Stouts

Loads of stouts piled up at my house. Here's the skinny on what's in town..

Eel River Raven's Eye Imperial Stout - See below. Available at Ironwood.

Great Lakes Blackout Stout - Deep mahogany. Rich and syrupy. Strong espresso and molasses flavors. Fun to drink, but very young and hot, with a strong bitter aftertaste. Of course, it needs some time in the cellar. Available at Uncle Sudsies.

Bell's Cherry Stout - Black as night with a dark brown head. At first his beer rubbed me wrong, but just recently I've been able to admit that I love it. The tart cherries remind of a distant lambic. They are balanced wonderfully by the sweet, roasty, and coffee malt flavors. Here's what I dig about this brew, and it took me a while to realize - it's aged. The base stout is obviously mellowed, and dark fruit/caramel flavors are developing. Add to that the tart cherries, and you have yourself a damn tasty brew. Available at Uncle Sudsies.

Weyerbacher Old Heathen - Amazingly dark with a huge, frothy chocolate head. While this is not an over the top imperial stout, I like it because it's incredibly beefy. Rich, full, creamy, oily, slick, and velvety in the mouth. The flavors and aromas are straightforward stout, no ifs, ands, or buts about it. And damn is it tasty. I'm glad it's only 8.2% ABV. You can have a few without becoming an absolute fucking retard. Woo! Available at Uncle Sudsies.

Weyerbacher Heresy - One of my personal favorite oak aged stouts. Beautiful looking beer, with dark bourbon, alcohol, chocolate, and espresso aroma. As I mentioned in my review on ratebeer, what I really like about this is the way the oak is used. It's not overpowering at all. It blends and melds perfectly with the dark fruit and vinous flavors of the aged stout. A great brew, for sure.

Stone Imperial Russian Stout - Now this is a beefy stout. Incredibly heavy smell with strong espresso, chocolate, and, unfortunately, rubbing alcohol notes. The taste is surprisingly sweet. Chocolate, roasted malt, coffee, and anise with a great vinous background. It's very hot, and definitely could use some cellaring time. As a matter of fact, I have a bottle of every vintage back through 2005. I'm thinking 2010 is gonna be the year to try them all.

And, no, I didn't drink those all in one night. Peace.