The Beer Thread

[AsburySkinsFan]

Guinness Draught
B / 3.75
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3 | drink: 3.5
Nitro-bottle
Glass
Video of the Guinness Cascade from my new blog

Appearance: Average pour, noticeable bubbles due to the nitro. I very much like the cascade effect with the nitro-bottle as it also produces a very nice head that builds quickly, but settles to about ¼ inch with a very dense light khaki foam. The brew appears black, but when held to the light you can see the bulb dimly through the glass, with a very dark amber glow. The lacing was thick and held to the glass through the drink and even lasted after I finished.

Smell: The first thing I noticed was the abundant malts and the lighter spicyness, there was some toffee sweetness and hints of an espresso. The aroma was pleasant without being too strong.

Taste: First taste is the dark malts with a nice level of flavor, followed by some mild hop spices and ends with a bite of bitterness on the back and sides of my tongue. There are not a lot of heavy flavors other than the malts followed by the hops. I like the light sweetness on the tip of my tongue and the espresso aroma it leaves in my nose. The after-taste is mostly mild bitterness in the back of my mouth with the lingering malt flavor. Nowhere in my tasting did I notice any taste of alcohol in this brew.

Mouthfeel: The head was very smooth on my lips and tongue, the liquid was thicker than a pale ale, but not as thick as the Smithwick's Irish Ale. There was some light carbonation that set on my tongue but nothing too heavy or over-bearing. It also had a very nice clean finish without any noticeable diacetyl taste or feeling.

Drinkability: This is an easy drinking brew, with good flavor and nice simple complexity without trying to do too much. This is not an afternoon BBQ beer, but a nice steak dinner brew for those looking for a change.

[CooleyRox]

Anybody tried any smoked porters? I tried a couple at Savor in DC a couple of months ago but they were all too smoky for my tastes. I'd like to try a milder one but don't know if any exist.

[AsburySkinsFan]

Tonight's sampling

Bison Organic Chocolate Stout
B / 3.7
look: 3 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3 | drink: 4
Bottle
Slightly cooler than room temp

Appearance: this brew has a smooth pour and builds an almond colored head quickly to about 1 finger which begins to fade to a thin layer within a minute or so, the head has a medium froth nowhere near as dense as the Guinness nitro-bottle; the head also slides off leaving no lacing on the glass The brew itself is near black, but on the edges and bottom you can see that it is a very deep amber, especially when held to the light. It is a clear liquid, and I could see some evidence of carbonation with a single bubble stream visible on the surface. There was nothing really extra ordinary about the appearance, and the fact that it was not opaque reminded me of the Guinness, but this was even clearer. It looked good, but really just seemed average to me.

Smell: I hold my breath as I put my nose in the glass before inhaling, and even then I could feel the bite of the bitterness in my nostrils which really made me think I was in for a very hoppy brew. As I inhaled the spice was indeed prominent, and there was thick dark malt that you would expect from a stout. I could also smell some sweetness like toffee, but I was really left searching for any chocolate aroma.

Taste: The spice is certainly in this brew but not nearly as strong as I was expecting from the aroma, as I am not one who likes an overly hoppy brew I was pleasantly surprised at the difference between the aroma and the initial taste. Continuing with the first pull I tasted the heavy malts that should not come as a surprise when drinking stouts, this was followed by the bite of bitterness at the finish that was sharper than the Guinness, I really only noticed the chocolate at the end and it seemed a very rich dark chocolate. As I continued to explore the tastes I concentrated on the sweetness which is there on the tip of the tongue but certainly not a primary flavor. This did not taste at all watered down.

Mouthfeel: The Chocolate Stout is a thicker feeling brew than Guinness but certainly not syrupy by any stretch. I did notice any creaminess although there was a thin buttery coating in my mouth after swallowing. One thing that I noticed early was the carbonation, I expected to feel this from the appearance and I was afraid that it might be overbearing but that was not to be, the carbonation fizzed on my tongue some but it was not distracting from the flavors.

Drinkability: This is a good drinking brew, but the carbonation hangs in the stomach more than others and causes some bloating, the liquid itself is not all that heavy but with the carbonation it is rather filling even after a single pint. I can see drinking this in the evening with friends or family, or drinking one with a steak dinner, but I can't imagine anyone slamming these at a party. I certainly recommend this brew as a drinkable, and flavorful expression of what a stout is while not being completely overbearing.

[WhoRUSupposed2Be]

Give me three Cold Coronas with a long-island Iced Tea top it off.

[AsburySkinsFan]

Young's Double Chocolate Stout
A+ / 4.65
look: 4 | smell: 5 | taste: 5 | feel: 4 | drink: 4.5
1 pint .09 US fl.oz
Room temp bottle (large glass)

Appearance: the pour was average though for the size of the bottle it created a chug as it poured which really built the head up, easily I would say 3 fingers, with still more in the bottle. The head was almond colored and had a medium density, but dissipated to a ring by the time I took my first sip. The head has a light cling to the glass, but I noticed some heavier spots near the top where the head reached but the brew itself did not. The stout is ink black in the glass, though you can see just a hint of clean dark amber on the bottom of the glass when held to the light, other than that it is beautifully opaque with zero light showing through the middle of the brew. I can see very little evidence of carbonation on the top. Just looking at it I'm intrigued.

Smell: One of the first things that I noticed other than just how excellent this smelled was the toffee or caramel sweetness and the noticeable alcohol aroma, this had a heavy underlayer of dark malts what I can only imagine are chocolate malts, I also smell a bit of spicyness not nearly as prominent as the Bison Chocolate Stout. In other brews I've smelled hints of sweetness, but here it is especially prominent; as I continued to drink I began to recognize a building in the sweetness and a lessening of the alcohol smell, that with the malt base really had my nose going.

Taste: Sweet toffee right away as it hits my tongue, but not candy bar toffee more of a refined flavor, this mixed with the malts is excellent. I'm a big espresso lover and the deep rich flavors light my taste buds up, as does Young's stout, combine that with the well balanced level of hops with the deep cacao weaving through it all and the taste is simply the best I've experienced. There was some alcohol taste at first, but the more I drank the more it seemed to diminish. The finish has a nice bite from the hops reminding you after all that you are drinking a stout, but then the malts and chocolates remain and flood up your nose giving you an after-taste you don't want to lose. Young's stout is a very robust full bodied brew that will honestly leave you wishing there was more in that oversized bottle.

Mouthfeel: The stout is thick on the tongue and in the mouth it rolls well and has a bit of effervescence from the carbonation but it does not make the brew foamy. If anyone accuses this brew of being watery then they must drink their brews with a spoon, the thing that I noticed most is that the feeling is much thicker in my mouth than it looks. I did notice a light buttery taste and film in my mouth afterwards from the diacetyl (stuff that makes butter feel like it does), but it was not heavy or unpleasant.

Drinkability: Well what can I say, other than I was three fourths of the way through before I decided to slow down and sip the last bit savoring the flavors. This is a dessert beer, I can see drinking this on special occasions or when fine dining with a rich meal, or simply enjoying a bottle during a night with friends. The size of the bottle, alcohol content 5.2% abv and the robust flavors keeps this from being a session beer, but if what you want is a brew to settle down with and work with while letting your senses run wild then pour yourself a Young's.

This by far is the best stout I've had to date and I simply find it hard to believe that it gets better. On my next stop though the liquor store I'll be picking up another for a nice quiet night home.

[royallypwned]

^ I Love Young's Double Chocolate Stout. I usually make it the first beer I order when I go to the draught emporium.

[AsburySkinsFan]

^ I Love Young's Double Chocolate Stout. I usually make it the first beer I order when I go to the draught emporium.

First, wow, I think I would save this 'til last so I can savor it all night long, or do you get it first because later your buds are worn out?

[d0ublestr0ker0ll]

Nice reviews, Ashbury. Not a big fan of Guinness Draught, over here. Even with the nitro it seems flat and dull. Like a watered-down Extra Stout that's been left out for a day.

Not...that I've ever drank that.....

It even seemed like I got ahold of a bad batch. Nonetheless, I'm sticking to the Extra Stout when it comes to Guinness.

[AsburySkinsFan]

Nice reviews, Ashbury. Not a big fan of Guinness Draught, over here. Even with the nitro it seems flat and dull. Like a watered-down Extra Stout that's been left out for a day.

Not...that I've ever drank that.....

It even seemed like I got ahold of a bad batch. Nonetheless, I'm sticking to the Extra Stout when it comes to Guinness.

I was talking with a beer expert the other day on beeradvocate.com about this very thing with Guinness, it felt thin in my mouth almost like a "light" stout if there were such a thing. He explained to me that Guinness Draught is a "Dry Irish Stout" and as such it fits the description perfectly. I think I made a mistake by missing that the Guinness Draught was in the same category as other stouts, but I guess its in a sub-category.

Other than that, I'm wondering what group I'm gonna try out next week, so many to choose from.

[royallypwned]

First, wow, I think I would save this 'til last so I can savor it all night long, or do you get it first because later your buds are worn out?

Well I usually get it first AND last.

[AsburySkinsFan]

Well I usually get it first AND last.

LoL! Adds balance right.

[Blackest Eyes]

The Young's looks really really good!

[AsburySkinsFan]

The Young's looks really really good!

It is, and the bottle is nearly 2 pints, only lacking 3 fl oz, so there's enough to share...not sure why anyone would actually do that though. The Young's is really good, and what I noticed was that as I worked through the bottle it seemed to bring out differences in flavor and smell, either that or the 5.2% abv was getting to me.

[matty dread]

Young's Double Chocolate Stout is tasty stuff.

[AsburySkinsFan]

Review line up for the next two weeks: I have the remnants of a Sam Adam's Brew Master's Collection and Summer Pack in the fridge with 1 of each included beer so I put them in the mix to spread the tasting out over the next two weeks.

Bluegrass Brewing Company (BBC) Bourbon Barrel Stout
Samuel Adam's Black Lager
Sierra Nevada Stout
Samuel Adam's Blackberry Witbier
Left Hand Brewing Company Milk Stout
Samuel Adams Irish Red
Bell's Kalamazoo Stout
Samuel Adams Summer Ale
Samuel Smith Oatmeal Stout
Samuel Adams Pale Ale
Rogue Mocha Porter
Samuel Adams Hefeweizen
Bar Harbor Blueberry Ale
Sam Adams Light

p.s. I also got another bottle of Young's Double Chocolate Stout for my anniversary.