Fade to Black - Left Hand Brewing Company, Longmont

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.

As I mentioned, Left Hand Fade to Black is a Stout. Actually, it's a "Foreign Export Stout" which is like an IPA... but with malt... sort of. Export Stouts are brewed to extra potent, the added alcohol help preserve the beer as it travels. The Fade to Black weighs in at 8.5%, pretty hefty but not scale busting.

The aroma of this beer is amazing. It smells like a specialty light roast coffee blend with lots of malt and sweet sugars. There is just a hint of grains on the nose, not enough to expect it to affect the taste. The flavor does carry a little of the coffee you pick up on earlier but the most prominent flavor has to be the roasted malt. There aren't a lot of different flavors in this beer, perhaps because it was brewed with being to be a strong roasted Stout specifically... If you are a Stout purist you'll respect the simplicity of this beer and it's two or three flavors. If you're more adventurous, this beer might seem a bit boring.

I enjoyed the smooth body and straight forward approach of the Fade to Black. It's a very solid Stout but it left me wanting a little more. The bitterness and roasted malt flavors work really well together but the finish is rather thin... It's no fatal flaw, but a reminder that no one (beer) is perfect.