Upstream Blackstone Stout

Brewed by Upstream Brewing Company
Style: Sweet Stout
Omaha, Nebraska USA

Tap at the brewpub. The body was black with a light tan head. The aroma was malty with some coffee and milk chocolate. The taste was strong coffee with some dark chocolate. A lightly bitter roasted finish.

Draft sample at Upstream Old Market. Poured clear dark brown color with a large creamy off-white head that mostly lasted with excellent lacing. Moderate roasted coffee and chocolate aroma. Medium body with a dry smooth texture. Medium dark chocolate roasted flavor with a medium bittersweet finish of moderate duration. My expectations where more than met.

On tap at the brewpub. Pours black with a creamy tan head. Roasted malt, chocolate and coffee blend together in a pleasant aroma. Light to medium bodied, fairly thin and nitro-slick with a bitter roasted finish. Roasted malt, coffee and a touch of cocoa combine into a decent stout. It’s a bit too thin for my tastes, but it’s a fairly solid stout.

Cask: Pours oily black with a nice lacey head. Aroma of java and smokey roast. Flavor is also smokey with some chocolate sweetness and a hint of dark fruit. Finish was nice and long and stout had nice full body. Great beer.. surprised it hasn’t received higher ratings.

Enjoyed this beer on cask, and that is a KEY portion to this rating...I will currently rate based almost solely on the cask conditioned version, and when I have a full pint of it on tap, I’ll blend the ratings

On Cask: Pours black...very thin tan head. Aroma is very sweet and very well done...chocolate, sweet coffee, caramel malts and a milky feel to it. Flavor is milk chocolate, coffee (though not heavily roasted), milk, light accents of oatmeal, and chewy malts. Palate is damn near incredible, though I can’t give this a perfect score in this category as I have had the beer on tap in the past and it wasn’t as smooth...the cask conditioning just brings out the best in this beer, and the flavor lasts long after the drink is over...Upstream MUST have improved their brewing standards on this stout, as I can’t see how some of the early ’sub 2.2’ ratings ever happened otherwise!

Cask Conditioned Tap @ brewpub: This one is waaay better than the regular Blackstone. It has all of the other elements - choco-coffee aroma and taste, but everything is smoother and softer. Way more seductive.
Earlier Rating: 10/10/2007 Total Score: 3.2
Tap @ brewpub: Black with a light brown head. The feel is slick like an oatmeal stout. Choco-coffee aroma with dominant espresso and coffee notes in the flavor. I liked the bitter trailer on the back end.

Another random rating I found from well over a year ago. Opaque with a tan head that’s here to stay. Chocolate and coffee nose. Oily. Roasted coffee. Almost nohops to speak of. Sweet malts. chocolate and caramel. Still has a great layer of head. Grainy.

This is a solid stout, good roasted body and flavor. Nice and malty, good bitterness. Served a little too cold, but got better as it warmed up. Minimal head, but overall a decent effort.