Stout

This bottle of Lilja's Sasquatch Stout has been in the basement beer fridge for over a year now. There's no date on this bottle but seeing as how this beer is a Stout, I think it'll be just fine. There's actually quite a lot of stuff on this label, but not much of it is of any use... There's a line about the "Cheddar Curtain" and "Your Darkest Side" but you won't find the alcohol content of this beer or the date on which it was bottled. It may not be useful, but it's still a decent label even if I don't know who or what Lilja is...

I consider myself a Rauch Geek so of course I had to try a bottle of Mikkeller Rauch Geek Breakfast. Mikkeller's Breakfast series of Stouts all have a basic Oatmeal Stout with coffee underpinnings with each iteration dressed up with some exotic ingredient like Civet weasel coffee beans, Brandy barrel aging or smoked malt. I lived in Bamberg, Germany for a year and really enjoyed the local Rauchbier there. The Smoke Beer in the US isn't quite the same though, the Germans do a salty bacon style of smoke but American brewers seem to prefer a campfire flavored smoke. I'm firmly in the bacon flavored camp and I've heard Rauch Geek Breakfast is a beer that I'd enjoy for that same reason.

Around Valentine's Day this year there were a number of chocolate flavored beers released. I picked up a bottle of each one but I didn't have time to get to all of them so I'm trying to empty out the chocolate stock in the fridge before it's warm enough to drink a Pilsner on the deck. Ommegang's Chocolate Indulgence caught my attention because it has a bold name, classy packaging and generally conveys a sense of "I know what I'm doing here." So, tonight I broke out the Ommegang goblet and pocked the cork on this bottle of "True Belgian-Style Chocolate Stout."

I've always wanted to try a good bottle of Speyside. I'm not quite sure why, because I'm not a Whiskey drinker... and I spell Whiskey with an E. I do enjoy a good barrel aged Stout every now and again, so when I saw this bottle of BrewDog Paradox Speyside I figured this might be something I'd like try. The few BrewDog beers I've had thus far haven't really been all that great. I'm hoping their limited release beers are brewed with a bit more care. Aging this beer in a 16 year old Glen Moray barrel is a good start.

Schlafly's Raspberry Coffee Stout was released this past summer, an odd time of year to release a dark Coffee Stout. Not being a fan of coffee flavored beer during any season, I didn't pay too much attention to it, at least not until I got to sample a glass of this limited release at a fall beer festival. This beer was surprisingly light, it's only 7% alcohol, and there wasn't an overly bitter coffee flavor to it. This was the kind of coffee beer I could get behind. I tried to get my hands on a full bottle but the first run was pretty limited and it seemed to sell out really fast, so I was surprised on Christmas morning when I tore through my presents to find a bottle of Schlafly Raspberry Coffee Stout.

I try to a point of reviewing beers that I haven't had before, or at least I haven't drank many times before. Every once in a while though, a beer like Founders Breakfast Stout slips through. This is a beer I've had at least a dozen times, mostly bottled but I've had it on tap a handful of times. I first had this beer about a year and a half ago at a birthday lunch for a good friend of mine. I later went out and bought a few bottles, drank them and then eagerly awaited the return of Breakfast Stout this year. After drinking through a four pack of Breakfast Stout it finally occurred to me that I'd never done a formal review for this beer...

Stouts are great. I often find that my one complaint with Stouts are that they are a little too dark, too roasted and just too bitter for my tastes. What I like about the Cream Stout and Milk Stout styles are is the added lactose sugar really mellows out the big harsh malts. Bell's Double Cream Stout sounds like it could be the best idea since Left Hand Milk Stout if it really is twice as sweet or twice as creamy as some of the other Cream Stouts I've had before. I'm a little apprehensive because it is possible to have too much of a good thing, I'm not looking for a dark chocolate beer... I still want there to be plenty of Stout in this Double Cream Stout.

Stouts can be hit or miss for me. Like most people, my first Stout was a Guinness. I thought it was too dry, too bitter, too... dark. I've grown to appreciate not just Guinness but more complex Stouts. There are still some that I find too dry or bitter, but when I find a Stout that has the perfect balance of flavors, it's like there's nothing better. When I first had New Holland's Dragon's Milk, it was a bit like that. I remember this beer having some really strong Stout flavors, but getting them balanced so well that nothing was overpowering or too harsh on your palate.

I'm finally opening this bottle of St. Ambroise Oatmeal Stout after it was mentioned by a fellow beer connoisseur. I originally picked up this bottle back in December and it's been sitting in my basement beer fridge for about nine months now. I enjoy Oatmeal Stouts quite a bit but, being summer, it didn't seem like a the best time to drink something quite this dark. That's been my excuse since at least March... Well, I've finally gotten around to opening it up and it seems like I've really been missing out.

Left Hand released Fade to Black in the late fall of 2009 to rave reviews. I was a little ambivalent toward this beer at first because, well, it was Stout season and I'd already had my fill... I'd gotten an early start and ended up burning out on dark beer much earlier than I would have liked. As the calendar rolled over to 2010 I realized I'd still not had this beer and it seemed like it might be too late to pick any up. As luck would have it, I found several six packs at a local hole in the wall liquor store along with some other old seasonal releases. Now that my affinity for Stouts is back, I thought I'd give this beer a long overdue review.