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stout

mine!

  • por

It’s a almost a new month, with old tastes. Sure, there will be some surprises later on, but for now, my old reliable stouts. There’s something both ancestral and futuristic about this label. That animal could easily be some kind of heraldic symbol, but it could also be a modern fever dream. The website for Stigbergets does not provide much history, so I’m guessing they aren’t some off-shoot of a traditional brewery. Fever dream seagull it is. The name Batch 1000 gives the impression of some kind of experiment, although it could also be that they’re just counting their production closely. 1000 is a big number, but with a number of beers going on, it could also be fairly soon after founding. Let’s see if it lives up to the aura of the big, round number.

Extra dark and heady, with almost a milk chocolate foam crowning this beast. The aroma is subtle, peeking out from under a bush, just light touches of malt. Somehow I smell more forest than field, it’s interesting. It’s quite a thick and heavy stout, oozy yet smooth body. Even the earthy bitterness is mild and muted, leaving the mouthfeel to do all the work of making you work at drinking it. It has a sophisticated and classic taste, leaning on tradition and history rather than any sort of experimental surprise. After some time it develops a warmer, woodier, toastier flavor, while maintaining a good amount of body without falling into stickiness. It’s not dazzling with bells and whistles, but it’s a beer you might fight off a seagull to keep.

Supplier: La Mundial
Price: €9

carved out

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This was the first beer I grabbed off Más Que Cerveza’s shelf, with that luscious cake on the can and the promise of a dessert stout in the name. It certainly looks promising, this Black Forest Gateau. It’s an imperial milk stout with cherry puree and aged on oak chips, which makes it sound all fancy. I assumed Soul Fire was an English brewery, but the price should have tipped me off; you don’t often find big cans under €5 anymore, and an imported one would be absolutely unheard of. It is, in fact, a Spanish brewery, based in Jerez de la Frontera. The contact with wine-making was a benefit for a lot of the early craft breweries in the center of Spain, so maybe sherry will have a similar effect.

Finally a blacker stout, not so heady as recent ones though. There’s chocolate in the aroma, but with some kind of rubber. It smells more like a chocolate toy than real chocolate. Keep sniffing and the cherries will also come out to greet you shyly. Not as sweet as the name implies, and a little rubbery in flavor too. I wonder if it’s some reaction in the oak that brings that out. Eventually the fruit essence goes more banana than cherry but it never really gets sweeter. The woodiness comes out more and gets a little rougher, which is something different. Although the flavor is unignorable, the beer itself has a very light feel and a certain smoothness in spite of the up-front oak presence. I think this one would really benefit from some dessert along with it, just so you don’t feel like you’re chewing on wood chips through the whole can. It starts to pick up some smokiness after a while, is the wood doing something special in there? I can’t say that this is my favorite of any recent beers, or even one I would recommend. Somebody probably likes it, but I wouldn’t want to presume.

Supplier: Más Que Cervezas
Price: €4.89

don’t get salty

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Can I ever get enough stouts? Nope! At least this is a little bit of a change with the country of origin. Who wants a fancy French beer? That’s right, Fauve Sensation Pure a chocolate and caramel beer, comes from the land of wine. The beer stores are still well stocked with stouts, but I notice that the bars don’t have all that many on tap or in bottles/cans. I thought this was the year of the stout! Maybe I’ll just have to wait a little longer.

This one is also more brown than black, and a little thinner brown that yesterday’s. Still good head. The aroma is packed with caramel, with a touch of chocolate and salt. It’s a dark chocolate caramel filled snack bar. Again, it isn’t as sweet as expected, but there is a hint of sweetness that slips through the middle of the suckerpunch of bitterness. It’s almost old IPA bitter, since the beer is not exceptionally weighty. It feels sneaky, like it has something it’s hiding from you, waiting to spring it when you least expect it. The dark chocolate bitterness is almost overwhelming, but it does keep you from sucking it down too fast, at its 12%. It starts out a little rough around the edges, but smooths out with some time. I wasn’t feeling the pastry side of it at first, but eventually it comes around.

Supplier: Más Que Cervezas
Price: €6.50

looking for friends

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Still on my chocolate kick, here’s a Double Chocolate Stout from Rogue. At first I thought its name was “Share Me”, but that seems to be an instruction. It’s a one pint can though, and I can easily drink one pint all on my own. It’s brewed with “natural flavor” too, although it doesn’t specify what flavor on the front. There’s a flavor star on the back promising full chocolate flavor, no increase possible. We’ll see about that. Also high in roast and malt, and a balance of bitter and sweet. They recommend pairing with Brie, Porterhouse steak or Baked Alaska. That’s a versatile beer, it seems to me.

Head’s looking good this time around! As a chocolate stout it makes sense for the beer to be more dark brown than black, and the head has a coffee ice cream look. The aroma is chocolate at first, but quickly starts to remind me of graham crackers. The beer is weirdly dry for all the chocolate hanging around it, with a taste of unsweetened chocolate powder. It isn’t unpalatable, but it is surprising. It definitely feels cooked, roasted, pulled from the fire, but there’s no smoke to speak of and it isn’t in any way burned. I’m on the lookout (tasteout?) for toast, but it’s chocolate through and through. Is it the very top of chocolate? Eh, not really. But, I will allow that if it’s only natural flavors and real cacao nibs or something, it’s hard to get that saturated knock-you-on-your-ass flavor. Being a more subtle beer, it would be a good pairing with more than one dish. And at 9%, it’s a beer you might protect yourself from with a little something extra in your stomach, or by following instructions and sharing with a friend. Could have been a Valentine’s beer!

Supplier: Más Que Cervezas
Price: €6.24

eyes on the skies

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Continuing on the dark path, there’s a little dark humor to be had too. First I was tickled by the price tag calling this an “impy” stout, and then I saw the name: Beware Oblivion Is At Hand. The label seems to imply that Mayan temples were build before the extinction of the dinosaurs, or that a T-rex or similar species survived in Mesoamerica into practically modern times. It’s a statement that feels right these days, what with all the bullshit going on, and even if the world gets past another potential political disaster, there are plenty of individual oblivions for individual reasons to go around. At the same time, there’s a message of hope in the beer description, since they end telling us that whatever we’re going through our ancestors got through it. Although, if our ancestors had already reproduced they could have easily met unsolvable oblivion in adulthood and we would still be here.

Not much head to this one, but still good looking liquidly. This one also has a hot chocolate aroma to it, but more of a milk chocolate than a dark. The taste is strongly chocolate, and more of a milk chocolate there too. It’s a pure chocolate bar, not a fancy filled one with fruit or liquor. It’s simplicity is almost soothing, it’s a beer you can almost mindlessly drink. It remains steady over time, not getting syrupy or developing any odd flavors as it warms up. It is fairly strong at 11%, so it’s not one that you can just pour down your throat. It is most certainly a joy, though, one that might get you through the end of the world.

Supplier: Be Hoppy
Price: €8.95

straightforward

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It’s back to my stouts, just in time for days to be less sweltering. It even gets just a bit uncomfortable to be uncovered at night now. Somehow it seems fitting to pick up this particular stout, a collab between dear Arpus and Blackout of Romania. Catch that? Blackout? See what…yeah, anyway. As usual, Arpus does not put an ear catching name on their beer, merely describing what you can expect. In this case, it’s Chocolate Cinnamon Chilli Imperial Stout. That’s a mouthful, in a couple of ways. The can makes a lot of promises about the pleasures within, and I have a certain degree of trust in Arpus, but these stouts don’t always deliver on all the details. Time to dive in.

Delightfully dark pouring out with a darkish beige topper of foam. The head bubbles away like a mess of Poprocks – revisit glass cleaning? It’s certainly chocolatey, a dark hot chocolate aroma wafts up, with a touch of cherry. Maybe even cherry liquor. The first thing one notices on drinking is the feel. It’s thick and heavy while being smooth and unbelligerent. I keep waiting for the chilli to make its appearance, and it takes some time. Eventually it does start a slow and controlled burn (something that several areas of the country would be wishing for right now), but there’s no explosion of spice or pepper. Fruit is also present in the taste, possibly the blend of cinnamon and chocolate produces the feeling. A little gastronomic placebo. A surprising ingredient is Tabasco sauce. That’s actually where the heat comes from, and I’m impressed that that bit of vinegar is smoothly covered over. The impression is of a rich chocolate cake, possibly filled with some kind of jelly or nougat. Unlike some other chilli stouts, the spice remains low and only a mild tickle. It’s almost disappointing, but at the same time it’s the kind of stout that can be picked up any day at any time, not one you have to plan around with other drinks and food. A splendid result for this collaboration.

Supplier: Be Hoppy
Price: €8.50

music to your mouth

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Well, the final leg of my international beer tour is upon me, at least for now. This is a little bit surprising too: a French Irish stout. As usual, the name of the craft brewery is in English, but the beer has a French name. This is Filé La Laine from Jukebox, an Irish Extra Stout. It’s been a weird day weatherwise, with a small rainstorm in the afternoon, but all day has been cloudy. A lot like Ireland, I guess. Jukebox is in Cognac, of all places, which I don’t know if it has dreary, rainy weather. It does make me think that a barrel aged stout would have been a more appropriate choice. Maybe they do make one…? Can’t find confirmation, although there are references to several more powerful stouts that were not on the shelf this time around. Oh well, I guess it keeps me coming back.

Portrait at dusk

It’s a solid brown being poured out, but opaque in the glass and with abundant dark beige head. The head dissipates quickly, though. It smells a little burned, but chocolatey, like brownies you didn’t keep an eye on. It’s smooth feeling and with a blend of malt and toast that rings true to classic stouts. It’s a laid-back although solid kind of beer, not one that needs to show off. It’s kind of a meal beer, seeming like something that would be happy with something beside it. Although it’s smooth and light, it starts to build up over time, leaving some kind of filmy afterfeel, which would probably be taken care of by a little snack. Is it my favorite stout of recent times? No, but it’s certainly a fine specimen, and one that might make a Guinness drinker think twice.

Supplier: Más Que Cervezas
Price: €6.75

better angels

  • por

Oh yes, continue my path of stouts, and the Euro-tourism. Now I’m actually outside the EU, since Vocation is an English brewery. Hey, if anybody is going to know how to make a good stout, right? Oh, wait, I guess I should be saying that about a porter. Stouts might have arisen from porters, but the two modern styles are more likely to compete than lift each other up. It’s a very tempting stout from the label, even without a lot of color, very fitting for its name – Sweet Temptation Naughty & Nice. I don’t see what’s supposed to be naughty about it, it all looks like fine flavors and aromas to me. It isn’t even the alcohol, which is at a noticeable but not crazy 6.6%. I guess it’s the whole decadence of this extra sweet and pampering beer that you’re supposed to feel is a little less proper than a standard lager or the like.

The head is much more stable now, so glass cleaning has been successful. Dark beige foam and dark brown beer, it definitely looks the part of a chocolate stout. There’s a strong scent of chocolate syrup, nothing smoky or toasty here. The first sip is sweet alright, but it’s also clean and slick, with just enough to delight you without any heavy sugar. There’s little to no aftertaste, once you swallow, it’s gone. It’s almost disappointing in its smooth simplicity. The can promised more layers and some stouty toastiness, which I am not finding. I am getting kind of a buttery sensation, though, something I don’t imagine was intended originally. Maybe I’m misinterpreting the caramel?

Supplier: Más Que Cervezas
Price: €4.40

the floor is

  • por

I’m still on my European tour, now in Poland! I feel like I may have had Funky Fluid before, but if I have I wasn’t blogging it. I’m pretty certain whatever I had was not Lava. A 12% peated imperial stout. That will leave you burning for sure. Apparently, it’s also sold as a barrel-aged version, but for some reason that one was not on the shelf. Well, I can probably guess the reason. So, a stout does not need to be exceptionally cold to be palatable, and even benefits from being more flavorful, so the shitty fridge will be just fine.

Again, head fizzes away in seconds. I really have to do something with my glass. Otherwise, it’s a fine looking beer, a nice dark brown and only a touch of smoke in the aroma. There’s a hint of chocolate swimming around in there too, so it’s not as much like the fire from a few days ago and more like a boiling pot of hot chocolate. The taste though, wow! It reminds me of bacon chocolate bonbons, with that meaty flavor all wrapped up in sweetness. Most bacon candy isn’t smoked as far as I know, so that’s a difference. It isn’t a delicate beer at all, although it doesn’t look very heavy being poured, it packs quite a punch. There’s some residue that you have hanging around the back of your tongue for a while, which might be good at preventing you from drinking this one too fast. There isn’t much aftertaste and the memory of the sweetness lingers more than the smoke. I would appreciate some food with this beer, as smoked beers aren’t really my favorite, although the snacks would have to be subtly flavored themselves to not start a fight.

Supplier: Más Que Cervezas
Price: €7.99

rolling along

  • por

There was one more choice from La Buena Cerveza that was right in line with my tastes, even with a little extra coconut. Scanning the shelves for those stouts I found Prizm’s Strange Casualties, a coconut imperial stout which almost sounds mundane at this point. Weirdly, temperatures have gone down after a big freaking fire some few kilometers away from me, but it is still hotter than I am especially happy with. Winter will be here in no time, and I’m sure I’ll have complaints about that, and probably there won’t be enough dark beers to keep me happy. Or maybe there will, since the few beer stores that remain will all be open again after August. Keep hopes high? Gotta stay optimistic.

It pours nicely, but there is an immediate headpocalypse. Maybe I didn’t get all that sour out of there? There is a strong coconut aroma, a little bit of sunscreen too. And lurking in the background something cakey. It has an interesting blend of heavy stout bitter and coconut flavored sweet, kind of like some kind of filled pastry. Digging into it, there’s a little soapy taste, which might also indicate less than optimal rinsing. It leaves an odd energy behind after you swallow, like something electric. It doesn’t have any disagreeable aftertaste or stickiness, just a weird kind of buzz. It’s a perfectly fine imperial stout, with its coconut addition, although not quite as crazy as some other recent things I’ve dumped into my glass.

Supplier: La Buena Cerveza
Price: €8.30

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