Dark Horse Round-Up

I am finally getting around to writing up a trio of Dark Horse beers enjoyed by me and the VP.  All three were purchased in the bottle shop at Capone’s Restaurant, in Norristown, PA.  Don’t let the location scare you, this place is diamond in the rough for beer lovers, in bottles and on draft alike.

The line up was Dark Horse’s Too Cream Stout, Double Crooked Tree IPA, and Tres Blueberry Stout.

Too Cream Stout - a milk stout coming in at 8% ABV.  Starting with a nice, almost smoky nose, it poured without much head for a stout.  Not too much in the way of mouthfeel, but it has more body than a porter.  As for flavor, it was quite roasty, and had little in the way of chocolate or coffee notes so common in many stouts - this was actually a nice aspect of this beer.  Also, it was not overly sweet as many milk stouts are.  Overall, an interesting beer.

Double Crooked Tree IPA - a double IPA with a powerful ABV of at least 12%.  Bright citrus flavor typical of good IPAs, and a nice carbonation but not overly fizzy.  It stands up well against your run of the mill double IPAs, but tastes a little ordinary after having tasted things like Pliny the Elder, or even 90 Minute IPA.  The nose was the only time the high ABV really comes through, which is surprising for an over 12% beer.  Overall, a perfectly drinkable, tasty double IPA, but nothing particularly special.

Tres Blueberry Stout - a stout made with blueberries with an an ABV of 7.5%.  Well, when Dark Horse says blueberry, they mean it!  The nose on this beer is nothing but blueberry, almost jam-like.  It has a good chewy mouthfeel and body, but it was a little over-carbonated for my taste.  You have to be in the mood for something a little weird and off the norm to try this beer.  It has a true, blueberry flavor along with a nice bodied stout.  Not a great aftertaste, but nice up front.  I am glad I tried it once, but I would probably not pick it up again.

A complex, diverse lineup.  I am glad I tried them all, and will keep picking up different Dark Horse beers when I get the chance.

Bell's Java Stout

Bell's Java Stout:

Stouts are somewhat my forte (though I do love a good IPA, too) – and I have been dying to try Bell’s Java Stout.  I had heard only good things about it, but was afraid I might be let down by this beer.  Luckily, I was not!

This beer poured into a tulip without much head, but it had a bold nose full of rich coffee and chocolate notes.  At first taste, I was overwhelmed by the powerful, black coffee flavor of this beer.  It does not have much mouth feel, but with so much flavor, more thickness would almost be overkill.    Overall this was a delightful coffee stout, with much more coffee flavor than for example Tröegs Java Head (you can read the VP's review of Java Head).  I would definitely drink this one again.

I also finally broke out my 33 Bottles of Beer  notebook, this felt like a good beer to christen it.  I found this lovely item when looking for a birthday present for The VP.  At only $12 for a pack of three, this one-hundred percent recycled, USA-made product is both a steal and a smart purchase.  I look forward to using it to help me remember many beers in the coming months!

Stone Brewing Co. Homebrew Collaboration: Cherry Chocolate Stout

The Beer: Stone Brewing Co.
Homebrew Collaboration: Cherry Chocolate Stout

The Date: 7/31/11

The Format: 12oz Belgian snifter

Appearance: Opaque brown/black with a moderate brown head. looks like a brownie.

Smell: Smells like a brownie! Chocolate and alcohol with  the hint of cherries. almost sickly sweet smelling; almost.

Taste: Initially, i wasn't getting much out of this beer. Then I let it warm up. *much* better. Initial light roast and dark chocolate, coming into a light cherry and more chocolate. Fades off into toffee and tart cherry.

Mouthfeel: Filling. Thickness in accordance of the beer's name, most likely derived from the lactose addition.

Overall: A good stout with a healthy dose of chocolate, but i think the cherries come in the wrong way. They offer a tartness on the finish that distracts from the rest of the beer, reminding more of cherry cough syrup than anything else. Which is crazy because they added real cherries, not a fake product! I wish I could of had the homebrew version of this to compare.

Rogue Shakespeare Stout

Rogue Shakespeare Stout:

"A beer, a beer, my kingdom for a beer!" William Shakespeare (according to the customs of the day regarding christenings) was born on April 23, 1564.  He also happened to die on April 23, 1616, so you can imagine that April 23 holds a special place in the hearts of Shakespeare fans.  So, what better way to honor The Bard than write a beer review on a beer blog, right?

I actually had too many options.  Would it be better to review all British beers, from London?  Or maybe beers made in the style closest to what would have been brewed in Elizabethan England?  Or maybe a beer from Oregon?  Right!  So, I went with a beer with Shakespeare in the name: Rogue Shakespeare Stout.  From the first whiff from the bottle, this is smelling good, very much like a true and proper stout.  Methinks I will like this one.

The beer is black, as black as the heart of yon Cassius.  But I won't be going lean and hungry drinking this stout. It is smooth, and has a nice lingering taste on my tongue and in the back of my mouth.  It has an odd bit of sharpness, too, which might be enhanced by the effervescence of this stout, which I find interesting.  Rogue writes on the bottle: "Ebony in color with a rich creamy head, an earthy flavor that comes from oats, and a mellow chocolate aftertaste."  This is interesting.  I would not have at first described the aftertaste as "chocolately" but I did find it enjoyable.  You know, some stouts can be a little overwhelming in the roasty, toasty, chocolate flavors, and some can be so boring that they put you to sleep (perchance to dream?), but this walks the tightrope nicely.  It smells like a proper stout, tastes good, and has a pep to it.  You don't normally hear stouts being described as "refreshing," but I might just do that with this beer.

As I drink this beer more, I am liking the aftertaste even more, so it will score well in Personal Preference for sure and Style points will be fairly high, because of that "refreshing" combination of bubbles and pep.  Representation?  It still can't hang with my personal favorites like Samuel Smith, but I think this is solid, and would be a good stout for the casual as well as the advanced stout drinker.  I am pretty sure I had this at The Good Dog Bar in Philadelphia, and I enjoyed it there.  I also find it interesting that Rogue seems to have dropped the word "Oatmeal" from this beer.  So, it used to be Shakespeare Oatmeal Stout and is now just Shakespeare Stout.  "Liar and Slave!" Not sure if I would score it or treat it differently if it had the word oatmeal in it.  I like it, though.

Rogue Shakespeare Stout:

Representation: .80
Accessibility: .90
Style: .90
Personal Preference: .90

Total Score: 3.5 Flags

Iron Hill Brewery Dry Irish Stout on Nitro (Presidential Brief)

What: Iron Hill Dry Irish Stout on Nitro
Where: Iron Hill Brewery, Maple Shade, NJ
When: Saturday, April 2nd, 2011.
What-have-you: Smooth and drinkable at 3.8%. A lil coffee bitterness but mostly mild. Got a little Guinness in there, as well as some Sly Fox O'Reilly's and some Stewart's Highlander.  It's all day.

Dry Irish Nitro from Iron Hill

Iron Hill Maple Shade, NJ

Moylan's Dragoons Dry Irish Stout

Moylan's Dragoons Dry Irish Stout:

In observance of St. Patrick's Day, we the Executive Branch of the Ferment Nation have done what many brewers have done before us: We have adopted the Irish celebration as our own.  In keeping with the spirit of the Day, let's review an American beer brewed in the Irish tradtion.

Moylan's Dragoons Dry Irish Stout pours black with a handsome foamy, tan head.  The aroma isn't very prominent, but the flavors showcase the roasted barley.  Some chocolate notes, along with some coffee to prop up this flavorful stout.  Just a few herbal essences like licorice, maybe, and some pine from the hops, accent this stout that has a rich palate with a dry finish.

The body is fairly medium-ish, in keeping with the dry stout m.o.  I guess this recipe could be tweeked to go bigger, like Imperial style... more body, more alcohol... but I like it just the way it is.  At 5% abv, this dry stout is safe to drink at a pretty steady clip.  Very accessible without being boring.

I was very pleasantly surprised by how much I liked Moylan's Dragoons.  I had some foggy memories of my previous experiences with Moylan's brews, so I jumped into the Wayback Machine and found out why the memories were foggy.  They were a product of ... get this... St. Patty's Day 2009!  Return with us now to those thrilling days of yesteryear:

St. Patty's Day 2009 Revisited

Moylan's Dragoons Dry Irish Stout is brewed in Novato, CA, "brewed in the Irish tradition to commemorate General  Stephen Moylan, Irish-born commander of the 4th Continental Dragoons during the American Revolutionary War."  Though it's tough to beat out a true Irish stout brewed on the Emerald Isle  

St. Patty's 2008 Revisited

Like I was saying, Though it's tough to beat out a true Irish stout brewed on the Emerald Isle, many American stouts can carry the mantle.  Moylan's Dragoons is certainly one of them.  Great version of an awesome style.

Moylan's Dragoons Dry Irish Stout:

Representation:             .99
Accessibility:                 .99
Style:                            .90
Personal Preference:     .95

Total Score:              3.83 Flags

Cream Stout Challenge (Samuel Adams Vs. Bell's)

Here is a head-to-head review of two cream stouts: Samuel Adams' Cream Stout and Bell's Double Cream Stout.  First, the sniff test out of the bottle.  Samuel Adams Cream Stout definitely has the more robust bouquet.  It smells like a beer with stoutish tones of roasty and toasty aromas.  Bell's Special Double Cream Stout has a lighter smell, more mellow, with hints of almost like vanilla, so it defintely has more of the vanilla "cream" aspect to its cream stout.  I literally did a double pour into less-than-pint glasses.  Bell's has a darker head, a darker tan color to the foam.  Samuel Adams has a a lighter, whiter head.

Samuel Adams writes, "Smooth and rich, Samuel Adams Cream Stout is brewed with extra portions of roasted chocolate and caramel malts, roasted barley, and hand-selected English hops.  Tradition has it that ale drinkers of Samuel Adams' day considered all other stouts to be merely mile.  This was the cream.  Cheers!"  So, Sam Adams is using the "cream of the crop", the "cream rises to the top" metaphor, but I don't think I imagined the vanilla undertones of the Bell's Special Double Cream Stout.  Bell's writes, "Brewed with a blend of 10 different malts, Double Cream is an incredibly rich stout composed of dark, sweet and smooth tones intermingled with a soft, roasty finish."

So, I am not going to score these two beers head-to-head with competing scores.  I will let El Presidente take care of that.  He can chime in with the technical scores like an Olympic judge.  I will talk in more roundabout terminology.  At 6.1% abv, Bell's wins the smoothness and aromatic test.  It smells good, it tastes good, and it has an alcoholic kick without tasting of alcohol.  Sam Adams, however, has more of a robust stout taste to it, it leaves more attractive lacing on the glass, and it tastes great.  What is the abv %?  I don't know.  The bottle doesn't say, and neither does the website.  That is a pet peeve of min.  Information is power.  Tell your consumers what the abv% is please.  From Sam Adams' website:

Samuel Adams® Cream Stout is a true cream stout, balancing body and sweetness, with the natural spiciness of grain and hand selected English hops. Our brewers use generous portions of roasted chocolate and caramel malts as well as roasted unmalted barley to impart a fullness of body, a roasty malt character and rich, creamy head. Its dark, mahogany color makes it almost as easy on the eyes as it is on the palate.

In conclusion, if I judge coffee stouts by the taste of the coffee flavor, then I have to judge cream stouts by their creaminess.  It only makes sense.  Samuel Adams taste more like a stout, and Bell's seems to taste more like a cream stout.  If you take "cream stout" to be a top grade, "Cream of the crop" stout, then I probably wouldn't pick Samuel Adams anyway.  I am a Samuel Smith man, myself.  So, I am thinking of cream stout as kind of like a milk stout only better, richer.  


Bell's would beg to differ.  They write,

Double Cream Stout derives its name from its smooth, creamy texture, not the ingredients. Completely dairy-free, this stout blends ten different specialty malts to yield a remarkable depth of flavor. With only a touch of burnt notes, Double Cream Stout focuses on the softer, cocoa & espresso-like aspects of roasted malt.

So, no milk, but a creamy, smooth stout.  Bell's wins.  That is is my decision.  Chime in with comments if you feel otherwise.  Convince me I am wrong, but until then, Bell's is the winner of this showdown.

Leinenkugel's Cream Stout (Presidential Brief)

What: Leinenkugel's Cream Stout

Where: Houlihan's Cherry Hill, NJ

When: Saturday, January 29th, 2011

What-have-you: Excuse me?! Leinenkugel's makes a cream stout? Let's give it a try... Kinda creamy, but not very stout, this brew has virtually no representation points. Style is mediocre but it's actually pretty accessible and tasty.  If you just tell yourself that you're drinking a pale red ale, you'll be pleasantly surprised.

Young's Double Chocolate Stout

Young's Double Chocolate Stout:

I am at a bit of a disadvantage reviewing this beer, because previously this very night I have also tasted, drank, and reviewed an imperial stout of unknown alcoholic percentage.  So, I might be missing some subtle scents and tastes with this beer, but I will try my best.  There is kind of a generic beer smell coming from the bottle.  From the glass I do not get much more in terms of aroma, but if experience has taught me anything, it has taught me not to judge a beer by its smell.  Not much in the head department, no lacing to speak of.

Ooh!  First sips taste really, really like chocolate.  This is very nice.  Lots of cocoa flavor her.  The neck label reads, "Chocolate malt & real dark chocolate are combined with Young's award-winning rich dark ale to craft a satisfyingly indulgent, but never overly sweet experience."  I would have to agree.  At 5.2% abv, this beer tastes kind of like a dessert beer but doesn't taste boozy and doesn't have the high booze content dessert beers usually have.  This beer is smooth, easy to drink, and comes through with its advertised "double chocolate" taste.  Other brewers would take license to make "double chocolate" to mean double the alcohol, but not double the taste.  Young's gets it right with double chocolate taste without making it double boozy.  Nice job.  This beer would appeal to fans of chocolate (buy this beer for the lady in your life) as well as stout fans; however, advanced stout fans might think this is a novelty beer.

Since the chocolate taste really comes through in this beer, representation, style, and overall quality points will be high.  Young's knows what they are doing.  This makes me wonder if they have a pumpkin beer.  I would love to taste some of their other flavored beers.  American breweries do some things incredibly well - they have an adventurous and bold spirit when it comes to experimentation, but if you want some beers done right, you can't go wrong with some old school beer brewing counties, and England is one of those nations.  I love Samuel Smith beers, and this Young's Double Chocolate Stout just made a major blip on my beer radar.  Quality and skill define this beer.  Like a proper Englishman, Young's keeps their word when delivering double chocolate flavor.  I will have to drink this again when I am more sober to verify, but this is bloody well good!

Young's Double Chocolate Stout:

Representation: .85
Accessibility: .90
Style: 1.0
Personal Preference: .90

Total: 3.65 Flags

Flying Fish Exit 13 Chocolate Stout

FLYING FISH BREWING COMPANY ANNOUNCES EXIT 13 CHOCOLATE STOUT

CHERRY HILL, NJ (click links for images) – New Jersey’s largest craft brewery, Flying Fish Brewing Company (1940 Olney Avenue, 856-489-0061), is proud to debut their new Exit 13 Chocolate Stout, the latest entry in their “Exit Series” of big-bottle beers honoring their home state of New Jersey.

“We’re calling this an “import/export stout, combining a fuller-bodied, traditional export stout and adding Belgian chocolate that’s imported through the port of Newark located at Exit 13,” says owner Gene Muller.

On Tuesday, December 7 at 7 p.m., head brewer Casey Hughes will introduce Exit 13 to the public with a special launch party at Pub On Passyunk East (P.O.P.E.) (1501 East Passyunk Avenue, 215-755-5125). This will be the only opportunity to try the beer on draft until later in December when the final Exit 13 batch is available.

Created by Hughes, Exit 13 Chocolate Stout is named for the exit that provides access to Newark International Airport and the Port of Newark. Brewed with a mix of imported and domestic malts, as well as dark wheat, the stout gets floral, fruity and citrus notes from Irish ale yeast and Pacific Northwest hops. In total, Hughes and his team added 580 lbs. of Belcolade Dark Chocolate, then aged the beer with 200 lbs. of cocoa nibs and 12 lbs. of vanilla beans. Hughes recommends it as a dessert beer, and also describes it as perfect for sharing with friends as a winter warmer.

Flying Fish’s Exit Series beers are a playful tribute to the various exits of the New Jersey Turnpike, and began with Exit 4 American Tripel, a Great American Beer Festival gold medal winner that Men’s Journal magazine named “Best Belgian-Style Beer in America” in 2009. The Exit Series will continue with three or four beers a year to eventually encompass all turnpike exits; other entries have included: Exit 1 Bayshore Oyster Stout, an export-style stout brewed with oysters that The Atlantic called “a real crowd-pleaser”; Exit 6 Wallonian Rye, a saffron-colored Belgian-style ale brewed with Sorachi Ace hops and local rye in collaboration with Nodding Head and Stewart’s for Philly Beer Week 2010; Exit 11 Hoppy American Wheat, a fresh, citrus-y summer beer with aromas of tangerines and apricots, voted “Best Local Beer” by Philadelphia Weekly; and Exit 16 Wild Rice Double IPA, brewed with local wild rice in partnership with environmental efforts to revitalize the Meadowlands.

Flying Fish was the world’s first ‘virtual’ microbrewery, establishing an Internet presence as early as 1995. That presence helped to generate press interest and woo investors to the fledgling brewery, which would not open for business until late 1996. Today, Muller and his team oversee four full-time styles, as well as a variety of seasonal beers. Their brews have been featured at the Great British Beer Festival, Oregon Brewers Festival and Canada’s Biere de Mondial Festival. They have won medals at the Great American Beer Festival, Real Ale Festival and the World Beer Championships, and are the only New Jersey brewery featured in Best American Beers. Flying Fish was also named “Local Hero: Beverage Artisan of 2009” by Edible Jersey magazine. For more information about Exit 13 or any of Flying Fish’s beers, please visit them online at http://www.flyingfish.com/ and http://www.exitseries.com/, or call (856) 489-0061.

Hoppin' Frog Bodacious Black & Tan

Hoppin' Frog Bodacious Black and Tan:

With the first whiff or two, this beer, although the percentages favor IPA @ 67% to 33% stout, smells more stout that IPA.  And even though this is a 22oz. bottle weighing in at 7.6% abv, I still like to take the first sips right out of the bottle.  This is quite interesting.  Does not really have the floral or citrus tones you might expect from a "mostly IPA" beer.  Instead, it is like a crisp tasting stout, with a slightly bitter aftertaste that lingers on the tongue.

I am already thinking of comparing this to a Samuel Smith beer, so let me differentiate.  It does not have that lovely Samuel Smith uber-bitter volcanic effervescence that you need to watch closely as you pour the beer into a glass.  This beer is dark with a nice toasted almond colored head, that lingers for a while but then dissapates in the glass.  But is has that really smooth, satisfying dark beer flavor that I love from Samuel Smith beers.  I hope Hoppin' Frog realizes how much of a compliment this is coming from me.

You do not really taste the 7.6% abv, which is nice, and I am still fascinated by the really nice bitter aftertase that lingers.  With my first burp, too, there is no hoppy/floral/citrus taste you might expect from an IPA or even a partial IPA.  As a note to readers: anyone expecting this to taste like an IPA should be forewarned that it does not.  This is a really good tasting beer (Personal Preference and Style points will be high for sure), so this beer does well by me, but hop-heads might want to pass this one up.

I am not quite sure how I will score Representation, because it is a black and tan.  So many bars will serve Guinness-based Black and Tan beers (I prefer Bass to Harp, even though there are some Irish die-hards who would consider this treasonous), and you have Yuengling's bottled Black and Tan, which holds some fond memories for me.  And you have the Black and Tan at Stewart's Brewpub (Highlander Stout with their Governor's Golden Ale [I think]).  But I will stick with comparing to other bottled beers, so I think Representation will also be high.  I cannot stress enough that this is quite a nice beer.  I will definitely buy and drink this again.

Hoppin' Frog Bodacious Black and Tan:

Representation: .90
Accessibility: .85
Style: .90
Personal Preference: .90

Total: 3.55 Flags

North Coast Old Rasputin Russian Imperial Stout

North Coast Old Rasputin Russian Imperial Stout:

El Presidente warned me about North Coast Brewing's Old Rasputin Russian Imperial Stout. I seem to forget, was he warning me about the 9.0% abv? Or was he warning me about how much i would like it?

Ooh. Smooth. Rich. Intoxicating. There is a bit of some interference here, because i am outside on Labor Day weekend and someone is smoking a pipe or cigar, and I can smell a pungent almost candy like smell wafting through the air. It is interferring with my initial smell taste. There is a silky smooth quality to Old Rasputin, and I can feel it lingering on the back of my palate and warming me up. The 9.0% abv isn't immediately apparent in the taste or aftertast, but the warming qualities are there. This would certainly be a bottle of solace for the Russian banished to Siberia for crossing the mad monk.

This stout has more subtle tastes, like fine chocolate, rather than the uber-roasted flavors of a coffee stout where you can almost taste the roasted beans in your mouth. Like I said, this is more warming, more chocolately, more refined.  There is a nice smell to this beer after pouring it into a glass.

El Presidente has lectured on the properties of Russian Imperial stouts. If i can remember correctly, they tend to be more robust, more alcohol, higher quality of ingredients, because originally imperial stouts were brewed for royalty (i.e., "imperial"). I mean, if Czar Nicholas II dropped by your house, you wouldn't crack open a Bud Lite, would you?  I am not too familiar with North Coast brewery, but they have intrigued me with this one. It's almost like Old Rasputin has some kind of hypnotic hold over me. I must have another Old Rasputin.

As for representation of stouts and particularly imperial stouts, scores will be high. I am liking it better with every sip. Accessibility? I think it will score pretty decently.  As I previously said, some stouts really kill you with the roasted coffee bean flavor, which I prefer in a coffee stout.  I have chided some breweries in the past for skimping on the coffee flavor with their coffee stouts, but an imperial stout can have a little coffee, a little chocolate, little toasty, warming qualities in the right proportions, that is what I look and taste for. Style and personal preference will also be high. I wasn't taking El Presidente's word.  I was a little skeptical, but now I see the light, or rather the dark, dark beauty of Old Rasputin. I must kill the Czar. I must kill the Czar.

North Coast Old Rasputin Russian Imperial Stout:

Representation: .9

Accesibility: .85

Style: .9

Personal Preference: .9

Total: 3.55 Flags


Here is a little taste of the Ferment Nation archives and a glimpse of the evolution of The Ferment Nation.  Check out this image from El Presidente's review of North Coast Old Rasputin.  That was before our major photo studio upgrade.  Read El Presidente's review and compare!

New Holland The Poet Oatmeal Stout

New Holland The Poet Oatmeal Stout:

Without a single whiff or sip, this beer is at a disadvantage because it is an oatmeal stout and because it is not Samuel Smith Oatmeal Stout. Drinking Samuel Smith Oatmeal Stout is an experience on a near-religious level (I have a special hand-made beer mug I use). And as much as I like Edgar Allan Poe, presumably the inspiration for this raven-bedecked beer, it may be more product marketing than poetic justice.

I didn't get too much out of the nose-in-bottle test, so into the glass it goes where it doesn't help out too much. If you really breathe in deep, like 2-3 seconds at full nostril intake, you can get some of the subtle scents, but even several swigs into the beer, there are no noteworthy tastes, either on the surface or bubbling underneath. I actually have to do the burp test to see what tastes can be hiding in this oatmeal stout. When I think of oatmeal, and toasted oatmeal, I have a very specific flavor spectrum in mind, and this does not fall on the spectrum.

What I can say positively is that it is easy drinking, scoring high in accessibility. It does not taste boozy, but also I don't see any % abv, because it's not printed on the bottle! I don't like this. Number one, I am a responsible drinker (please, no e-mails) and I like to know what percentage beer I am drinking, but also it's just polite. Please, to all brewers, put the % abv on the bottle, somewhere.

I just recently reviewed Harviestoun Old Engine Oil Black Ale, which was pretty great, and I know these are different styles, but I think they are close enough for me to say that Old Engine Oil takes The Poet Oatmeal Stout to school. And not to belabor the point, but as I mentioned in my opening, compared to Samuel Smith Oatmeal Stout, this beer lags behind and will be scored harshly in terms of representation in its style of beer. As for style points (originality, boldness, etc.), it does not do well and the same goes for personal preference. Its redeeming quality is its smoothness, but for me that is not enough. If asked when next I will drink New Holland The Poet Oatmeal Stout, I certainly won't say "Nevermore!" but I might say "not for while."

New Holland The Poet Oatmeal Stout:

Representation: .35
Accessibility: .90
Style: .5
Personal Preference: .75

Total: 2.5 Flags

Troegs Java Head Stout

Troegs Java Head Stout:

I have shared with El Presidente as well as some beer-smart co-workers that Troegs might be my favorite Eastern Pennsylvania regional brewery.  Sure, I am a fan of Victory and Weyerbacher, but I think with Nugget Nectar, Hop Back, and Dreamweaver, and Sunshine Pils on their roster, they make for one hell of a team.  So, being a fan of the roasty, toasty, dark beers, I welcomed the chance to review a Troegs Brothers creation I have never sampled before.

With my first sniff and opening sips, I am not tasting or smelling much in the line of coffee.  I am drinking out of a bottle, so my second experiment will have to be in a glass to see if there is a difference.  When I first started drinking this "stout brewed with coffee beans", which coincidentally, weighs in at 7.5% abv, I couldn't help but think it had a full-bodied, straight-up "beer" taste to it, and I immediately thought of Victory Yakima Twilight, but I may need to drink another one of those, because I might be thinking of a different beer altogether.  As I am half way through the beer, I am now starting to get the slightly bitter aftertaste, which is not altogether unpleasant.  I am finally tasting the coffee here, which is a relief.  On the bottle neck, Troegs writes, "Java Head Stout passes through a blend of coffee beans and whole flower hops - akin to a French press - releasing cocoa, citrus and java flavors."  This is making for an interesting and tasty beer, just not a very coffee-flavored beer according to my tastebuds.

With bottle number two, I decided to pour this one into a pint glass, and there was quite a difference.  The bouquet really opened up in a glass, the roastedness, the coffee, all quite nice.  Here is the thing, though.  When you compare this stout with other dark coffee beers, it just doesn't measure up in the boldness and daring department.  I think as a stout, this is a nice beer, but you can't take the beer out of its context.  Troegs did not have to put "Java" in the title, they didn't have to put coffee beans and a death's head on the label (by the way, the label art is pretty kick-ass).  So, I guess what I am saying is that if this beer wasn't a "coffee" beer, I would be singing its praises, but as it stands, it is an okay "coffee" stout.

Troegs Java Head Stout:

Representation: .75
Accessibility: .85
Style: .70
Personal Preference: .8

Total: 3.1 Flags

Sixpoint Diesel Stout (Citizen Review)

What: Sixpoint Diesel Stout
Where: Pub & Kitchen (Philadelphia, PA)
When: June 3, 2010
What-have-you: "Delicious stout for hopheads! Drinkable! A++!"