Special Double Cream Stout

Bell's

Special Double Cream Stout

(Specs) 6.1 ABV

Colour: Black

Aroma: roasted malt, chocolate

Head: light brown, small amount

Initial Taste: sweet chocolate notes

Mouthfeel: velvity and bitter, coffee notes medium-heavy body

Aftertaste: intense coffee sourness, but not unpleasant

Note: As the beer sits in the air / warms up, its flavours really develop

Verdict: This beer is a keeper, you really get a huge amount of chocolate and coffee wrapped within a velvety cushion without the crushing heaviness that usually accompanies it.

Yes, the beer is hard to find. Yes, it is expensive. Yes, you should buy it.

You'll thank me.

Black Beer Stout

Hite Jinro Co

Black Beer Stout

(Specs) 5.0 ABV

Colour: dark brown, almost like a dark maple syrup

Aroma: dark, roasted malt, cocoa

Head: tan, very little

Initial Taste: slightly roasted hoppy taste

Mouthfeel: light-to-medium body

Aftertaste: light roasted aftertaste

Paradox Smokehead (Cask)

Brewdog
Paradox Smokehead

There are few things that I always seem to order when I am presented with a long list of beers, and they are 1) Cask Ales 2) Interesting Named Beers and 3) Beers with intensely visual descriptors of they flavour. When I returned back to Houston to visit my family and we headed out to the phenomenal Hay Merchant, this beer checked all of my tics.

Now, before I continue, It should be noted that I am not a whiskey drinker--I am working on it, but haven't gained the taste yet--and that definitely coloured my experience with the beer.

(Specs) ABV 10%


Colour: Dark Brown
Aroma: Smoky
Head: Off white cream

Inital Taste: no initial taste
Mouthfeel: medium body, intensely peaty
Aftertaste: very smoky aftertaste

Verdict: I couldn't finish this beer, because of the overwhelming taste of smoke and peat. I can imagine that if you like whiskey, and you like it chock full of smoke, this could be a beer you fall in love with, but if you don't I'd recommend you try something else.

Lump of Coal Dark Holiday Stout

Ridgeway Brewing Company

Lump of Coal Dark Holiday Stout

(Specs) 8.0 ABV

Colour: dark dark brown

Aroma: roasted hops

Head: light tan

Initial Taste: bitter, rich, slightly hoppy

Mouthfeel: medium body

Aftertaste: bitter, spicy aftertaste

Note: as the beer sat, the sharper flavours mellowed noticeably

Chocolate Stout

Rogue Brewery
Chocolate Stout

After eyeing this beer for a few months, as I often do with most issues by Rogue, I finally broke down and bought it.

(Specs) ABV 9.6%


Colour: Black
Aroma: Roasted hops, oak

Head: Light brown, slight head

Inital Taste: Slightly sweet of taste of hops, hint of bitter chocolate and coffee
Mouthfeel: Medium to full bodied beer
Aftertaste: Slightly sour

Hel & Verdoemenis

Brouwerij Van Molen:
Hel & Verdoemenis

I picked up this beer while late one night while I was wondering through the Castro in San Francisco on a tip from bartender who I had met a few hours before. Like the happenstance occurrence that caused me to be walked down the street, it was pure whimsy that I decided to head into the nearest little corner store I could find and pick up a beer or two for my night's adventures.

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Little did I know that I had just happened across one of the true hidden gems of the city, a tiny little place called Healthy Spirits, that is backed wall-to-wall, and floor to ceiling with beer and wine. And most surprising to me at least is that sheer number of beers I had never even seen of before, let alone heard of, and I have spent more than my fair share of time buying and hanging around beer selling establishments. Anyway, on to the beer...

(Specs) IBU 99.9, ABV 10.2%

Colour: Black
Aroma: Slightly alcoholic, dark and sweet fermented smell slightly hoppy
Head: Small bubbles, dark brown

Inital Taste: Bittersweet, slight coffee
Mouthfeel: Very full bodied, very dark (almost tasted similar to soy sauce)
Aftertaste: Spicy, bitter

Verdict: This was truly one of the most unique beers I have ever had, from the cellaring instructions, to the sealing wax, to the taste. However, there are some beers that you really have to be in the mood in order to drink them and I think I picked an off day. However, since I have only ever seen this bottle once, if I saw it again I would pick it up in a heartbeat.

Blaecorn Unidragon

So I believe the name for this one requires a bit of explanation, so I will transplant it directly from the bottle for you.

"What should we all our Russian Imperial Stout? Black Unicorn? Soul Dragon? Nahhhh Let's combine them and create the ultimate mythical creature: Blaecorn Unidragon!"

So their you have it, the Blaecorn Unidragon Russian Imperial Stout by Clown Shoes beer. This is a brewery I can honestly said that I have never heard of, but a quick perusal of their site shows that their humorous naming schema continues through the rest of their brews.

Year: 2011

ABV: 12.5%

From: Form a 750ml bottle, and poured

DRINKING NOTES:

FOAM: creamy, brown head, medium size

COLOUR: black, with a dark brown tint, opaque

SMELL: roasted hoppy smell

TASTE:

(initial) slight oak-ey character, roasted hops

(body) medium body

(aftertaste) slightly hoppy aftertaste

Bourbon Barrel Stout

At my university, there is one bar on campus. Even though, the can only sell beer, they have a pretty awesome selection (about 30-40 different bottles) and that is where this week's selection comes from.

It is a Bourbon Barrel Stout from the Clay Street Series by Bluegrass Brewery Company. Try as I might though, I cannot find anything about this beer on the internet, besides the fact it was aged in a barrel formerly used in the bourbon manufacturing process—something immediately evident upon opening the bottle.

Year: 2010

ABV: 8.6%

From: 12oz bottle (chilled), and poured into plastic cup

DRINKING NOTES:

FOAM: brown chocolately colour (very big foam) *pour very slowly it still foams

COLOUR: very dark brown, almost black

SMELL: very roasted, charred wood

TASTE:

(initial) roasted taste, leads into a hoppiness

(body) medium body, hints of coffee, charred taste of the barrel

(aftertaste) very hoppy, hint of bourbon, slightly sour

Guinness Extra Stout

INFO:

Guinness Extra Stout is (surprise) a stout that comes from Dublin City in the Republic of Ireland. I have actually visited the brewery/museum, Saint James Gate, (alas I was but a few months too young to sample the draft) nevertheless I highly recommend it as it is a very interesting place.

Guinness itself, though is an interesting beer though; as in it is more than a beer. Apparently it's sales were declining and so it was marketed as a "cult" beer which has definitely worked in the United States where it (for better or for worse) is synonymous with all things Hibernia and WASP-ey by extension.

In addition, you can get it around the world, but it is alway slightly different, depending on where you are (so don't think if you like it in the USofA you will necessarily like it in France). For example, this is the British version of the American site linked above. For a full list of the crazy, check this out.

Finally, I just one last thing before writing up some tasting notes. I really love the way guinness foams. Basically what happens is a small head appears on the top and then you see the bubbles cascade down in the glass rather than up; it is all very odd. The reason for this is that there are a few salient differences between guinness and your average lager. If you don't know what that is, it is actually quite interesting (hint: it involves nitrogen) click here to find out.

Year: 2010

ABV: 5.0%

From: 12oz bottle (chilled), and poured

DRINKING NOTES:

COLOUR: opaque black

FOAM: thick creamy, light tan

SMELL: bitter smell of roasted grains with a hint strong coffee

TASTE:

(initial) initial bitter taste of hops (hard to tell the nuances because I drank it very cold as it is really hot out and thats not the best way to drink guinness

(body) the beer has a nice body though that really expands the flavour of the roasted grains giving it both less bitter and even some sweet notes, very much a full palate taste

(aftertaste) slightly bitter but not unpleasantly so

Black Chocolate Stout (2010)

I picked up this beer at the suggestion of an acquaintance Sam, who highly recommended it. Since I am much more a fan of darker, heartier beers and this was a at least called itself a stout, I decided to give it a try.

The Black Chocolate Stout is a winter beer from the Brooklyn Brewery available from October to March, the particular limited run that I drank was the '10-'11 edition.

The beer poured an opaque black, with a dark tan foam, of less than average height. It had a very bitter, complex taste with notes of a very dark chocolate (hence the name) and coffee and at around 10% alcohol per volume, this is not a drink to trifle with. Yet even with all that said, everything was subdued enough that it was surprisingly drinkable while maintaining the flavour. The one downside though is a bit on the expensive side (expect to pay around 6 or 7 dollars a bottle online) but I would definitely say it is well worth it. Just be careful because you will definitely be wanting more but the higher alcohol percentage means that like many hearty Belgian beers, you just want to watch your drinks and make sure you don't drink too much.

Verdict: Stock Up