Atwater Cherry Stout - Atwater Block Brewery

Magpie14

Michigan

2.93/5  rDev -3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

A: darkness from afar and up close full of crimson, maple syrup brown, and magenta. A very soft and dense layer of foam is the holding true on top, leaving some remnants of sticky yellowish-brown fuzz in my glass. Fairly nice character in the glass

S: a incredibly mild smeller. The most notable whiff is just full of tart cherries. Where are the malts? Warming brings out the fruitiness and hides the toasted/roasted sniffs. The whole experience is pretty timid for the nose

T: the palate is predominantly full of tart cherries with some sweeter cherry concentrate notes flashing. Malts are in the mix, nowhere near what I was expecting, and provide next to nothing for a backbone. A slight sourness is ever present, no doubt from the cherries but it might house a slight astringency from the stout itself and the earthy bittersweet chocolate flavors within

M: feel more like a porter than a stout. Body is medium in feel and relies a bit to strongly on carbonation. Average at best

D: alright...not bad, but not great either. Atwater still needs to impress me

Serving type: on-tap

04-23-2010 16:00:11 | More by Magpie14

mhatters

Pennsylvania

3.25/5  rDev +7.6%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

Served on tap at Ron's in Exton

Pours a nice rich brown with a thin light tan head.

A rich nose, some cherry tartness and a small bit of chocolate.

The flavor is not all that deep, the cherry tartness is somewhat off-balance, the stout notes do not hit through, no real richness.

Very thin feeling, no creaminess. The tartness is not too pleasant.

Odd total experience, not one I will be hitting again

Serving type: on-tap

05-22-2009 10:04:33 | More by mhatters

tectactoe

Michigan

2.31/5  rDev -23.5%
look: 4.25 | smell: 2.75 | taste: 2 | feel: 2 | overall: 2.25

Poured from a bottle. Deep black color with a tan head that has good retention and left mild lacing all the way down the glass. Unfortunately, the appearance was pretty much the best thing about this beer. It was hard to get a good nose on the beer, but the cherry smell was vey faint. Along with it were toasted malts and grains, but once again, very faint and hard to really pick up on. I didn't much care for the taste. I thought it was a bit too tart and sour. The tartness of it actually distracts from the "cherry" flavor, of which there is little. A bit of a roasted flavor in the background, but not much. Medium bodied with a little bit too much carbonation that tickled the mouth. In conjunction with the sour taste, it wasn't too pleasing. My mouth was left feeling sticky and coated.

I had high hopes for this beer and was kind of let down. Disappointing aroma and taste, very flat, tart, and uninviting. Probably won't be having this one again.

Serving type: bottle

09-25-2012 15:56:06 | More by tectactoe

B967ierhunter177

Pennsylvania

3.55/5  rDev +17.5%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 4 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

This beer pours black with a 1/8 inch tan head and heavy lace to the end. The aroma is of dark cherries, wood, and chocolate. The flavor is complex with sour cherry up front followed through by dark chocolate and mild hoppy notes. There's a mild hop bitterness that fades and the flavor is pure dark cherries as it warms. The mouthfeel is full and mildly syrup-like but it works. Atwater Cherry Stout is a good brew, recommended.

Serving type: bottle

07-25-2012 03:31:13 | More by B967ierhunter177

ckollias

Maryland

3.25/5  rDev +7.6%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

Enjoyed this 12 oz bottle out of a snifter glass at Head Keepers in Greensberg PA.

A: Pours a dark brown almost black hue, with a thin off-white head that quickly dissipates in to a hint of a wispy lace with no trail down the glass.

S: Malty aroma with hints of cherries and chocolate.

T: Sweet chocolate malt and cherry flavor.

M: Heavy body and medium carbonation.

O: Interesting Cherry Stout – not overwhelming in the cherry department – but rather it was blended in nicely. Nothing I would grab again, but worth trying.

Serving type: bottle

04-09-2012 00:31:08 | More by ckollias

57md

Pennsylvania

3.2/5  rDev +6%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Pours black in color with practically no head. There is a mild roasty tone to the nose. The taste is pretty flat and thin with only a weak hint of tartness from the cherries.

I really liked their Voodoo Vator, but this offering is pretty disappointing.

Serving type: bottle

03-07-2012 04:23:30 | More by 57md

mountdew1

New Hampshire

2.68/5  rDev -11.3%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 2.5

Poured into an imperial pint glass. Color was a nice dark opaque brown with a thin medium brown head. A hint of red to the head, with a few occasional small streams of bubbles rising from the bottom. Smell was slightly sour cherries with a bit of burnt grainy malt in the back end. Flavor was much like the smell. A very small hint of milk chocolate that was almost redeeming, but a watery sour cherry flavor was overwhelming. Felt thin in the mouth, was well carbonated. Overall a disappointing stout. Not enough body, and a unbalanced flavor profile.

Serving type: bottle

02-21-2012 00:17:20 | More by mountdew1

Knapp85

Pennsylvania

3.08/5  rDev +2%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

This beer poured out as a dark looking brown color with a thin fizzy tan head on top. The smell gave off a decent amount of tart cherry aromas that I wasn't overly thrilled out. The taste of the beer had a faint sour cherry essence to it with some roasted chocolate malts working to balance it out but falls short of doing so to me. The mouthfeel was a little like cola to me, nothing too special really. Overall this wasn't what I was hoping for, it reminded me of Bells Cherry Stout a lot.

Serving type: bottle

02-16-2012 01:47:05 | More by Knapp85

tone77

Pennsylvania

3.58/5  rDev +18.5%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Poured from a brown 12 oz. bottle. Has a black color with a 1/2 inch head. Smell is of roasted malts, a hint of cherries. Taste is also of roasted malts, some coffee and cherry notes are present. Feels full bodied in the mouth and overall is a solid beer.

Serving type: bottle

02-11-2012 17:31:48 | More by tone77

soulfly1492

Pennsylvania

3.63/5  rDev +20.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Aroma: Lots of dark roasty malts. Burnt coffee, espresso, bready, mild semi-sweet chocolate, some fruity esters which I suppose could be cherry.

Appearance: Pitch black. Opaque. Pours a medium light brown head. Good retention. Nice sticky lacing.

Taste: No hiding the cherry taste, although it was difficult to find in the aroma. Bitter cherries, followed by sweet coffee and chocolate. The finish is hazelnut coffee.

Mouthfeel: Medium body. No carbonation. Oily texture. The bitterness from the cherry stings the back of the tongue for a while.

Overall: Not too impressed, although I've never been impressed with any cherry flavored stout. If the harshness of the bitter cherry was milder, this would be a good brew, especially due to the pleasant coffee flavor.

Note: December 2011 freshness date. Tasted early-January 2012.

Serving type: bottle

01-29-2012 21:03:03 | More by soulfly1492

Duff27

Illinois

3.08/5  rDev +2%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 3

A- Dark brown beer with light brown highlights. Good lacing, average head retention.

S- Very nice cherry smell. Subtle, but nice,

T- Not much in the way of flavor until the cherry aftertaste...which I enjoy. Meh. No roastyness at all.

M- Thinner mouthfeel, low to medium low carbonation.

D/O- Not a good beer, not a bad beer...its just kind of there. Give it some (more?) roasted malts and thicken the mouthfeel and this would be a pleasant beer.

Serving type: bottle

01-27-2012 03:33:32 | More by Duff27

GRPunk

Michigan

3.45/5  rDev +14.2%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Bottle notched N 11, poured into a nonic pint.

A- rich , brown-black body with reddish hues. Thin, brown head melts away to a thin film all too quickly. A little shake does bring back a thin foam. Good stick.

S- Mostly coffee and chocolate malts at first. Cherry aroma is soft, and seems natural enough, somewhere between sweet and tart. Roasty malts.

T- Cherry is much more pronounced than the aroma lets on. Dukes it out with coffee and dark chocolate for flavor supremacy. Bitter side of coffee and dark chocolate has an interesting play with tart cherry qualities. I would be really interested in drinking this as a base stout without the cherry addition. I suspect it would be pretty good, maybe better than the cherry version. The cherry is a bit strong, nearing harsh, though natural, at the finish. It reminds me of a Traverse City cherry coffee we purchase once in a while, also an acquired taste.

M- Moderate carbonation and medium feel. Tart cherry brings a dryish quality.

O- Kind of middle of the pack. I suspect there is a really solid stout at the base of this beer. For some reason, the cherry addition doesn't mix well. While it doesn't seem artificial, it doesn't "wow" me. Probably 1-2 in a sitting.

Serving type: bottle

01-22-2012 23:35:30 | More by GRPunk

inxy

Michigan

3.68/5  rDev +21.9%
look: 3 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

I must admit, I'm not generally an Atwater fan.

Dec 2011 notched in bottle, new updated label is much better than the old atwater hand labels.

Not much tartness or fruit in the nose, very roasty and warm, hint of smoke.

Taste was really unexpected. Very subtle yet nice juicy tart traverse city cherry blanketed by roasty malt, and creamy coffee. Still has that tingy sourness that I trademark Atwater with.

Tad overcarbonated, but very smooth and milky at the same time.

I can't say I'll be getting this again anytime soon, but that's only because I don't go for fruity beer, ever. Doesnt mean I didnt enjoy it though; it is a very good brew.

Serving type: bottle

01-17-2012 22:30:20 | More by inxy

thecheapies

Pennsylvania

2.3/5  rDev -23.8%
look: 3 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 2.5

Poured from 12oz bottle to pint glass.

Meager head dissipated into a beige ring. Dark chocolate brown body with reddish/maple highlights.

Smells of lactose and tart fruits. Cherry, pomegranate, nuttiness, and a little bubble gum? Some malt roast, but atypically stout-like.

Sour cherry flavor. Cherry syrup, artificial in the way that those cherry-shaped gummi candies taste. Tangy and without much hop character. Antiseptic quality. Roasted malts are weak and overpowered by the generic fruit flavorings. A little bitter cocoa, light-roast coffee (fruity/nutty), and cola. Can't get past the strange cherry implication. The finish is awful. That tart tang transforms into a lingering disagreeable bitterness. Ugh.

Very thin body for a stout. I can tell that no/not enough oatmeal was used. Drinkability suffers from the taste, so I'll try not to dock it any further.

I had a blank slate going into this one. My girlfriend says it tastes like Kasteel Rouge and Guinness had a 'baby', but somehow I think that that concoction would be so much more delicious. This one's not worth it in my book. No-go.

Serving type: bottle

01-12-2012 04:05:16 | More by thecheapies

Dodo2step

Pennsylvania

2.63/5  rDev -12.9%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 2.5

P- A thanks to Ray in Pittsburgh for this brew

A- a cola-like appearance. Can see carbonation floating up through. Head is about a finger and leaves a poor lacing. Tan head looks marshmallowy.

S- a cherry concentrate nose. Some minimal chocolate malts but nothing too overpowering. Kind of faint and lacking.

T- a tart metallic cherry flavor on the tongue. Some dark chocolate flavor malts come through in the aftertaste. Not a good complement with this brew.

M- medium bodied and the drak chocolate and tart cherry do not mix hat well with this brew. Think of eating a Dark chocolate covered cherry and then drinking a dak coffee mixed with miller lite and that is this beer.

O- i wont buy another one and this may be one to avoid.

Serving type: bottle

01-08-2012 19:05:44 | More by Dodo2step

kbutler1

Minnesota

2.48/5  rDev -17.9%
look: 3 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 2

Bottle. Marked Dec 11. Poured into a tulip glass a dark brown color with some reddish highlights. Light tan head. For being a cherry stout the cherry aroma is pretty subdued. Some light roast notes and a tinge of dark fruit. Medium mouthfeel. Slight cherry start with both a sweet and a tart component that then transitions to a building level of roast flavor culiminating in a slightly bitter, burnt flavor that lingers. No real evidence of the abv. I took a shot on this one and while it isn’t terrible, to me it isn’t that good either. I’d like to see more cherry and a hevier mouthfeel.

Serving type: bottle

01-08-2012 16:34:05 | More by kbutler1

SickGnar

Pennsylvania

3.18/5  rDev +5.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

A: Extremely dark brown – nearly black – hints of garnet when backlit. Fair size light tan head, that falls fast, keeps a ring, but leave essentially nothing for lace.

S: Rather faint & clean. Thin hint of tart cherry. Even more distant malts that are not really roasty. It gets a tad better as it warms.

T: Plentiful tart cherries – decent rounded & nuanced full fruit flavor. Definitely tart cherries, not sweet ones. Behind that are some roasty malt notes. But not that darkly roasty and not that robust. Sort of wet used coffee grounds quality to it. Tart cherry lingers on into the finish.

M: Medium body with slightly under-matched CO2. Soft & smooth. Semi-dry finish on a slightly dry medium heft stout.

D: Really has the tart cherry aspect down. Needs to work on the stout part. More roast, more backing malts, and a touch of sweetness to pull it all together would be a good start. Not bad really, just not enough depth to the beer / stout side of things.

Serving type: bottle

12-30-2011 21:19:39 | More by SickGnar

bushbeer75

Michigan

3.13/5  rDev +3.6%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

12 oz brown bottle with label notched December ’10 – consumed 9/2011

Atwater Block Brewery Cherry Stout poured black with red highlights and produced a very thin off-white head that showed poor retention and left behind little lacing. The nose [as it warms] is dominated by dark malts, chocolate, and a whiff of cherry. Taste, much like the aroma is of roasted grains, chocolate, cold coffee and a light sour cherry finish. The mouth feel/body is to the light side for a Stout, and this helps make the drinkability a little higher than average.

I should note, I am not a big fan of fruit flavored Stouts especially ones that are to the sour side. So, perhaps this has influenced my review. Nevertheless, if you are a fan of the [fruity stout] style it is worth a try.

Serving type: bottle

12-20-2011 20:20:09 | More by bushbeer75

GarthDanielson

New Hampshire

2.35/5  rDev -22.2%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 2 | feel: 1.5 | overall: 2.5

Poured from a bottle into a tumbler pint, the beer pours an almost black, deep, dark brown coloring, with an extremely thin film of light tan head. The nose is muddled, with light coffee and chocolate notes, a hint of dark fruit sweetness, and a charcoal scent, also. The flavors are a bit watery, and the tart and bitter dark cherry comes through all over the mouth when you drink. Only a slight coffee and roasted flavor, and it does not balance the syrupy sweet cherry. Very off-kilter flavoring, and on a very watery body, too. The aftertaste is like pure cherry juice, and the finish leaves a slight film in your mouth. Not good.

Serving type: bottle

12-07-2011 03:11:02 | More by GarthDanielson

Auracom

Illinois

2.25/5  rDev -25.5%
look: 3 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2 | feel: 2 | overall: 2.5

From notes. 12 oz. bottle in an Abita tulip glass on April 25th, 2011. Disclaimer here - my friend handed this to me claiming that it sucked horribly. So I guess I came in with pretty low expectations.

Appearance was pretty meh. Dark brown coloring with a single finger of light brown head. Lacing isn't half-bad though.

The nose is pretty weak. Slight cherry quality that is unfortunately contrasted with a strange funk (I seriously doubt this was from yeast or anything of the sort). Whatever the hell this was, it was like cherries had went bad and were then used to brew this. A little bit of malts in the aroma as well.

This cherry stout is boring. Slight cherry sweetness in front and tartness following on backend. Distinctly different bitterness on the front sort of messes the drink up. Hardly any finish to speak of with no aftertaste.

Mouthfeel is thin with mellow carbonation.

Not really drinkable. It's mostly empty calories and doesn't really appeal in any particular manner.

Serving type: bottle

05-18-2011 20:47:30 | More by Auracom

jale

Michigan

2.63/5  rDev -12.9%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 2.5

A: Pouurs brown with a finger of tan head.

S: Very light malt aroma and tart cherries.

T: Not much malt or hop flavor here. Mainly tart cherry juice. Tastes like they skimp on every ingredient but cherry juice.

M: Way to thin to be called a stout.

O: One and done with this.

Serving type: bottle

04-11-2011 12:59:53 | More by jale

CheckMate

New Hampshire

4/5  rDev +32.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

12oz brown bottle obtained at McKinnon's in Salem, NH. pours a very dark brownish black with an inch of mocha color head that slowly dissipated in to beads around the glass. hints of cherries, chocolate, vanilla, nut, and dark roasted coffee hit the nose with a swirl. tastes of sweet cherries immediately hit the tongue with a dark roasted coffee immediately following it with hints of chocolate and nuts. The dark roasted coffee leaves an aftertaste that I love because I love a good dark roasted coffee. It medium carbonated with a medium/heavy body. It is very drinkable, the first sip invites another and another. Awesome brew!

Cheers!

Serving type: bottle

03-04-2011 02:39:40 | More by CheckMate

MrHurmateeowish

New Hampshire

3.33/5  rDev +10.3%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

12oz bottle purchased at McKinnon's in Salem, NH. Pours a nearly opaque black with dark brown highlights and a half inch of quickly-dissipating light-tan head. Cherries hit the nose first, albeit lightly, with espresso and toasted bread following more convincingly. Sour cherry juice is followed closely by toast with hints of espresso and caramel. Medium bodied with surprisingly light carbonation. Moderately drinkable. Flavors are not unpleasant but are not as robust as I was hoping. A lot of the sweetness from the cherries has clearly been fermented out, which makes it a bit less pleasant of an addition as it could be. Overall not a bad beer - it grows on me as I have more an am able to tune into the toast and coffee notes. Not sure I'd get it again though.

Serving type: bottle

03-03-2011 00:21:23 | More by MrHurmateeowish

WVbeergeek

Ohio

1.65/5  rDev -45.4%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 1 | feel: 1 | overall: 1.5

Pours a dark coffee black chocolate color with a light beige head forming thick above the body fine lacing speckled as it all dwindles down. Aroma hints of dark chocolate dryness with upfront tart cherry notes. Slight mustiness flowing amongst the beers cherry concentrate addition and base beer stout. Tart offness flowing through dirty coffee water like drinking coffee filter water a couple days after you brewed with tart cherry concentrate this beer sucks asshole. The worst interpretation of any fruit/stout/or cherry beer I've ever tried, a definite drain pour that doesn't deserve anymore of my descriptive pissed off language. Drinkability like I said drain pour, mouthfeel thin bodied acidic tart cherry mess of a beer.

Serving type: bottle

01-09-2011 05:27:50 | More by WVbeergeek

MetalandBeer

New York

3.2/5  rDev +6%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 2.5

This was recommended to me by "the beer girl" at my local distributor....she has never steered me wrong, so I took her advice. This was a very hard beer to review, I must have had a defective batch....every bottle I opened would fizz right out of the bottle....a steady stream of slow foam...even when poured into a glass....it would overflow with foam! That being said:

The head was a nice off-white color.

The smell was not strong,almost non-existent.

can't comment on the lacing due to the strange foaming issue.

High carbonation with an artificial sour cherry flavor.

Not as thick & hearty as I expected a stout to be.

Drinkability....can't see myself making a night out of this beer, although I would enjoy it with a nice piece of chocolate cake. It makes for a nice dessert beer after a nice big Sunday or holiday dinner.

As I said...this might have just been a defective batch.Even after letting the remainder of the bottles sit still over-night, I had the same issue of foam over-flowing the moment I opened it. Sort of like what happens when your buddy hits the top of your bottle with the bottom of his. Maybe I'll give it another try..."The Beer Girl" has never been wrong! :)

Serving type: bottle

01-01-2011 16:34:04 | More by MetalandBeer