Hoosier MA Stout - Rock Bottom Restaurant & Brewery

kbutler1

Minnesota

3.35/5  rDev -13.4%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Draft, served on nitro at RB Indianapolis. Served in a pint glass and pours a dark brown with a tan head. Pretty subtle roast aromas in the nose. Medium, velvety mouthfeel. Like the nose, the flavors are pretty subdued with hints of dark chocolate, roast coffee, and some leather. Pretty easy drinking is the upside to this beer. Nice lace.

Serving type: on-tap
@ Rock Bottom Restaurant And Brewery, 10 West Washington, Indianapolis

12-27-2010 23:57:54 | More by kbutler1

BEERchitect

Kentucky

3.43/5  rDev -11.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 3

The website indicates that the Hoosier Ma Stout varies in sub-style, based on the seasons. At the time of this visit, the beer tasted most similarly to a classic American Stout to me. The Hoosier Ma Stout that you taste at your visit may be a different stout sub-style.

Ok, disclaimer over, ...The look is the expected dark brown, nearly opaque appearance that is well-headed and keeps a neat foamstand to the bottom of the glass. Lots of lacing thoroughout.

I don't have to get my nose close to the glass to take in the sharp roasted grain and piney-citrus hop aromas. Filled with coffee, pine, and grapefruit this beer is challenging to the nose.

Very sharp with the roasted grain/hop combo and makes you take a step back. Near espresso taste is met with resiny pine flavors. These dominate the caramel/toffee tastes as well as any esters that may be hidden deep within. There's not a lot of yeast character or barley flavors, just roast and hops.

The body is firm and unwaivering, but not overly thick or offending. It's the sharpness and mild astringency I get from the roasted (burnt toast) and the sharp pine in the throat that is tough to get through to appreaciate much else in the beer.

As I venture through the glass, I get an alcoholic bitterness and pang that is a bit too much and maybe a phenolic medicinal hint in there too. Maybe we're asking a bit much of the yeast. I've really got to be in the mood for a stout to order a second glass. At this visit, I guess I'm not.

Serving type: on-tap
@ Rock Bottom Restaurant And Brewery, 10 West Washington, Indianapolis

02-17-2009 03:42:31 | More by BEERchitect

JamesS

Indiana

4.18/5  rDev +8%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

(Was told by the server this was an imperial stout.)

Poured a very nice dark brown/black color with some very nice initial head and some good lacing. Nice burnt grain scent, although it wasn't very strong. Nice taste, a good coffee hit and a nice deep stout flavor. It went down wonderfully smooth, my personal favorite at Rock Bottom (although I am partial to stouts any way).

Serving type: on-tap
@ Rock Bottom Restaurant And Brewery, 2801 Lake Circle Dr, Indianapolis

11-27-2008 16:39:59 | More by JamesS

woodychandler

Pennsylvania

4.25/5  rDev +9.8%
look: 4 | smell: 5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

Because this is a Rotating Offering, it is important to note that it was a Milk Stout when I had it in November 2005.

The name, alone, drew me to this one. SKCM (SW/AW) Dan "Hoos" Warner, this review is in your honor!

It arrived with a thick, deep-tan/light-brown head and the beer itself was an astoundingly dense, dark black with garnet undertones. The nose was of cocoa powder, and if you ever took a whiff of Quik or Hershey's Cocoa Powder as a kid, you'll know what I mean. The mouthfeel was thick and there was a lot of chocolate flavor on the tongue. The finish was perfect - chocolate underlain with just enough charcoal roastiness to make it pleasant without being overwhelming.

A fellow patron asked me if this was like a Guinness and my initial answer was same style, different brewer, but I had to amend my answer after the first sip. This is definitely a sweet stout where G. is dry. Live, learn, and educate.

Serving type: on-tap
@ Rock Bottom Restaurant And Brewery, 2801 Lake Circle Dr, Indianapolis

04-16-2006 19:08:50 | More by woodychandler

shbobdb

Indiana

4.5/5  rDev +16.3%
look: 5 | smell: 3 | taste: 5 | feel: 4 | overall: 5

The Hoosier Ma Stout is the chameleon of beers. Sometimes, it is a milk stout, sometimes it is dry, sometimes it is Imperial. The name remains the same, but the style shifts with the seasons. This is a good thing, a different beer for a different season, I always say.
The particular seasonal I had was the Imperial Stout. At 6.5% ABV it is very light on the booze for the style, however, this is the first ADS/Impy stout, ect, that I've ever had that I could drink every day.
I had high expectations for this beer, and was (in a way) let down. Rock Bottom brews yeasty, full-bodied beers, so I expected an over-the-top ADS. Indeed, when I had my first beer here, all I could think was 'they could brew an amazing Imperial stout'.
While the beer was not what I expected, it was delicious. Highly recommended. As I drank it I understood, for the first time, why people could list ADS/RIS as their favourite style. Smooth, pleasant. Not simple, yet one can drink it as though it were.
Makes me realize how off X-Treme ADS are. I'd rather have somebody like this. Smooth and delicious. Nothing crazy, just good.
Many breweries could stand to learn from this beer.

Serving type: on-tap
@ Rock Bottom Restaurant And Brewery, 2801 Lake Circle Dr, Indianapolis

01-02-2006 19:10:27 | More by shbobdb

gimmehead

Illinois

3.3/5  rDev -14.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 3.5

Poured a deep dark chocolate brown with a two finger beige head. Nice looking beer. Smells good, too. Bittersweet roasted malts, maybe a little coffee, mildly sweet. So ends the best parts of this stout. Tastes of roasted malts, slightly acrid with a little hop bitterness thrown in the mix. Also a slightly smoky flavor. Nothing offensive at all, just very bland. Mouthfeel also seemed to be too thin and watery, not very substantial. Overall, a very boring and uninspired beer.

Serving type: growler
@ Rock Bottom Restaurant And Brewery, 2801 Lake Circle Dr, Indianapolis

08-06-2005 23:42:06 | More by gimmehead

Dogbrick

Ohio

4.13/5  rDev +6.7%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

From a sampler at the Indy location: Pours a deep dark brown (almost black) color with a thick beige head. Light lacing. The aroma contains roasted coffee and malt. Rather rich and smooth with a pleasant malt and chocolate flavor and a nice roasty character. The finish is lightly bitter to contrast with the creamy aspect of the flavor. I liked this one.

Serving type: on-tap
@ Rock Bottom Restaurant And Brewery, 2801 Lake Circle Dr, Indianapolis

01-16-2004 17:14:37 | More by Dogbrick

TheDM

Indiana

3.95/5  rDev +2.1%
look: 5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

This brew had a medium head of fine bubbles that left behind an excellent lacing. It has an opaque black body and a strong coffee aroma. It also had a strong coffee taste with a slight bitterness and was a little on the sweet side. It was very smooth and well rounded.

Serving type: on-tap
@ Rock Bottom Restaurant And Brewery, 2801 Lake Circle Dr, Indianapolis

07-10-2003 17:06:39 | More by TheDM