Black Seal Stout - Rock Bottom Restaurant & Brewery

womencantsail

California

3.25/5  rDev -6.3%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 4 | overall: 3

On nitro at Rock Bottom Long Beach

A: The pour is a very dark brown color with a creamy tan head.

S: A moderate roastiness with a dark chocolate aroma to it as well. Some nice earthy hop aroma to the beer too. There is just a slight nuttiness and some coffee to it as well.

T: Roasted malts, coffee, and dark chocolate give this stout some decent flavor. Unfortunately there's a definite acidity to it that is a bit off-putting. The nitro also dumbs down a lot of the flavors.

M: Medium in body with a smooth, creamy carbonation.

O: I wish this wasn't on nitro so I could get a better flavor out of it, but it is what it is.

Serving type: nitro-tap

04-09-2011 22:28:09 | More by womencantsail

arizcards

Arizona

3.73/5  rDev +7.5%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 4 | feel: 3 | overall: 4

Had a Mug Club pint while visiting the LaJolla location with lunch today.

Beer poured black as night with a very nice tan head that sustained wll.

Nose was a hint of malts.

Taste was roasted chocolate malts and coffee, very flavorful.

Mouthfeel was pretty smooth but thinner than hoped.

Drinkability was good, this brew had enough flavor going on to overcome the thinness, nice representation of style.

Serving type: nitro-tap

02-21-2011 22:59:51 | More by arizcards

Floydster

California

3.03/5  rDev -12.7%
look: 3.5 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

Pint at the La Jolla location for around five dollars, consumed on 12/12/08, reviewed from notes, this is actually their oatmeal stout, color is almost black with some red tint, 1/2 inch creamy light tan head, not much retention, no lacing, smell had roasted malts, grains, dark chocolate, and , flavor had some bitterness at first but went away quickly, especially once it warmed, lots of coffee and dark cocoa in the finish, middle can be chewy at times with loads of oats, not a very complex flavor, weird chalky aftertaste, medium bodied, moderate level of carbonation, mouthfeel was a bit creamy, but mostly roasty and dry, could drink another pint of this probably but too heavy and I did not like the taste enough to do so, probably would not drink if I go back in the future

Serving type: on-tap
@ Rock Bottom Restaurant and Brewery, 8980 Via La Jolla Dr., La Jolla

12-25-2008 03:43:11 | More by Floydster

magictrokini

California

3.63/5  rDev +4.6%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

On tap, pint. Dark black color with some brown tones, and a medium cream head. Aroma is burnt coffee and cereal. Nice flavors of coffee and semi-sweet chocolate. Bitter, oatey, but light finish. Could use more caramel malt to balance out the soy-sauce. Lightly viscous mouthfeel.

Serving type: on-tap
@ Rock Bottom Restaurant and Brewery, 8980 Via La Jolla Dr., La Jolla

12-12-2008 22:18:32 | More by magictrokini

charlzm

California

2.7/5  rDev -22.2%
look: 2.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 2.5

on draft at brewery, consumed on 11/12/07.

Very dark brown/black. No active carbonation.

Smells of roasted malt, coffee.

Thin in mouth. Frontloaded flavor: initial quick bite of bitter roasted malts fades into nothing fast. No hops to balance, no lingering bitterness, no astringency.

Half a stout.

Serving type: on-tap
@ Rock Bottom Restaurant and Brewery, 8980 Via La Jolla Dr., La Jolla

03-03-2008 22:28:04 | More by charlzm

sleazo

New York

3.25/5  rDev -6.3%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 4

This is an average stout. Looks good, not much taste or smell to it. The major flavour going on here is the chocolate malt, besides that its kind of bland, watery and thin. Its not bad and i could probably drink a bunch of these while watching a game. Just not above average taste wise

Serving type: on-tap
@ Rock Bottom Restaurant and Brewery, 8980 Via La Jolla Dr., La Jolla

02-07-2007 04:27:22 | More by sleazo

TheLongBeachBum

California

4/5  rDev +15.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

RBB – Long Beach, CA

BLACK SEAL STOUT
A dark, smooth stout with chocolate malt and roasted barley. Mt. Hood hops balance this massive brew. Enjoy it with any of our hearty entrees.

Presentation: The Tap handle has the words “Black Seal” above a picture of a posing Seal sat on an outcrop of rocks, below which the word “Stout” in a silvery text defines the style. Described as a Smooth Stout on the bar top hand-outs. No listed strength. Served on Nitro dispense.

Appearance: Dark black body, creamy tan head with a nice lacing potential. The head can tend to break quickly at times though. Classic Dry Stout looks.

Nose: Roasted malts are balanced by a toasted hop and dark chocolate aromas. Sweetish in the back end, with a nice coffee aspect to it.

Taste: This has a simple feel that combines all the classic ingredients; roasted malts, coffee, dark chocolate and cocoa. Smooth delivery with a very satisfying feel to it. Irish Dry stout in style with a definitive and pleasing toasted malts background.

Mouthfeel: Very smooth, easy going, creamy with a simplistic feel that just suits this one perfectly.

Drinkability: Easily slakes a thirst and quenches any parched throat. One of those easy drinking Stouts that is hard to put down.

Overall: Always a favorite for me. Probably the most accomplished of the “standard six” beers on offer. It’s Cask Cousin “Vanilla Stout” is well worthy of a Session also if it is on sale!

Serving type: nitro-tap
@ Rock Bottom Restaurant and Brewery, 8980 Via La Jolla Dr., La Jolla

02-06-2006 01:46:30 | More by TheLongBeachBum

rowew

Colorado

3.9/5  rDev +12.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

This is probably the cream of the crop at the Long Beach Rock Bottom. Nice roasted malt aroma, with some hints of coffee. Mouthfeel is slightly slick, medium to full bodied. Lots of roasted flavors with coffee and chocolate tones. Good hops balance leaves a nice bitter finish. Very enjoyable stout - they also offer this on cask - next time I will definitely be trying that.

Serving type: on-tap
@ Rock Bottom Restaurant and Brewery, 8980 Via La Jolla Dr., La Jolla

03-04-2005 00:39:59 | More by rowew

oggg

California

2.8/5  rDev -19.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

This is Rock Bottoms year round stout. It's nitro pushed. Currently they have the Old Grand Dad Stout, which is the same recipe, except they dry hop it and serve it out of the cask via a beer engine. I tried these 2 beers head to head.

Nitro pours look quite nice. A nice dark brown black brew with a tan creamy nitro head. Not much in the smell. After eating the tasteless foam, I struggle to pick up subtle chocolate and subtle roastiness. Where's the flavor?!!!! This is my first nitro vs. cask test, and the cask gets the dry hops, but it was unbelievable how much flavor difference there was. The hop bitterness is minimal. Mouthfeel is a bit thin, almost as thin as Guinness. I didn't even want to finish it after tasting the cask version.

Serving type: nitro-tap
@ Rock Bottom Restaurant and Brewery, 8980 Via La Jolla Dr., La Jolla

03-23-2004 08:00:14 | More by oggg

Gusler

Arizona

4.15/5  rDev +19.6%
look: 5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

The beer as it vacates the cask and pitch black, the head personable in size and the color a nice tan, consistency creamy and as it evaporates the lace forms a tight blanket to cover the glass. Nose is sweet milk chocolate, fresh and pleasing, hints of toasted grain and vanilla, start is ambrosial, nicely malted with the top middling in its feel. Finish is good-natured in its acidity, the hops considerate in their spiciness, the aftertaste bittersweet and dry, and a very nice middle-of-the-road stout, one that I found quite enjoyable.

Serving type: on-tap
@ Rock Bottom Restaurant and Brewery, 8980 Via La Jolla Dr., La Jolla

02-23-2004 19:03:20 | More by Gusler