Good evening all. This review represents the first using a new format of note taking that I'm planning to adopt for each beer in the future, using my phone to dictate my opinions and thoughts as opposed to the traditional pen and paper approach. Hopefully it will still allow me to write coherently and get across how I feel about a beer! The beer that has the honour of being the first to be reviewed using this style is Double Stout, an Imperial Stout from Green Flash Brewing Co. based in San Diego, California. I've had one beer from Green Flash before and honestly can't remember much about it, so hopefully this will be a more lasting experience! Review after the pic....
Double Stout (8.8% ABV) pours a jet black colour with a thick brown head that settles to a patchy covering over the surface of the beer. There's some lacing present in the early stages of the beer but, like the head, this diminishes about halfway through drinking. The aroma is predominantly composed of dark chocolate, with a sense of the roasted malt in the background that cuts through the chocolate. There's a hint of coffee and lactose sugar, and every so often some dark fruits come through. Certainly not overwhelming but there's enough here so far to captivate and hold my interest. Tasting the beer, the individual flavours don't seem to come through much, instead they all merge together to give a uniform "stout" taste and quality. Sometimes you can pick up on the odd hint of chocolate and coffee, but it's definitely less complex than the aroma and much harder to define particular flavours. The finish is quite dry and has a bitterness that's reminiscent of dark chocolate, with toasty notes in the aftertaste from the roasted malt. The malt occasionally presents a buttery, biscuit flavour/sensation that cuts through quite well. The mouthfeel is not too thick and the beer is moderately carbonated, which works well with the subdued flavours. Overall, this is quite a disappointing beer, with lots going on in the nose but not enough flavour to back up the initial excitement. I could easily mistake this for a Milk Stout or an Irish Dry Stout, particularly when the alcohol doesn't make itself known during drinking despite the high ABV percentage. I wouldn't get this beer again and personally I don't recommend it, but that's probably because I was expecting more from it than what I got. For what it's worth, it is well composed and is certainly a good demonstration of how darker beers can employ subtlety, but with an Imperial Stout I'd rather go for the big, full-bodied bad boys than have the flavours tamed, and that's why I'm not a fan.
Until next time....
No comments:
Post a Comment