-pop. High roastiness level with even notes of ashes. Taste is very simple with some basic dark chocolate and notes of tobacco. With the highly roasted malts the chocolate flavour end-up feeling like powdery cacao. Hops are all gone but the strong roastiness create a dry bitter finish. Probably once an excellent stout because I liked it despite its age related problems. Looks like back in 2003 a 6% stout was an Imperial Stout!!! How times have changed. Seems like the size of the average American Imperial Stout and the waist size of the average American are evolving the same way.

2002 Bottle: Pours dark brown to black with a tan head. Aroma, dark fruits, chocolate, mild roasted notes. Flavor, chocolate, fruits, roasted notes, body was very much on the thin side.

750mL bottle, dated 3/28/02 shared by Jason. The beer pours to a really dark cola colored body with a lasting thin light beige head. The aroma starts off as very similar to the beef gravy I made that I messed up. Over salted concentrate. Simple oatmeal and chocolate. The flavor held up well with chocolate and sweet oatmeal roast. The palate is roasty, sweet, acetic, but I think it held up well. This, however, is not imperial!

750mL bottle, dated 3/28/02. Poured clear medium-deep garnety-brown with a creamy cap of medium beige head. The aroma picked up sweet toasted chocolate and sweet oatmeal (more oatmeal as it warmed).. light dry herbal bitterness remains with a little cola.. really well-retained, especially considering the ABV. The flavor has sweeter chocolates and oatmeal with quite little coffee bitterness.. light herbal bitterness again, with a touch of coffee and dark fruit on the finish. About medium-bodied (not an impy stout), and on the sweeter end.. this held up fairly well!

2001 vintage, courtesy of CaptainCougar. This one poured a dark black color with a thin tan head that left minimal lacing behind. The aroma is of dark and roasty malts, chocolate, and some dark fruit in there as well. The flavor is much the same with the dark and roasty flavors mixed in with some chocolate and dark fruits. This one seems to have held up nicely over time. The mouthfeel was a little thin and lightly carbonated probably due to the age. It has a nice dry, roasty finish to it. This was a nice one to try as it was still solid after all these years.