Grand Ridge Hatlifter Stout - Grand Ridge Brewing Co.

jarmby1711

Australia

3.18/5  rDev -5.4%
look: 2.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

Partially transparent giving ita puplish hue.
The smell is the best thing about this beer , having a liquer chocolate character that is very appealing
That smell is apparent in the taste but it is unusually watery feel and taste to it.At first one thinks this is going to be pretty damn nice and then it tastes like a chery liquer . In fact it is unusual
I could not imagine , drinking a load of this , even in winter as the brewers suggest .
The most disappointing beer from these brewers that I have had .

Serving type: bottle

11-09-2005 09:03:18 | More by jarmby1711

hefevice

Australia

3.4/5  rDev +1.2%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

Bottle. Tar black with small but dense and creamy white head even though it was poured hard. Plenty of lacing left behind on my Duvel tulip. Light aromas of chocolate, coffee and roasted malt. This extends to the taste, which finishes a little burnt and is somewhat hollow and watery in the middle. Although the carbonation was fine, the palate was a litte watery as well. I made this initial mistake of serving this too cold as it improves significantly as it warms. Not as good as some of their other offerings.

Serving type: bottle

07-09-2005 11:57:37 | More by hefevice

goatherder

Australia

3.18/5  rDev -5.4%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

A: Poured hard into a glass, it gave a small head - about 10mm. It disappeared fairly quickly. The colour was dark and black, but when held up to the light, a deep red was observed.

S: Not much smell to speak of. A bit malty, a bit floral. Nothing jumped out.

T: A little sweetness and plenty of bitterness. A nice malty stouty taste.

M: Bubbles are small, but too many. They tended to dominate things a bit. Mouthfeel is good otherwise, plenty of body.

D: The first left me wanting another, a good sign. The bitterness might pull me up after a couple, especially with food.

Overall, not a bad drop. I would buy it again.

Serving type: bottle

07-03-2005 09:14:09 | More by goatherder

joecast

Australia

3.08/5  rDev -8.3%
look: 4 | smell: 2 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 2.5

inviting appeaance. 1cm tightly packed tan head. tiny carbonation bubbles rising from the edges of the glass, escaping dark but lgihtly transparent black beer. when held up to light, a deep red color is exposed.
coffe like aroma with a mix of charred salty lactose?? well, thats what i came up with. whatever it is, its not all that pleasing.
the taste though, is much nicer. coffee and roasted malt fills the mouth.
the feeling in the mouth is much warmer than the feeling of the glass in the hand. dont know how it does it, but it gives a very smooth mouthfeel.
would have been much more enjoyable if not for the funky smell. these beers need a best before date or something. how am i supposed to know if i am getting a fresh product? id like to think it may have just been a bit old (or perhaps poorly handled since leaving the brewery) but you never can tell.

Serving type: bottle

12-20-2004 10:55:36 | More by joecast

koolk

Australia

3.3/5  rDev -1.8%
look: 3 | smell: 4 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

Murky deep brown with very low carbonation and a head that was hard to draw up.

Good inital notes of chocolate and coffee that mingle well with the hoppy green aromas.

Palate is also dominated by chocolate and toffee with hints of roasted malt. Unfortunately there is no real bitterness, and the palate is remarkabley light on for a stout.

This was nice, but in no means a big or tough stout and could really be a great beer if it were a big more robust.

Serving type: bottle

07-03-2004 12:10:48 | More by koolk

diablo14

Australia

3.43/5  rDev +2.1%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

pretty mild and light bodied stout from grandridge thats a fair beer, but doesnt compare to alot of the other beers in their range. this is a stout thats best suited to a black and tan, so its quite interesting that they use hat lifter for this purpose also.

bit lighter in color for the usual stout, bit still brown in color. light beige head with little retention. theres not a lot of aromas in there, tho still pleasant enuff. very light roasted flavor, with some chocolate, and and a mild woody tinge. flavor is chocolate, coffee and a hint of licorice. not as robust as i like my stouts to be, its still pretty smooth and easy to drink. finishes on the sweet side, and lacks hop presence throughout the beer. the bitterness is there, but as with the rest of the beer, too understated.

very mellow for the style, hat lifter is really a bit of a misnomer. it certainly fails to raise my rafters. that said its not a bad brew, but these guys can do, and have done, much better than this.

Serving type: bottle

11-24-2003 10:06:34 | More by diablo14

rastaman

United Kingdom (England)

3.1/5  rDev -7.7%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

Average roasty stout. Nice aroma first up, but perhaps a bit thin on the palate, nice burnt coffee flavour and bitter finish, but i think it lacks a bit of body, but decent.

Serving type: bottle

05-28-2002 20:36:36 | More by rastaman