Blueline Series: Double Black Stout (Vita) - Redhook Ale Brewery

henrysunset

Washington

4.23/5  rDev +7.9%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

This is a recreation of their Double Black beer, but with a new coffee source - Café Vita. This beer is part of their blueline series, available on tap or in 22oz bottles.

Beautifully dark brew, which I enjoyed at the taproom a couple weeks ago, and again at home from a 22oz bottle. Smell is rich and roasty, lightly smoky, and sweet.

Flavor is a great balance of the coffee bitterness, the brewed sweetness and a nutty, chocolatey quality that comes out in the end. Flavor rounds off to a pleasant finish, almost like a rye bread.

I like this style in general (ex: Pipeline Porter), but this is the best example I've tried. I think it is slightly better in the bottle than on draft.

Serving type: bottle
@ Redhook Ale Brewery, 14300 NE 145th St, Woodinville

12-06-2012 03:57:34 | More by henrysunset

hreb

Washington

3.93/5  rDev +0.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

22oz bomber from RedHook's Blueline series claims to have been bottled on Oct 8, 2012. Served cold in a pint glass. Beer pours a rich dark brown, nearly black, and forms a thin head momentarily. Beer sits quite opaque in the glass. Aroma is similarly rich and smells of mocha. Sweet, not like candy, but definitely a treat.

Flavor-wise this beer is all about the coffee. Brewed coffee blends with coffee notes in the heavily roasted malts. But there's no mistaking this for a flavored beer, it's clearly a porter. Peak Organic Espresso Amber Ale comes to mind, though in porter form. The beer is balanced by a bitterness which seems to come from hops more than beans. Overall, this porter is a nice cup of coffee but as a beer it may get old. Still I give it high marks for great flavor and composition. Unfortunately I don't recall how it compares to the older non-Blueline (and non-Caffé Vita) db (Double Black) Red Hook.

Serving type: bottle
@ Redhook Ale Brewery, 14300 NE 145th St, Woodinville

12-29-2012 03:14:39 | More by hreb

Murrhey

Montana

3.83/5  rDev -2.3%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75

Bomber to pint glass in high elevation Libby, Mont. Reviewed live. Bottled on Oct. 8, 2012.

A- One-finger mocha head with rapidly eroding retention. Coal-black color with a nice mocha ring around the top.

S- Coffee, chocolate and roast malts. Warm and toasty.

T- Coffee, fruity and roasty. Quite a nice flavor.

M- Light bodied and finishes fairly wet.

O- Quite a good beer. A new thing in my opinion about Red Hook.

Serving type: bottle
@ Redhook Ale Brewery, 14300 NE 145th St, Woodinville

02-19-2013 03:08:40 | More by Murrhey