De Dolle Extra Export Stout - Brouwerij De Dolle Brouwers

superspak

Michigan

3.95/5  rDev +1.5%
look: 5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

330 ml bottle into snifter, bottled in June 2012. Pours nearly pitch black color with a huge 2-3 finger foamy and rocky light tan head with incredible retention, that reduces to a nice cap that lasts. Thick soapy lacing clings on the glass, with a ton of streaming carbonation retaining the head. Aromas of chocolate, cocoa, roasted malt, raisin, toast, candi sugar, coffee, light clove, licorice, and yeast earthiness. Very nice aromas with good balance and complexity of roasted malt notes with moderate fruity/spicy yeast notes. Taste of big dark chocolate, cocoa, roasted malt, coffee, light char, raisin, toast, light clove, candi sugar, light licorice, and yeast earthiness. Lingering notes of dark chocolate, cocoa, roasted malt, coffee, toast, candi sugar, raisin, light clove, and earthiness on the finish for a good bit. Damn nice balance and complexity of roasted malt notes with light-moderate yeast esters; with zero cloying flavors after the finish. Medium-high carbonation and medium-full bodied; with a creamy and lightly prickly mouthfeel that is nice. Alcohol is well hidden with only a small warming noticed after the finish. Overall this is a damn nice Belgian style export stout. All around nice balance and complexity of roasted/yeast ester flavors; and quite smooth to sip on. A very enjoyable offering.

Serving type: bottle

05-17-2013 04:15:31 | More by superspak

Bouleboubier

Pennsylvania

3.9/5  rDev +0.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.75

Interesting, idiosyncratic brew from De Dolle. Not my ideal of an export stout, but noteworthy for what it is.

(poured into a small snifter)

A: throws up quite head, a darker tan color....nearly pitch black liquid when the glass is full....despite having to pour some sediment in the glass, the head was unaffected in that a fair amount of foam cap stayed til the end

S: roasted barley and pale malt at first, pretty clean....some funky/citrus-tart elements emerge, once sipped....by the end, sour-fruity and boozy, with some roast wafting in the background

T: wow! that's unique....roasty as hell, with a bit of an acrid or ashy edge...peculiar vinous/vinegar notes....kind of an extra-bitter chocolaty overtone....a raspberry-like fruity tartness seems ever-present, lingering along with some roast and booze....maybe a touch of hops in the aftertaste....didn't get much, if any malt sweetness here which, in my experience, is a bit odd for the style - but I understand why that's the case here

M: fairly thinnish and light, dry - like a stout/lambic hybrid....the "vibrancy" of the estery alcohol really pokes through, both cleansing and tangy....perhaps the crystal malt lends to the modicum of roundness I detect 'neath its otherwise effervescent texture

O: certainly a De Dolle creation....once again, not your typical export stout, but quite memorable

Serving type: bottle

03-01-2013 05:55:43 | More by Bouleboubier

Alieniloquium

Florida

3.98/5  rDev +2.3%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4.5

330 mL bottle poured into a Kate the Great snifter. Bottled June 2012.

Appearance - Slightly transparent black pour. Huge head starts to build. Half the glass is khaki head. After it recedes, the beer has a solid layer of foam on the surface.

Smell - Roasted malts and lots of dark fruits. Very fruity, even slightly acidic. A little yeasty.

Taste - Bright fruit and a touch of acidity. Not even quite tangy, but acidic. Cherries and dark fruits. Deep roasted malts. Grainy. Almost wheat mixed in with coffee and bitter chocolate.

Mouthfeel - Way overcarbonated. Medium bodied. The flavors are tough to discern behind all the carbonation.

Overall - Flavors are very nice. I would imagine this will develop more acidity and, to its detriment, even more carbonation. Would still be nice to let one of these sit.

Serving type: bottle

01-07-2013 02:51:17 | More by Alieniloquium

nickfl

Florida

4.1/5  rDev +5.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

A - Pours with a monstrous, four finger head of medium tan foam on top of an opaque, black body. The head settles slowly and leaves a moderate film of lacing on the glass.

S - Tart, dark fruit with some sweet notes of dark chocolate and licorice.

T - Black cherries and lightly sour roasted grain up front. More of the roast character comes out in the middle with notes of espresso and bakers chocolate. The beer finishes with grain bitterness, char, licorice, and lingering espresso character.

M - Medium-thick body, high carbonation, and a dry finish.

D - As interesting and weird as one would expect from De Dolle. The dark malt mostly has the effect of coloring the yeast character as dark fruit in the aroma, but in the flavor profile it comes out much more forcefully as roast and coffee. There is a bit of harshness in all that roast flavor, but it smooths out in the finish as a little bit of the fruit character comes back in. Definitely better than most Belgian stouts I have tried.

Serving type: bottle

10-23-2012 03:24:44 | More by nickfl

eduardolinhalis

Switzerland

4.23/5  rDev +8.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

330ml bottle served in a Trappist chalice.

A: Pours a dark brown color forming a huge creamy tan head. Good retention. A small layer remains for long time and few lacings are left in the glass

S: Very roasted and toffee. Notes of roasted malts and dark fruits, mainly. Raisins, dark chocolate, Belgian yeasts, brown bread

T: As the nose, sweet and bready upfront. Notes of dark chocolate, biscuit and raisins. Begian yeasts, roasted malts. In overall, a dry taste with a considerable and nice bitter end

M: Medium body and carbonation. Quite smooth and light to such high ABV. Aftertaste is made of roasted malts and good bitterness

O: Nice beer. An authentic De Dolle beer. Good quality. Recommend

Serving type: bottle

09-15-2012 18:34:07 | More by eduardolinhalis

BlastBeats

Illinois

3.7/5  rDev -4.9%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

Here goes my first De Dolle offering.. This beer was brewed upon the request of their American importer.

Appearance: Special Extra Export Stout pours a very dark brownish black with a full and robust tan head.

Smell: not typical of domestic stouts, that's to be sure.. once the head subsided I picked up some yeasty spice aromas and muted roast.

Taste: for whatever reason, I was anticipating this stout to taste similar to Black Albert; it doesn't.. which is kind of a letdown. Anyways, it's got a bitterness in the finish that I usually don't care for in my stouts. It's actually somewhat tart as well.

Mouthfeel: it's practically prickly on the tongue. Medium-full body.

Overall: I'd say it's pretty decent, but my expectations were a bit too high.

Serving type: bottle

05-08-2012 00:53:32 | More by BlastBeats

onix1agr

Pennsylvania

3.93/5  rDev +1%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Bottle into a Chimay Glass. I almost used a skinny tulip and remembered i was pouring a De Dolle here, no brainer.

Huge bubbles, head is four fingers easy. The finished product is a nice tannish/mocha colored head that's creamy and milkshake looking. Great retention, not any stick. Oh yeah, the liquid is black.

Smell is export stout like, it's not big and in your nose, like a big rizz. Faint chocolate cocco with a underlining cherry cola thing forming that will only get worse with time.

The last time i had this (4 years ago) it was sour with huge sour cherry cola notes. I figured that's what De Dolle was going for. That must have been a old bottle.

This bottle is newer and tastes more like a stout. Light stout notes/poter qualities. roasted malt, cocco. Again the sour cherry is there and will come out and ruin the beer over time.

Feel is above medium and nicely carbed. There is some feeling to this beer, it's not dead. The sour notes are tame at this age and make this more drinkable than last time.

All in all a decent stout. I've been avoiding it for years. A bottle is plenty at 9%. My advice is, find this as fresh as possible if you want to avoid pronounced sour notes. And not those good sour notes that Im fond of.

Serving type: bottle

03-04-2012 06:18:43 | More by onix1agr

orangesol

Pennsylvania

3.48/5  rDev -10.5%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Bought this bottle at State Line late last year. Cap said bottled in Jan. 2010.

A - Pours jet black with a HUGE four and a half finger tall tan head leaving light lace down the glass. This one was extremely over carbonated.

S - Smells of dark roasted grains, coffee, bittersweet chocolate, licorice and some nice hop bitterness. The excessive carbonation gives off an off aroma that really messes with things.

T - Starts off with a bit of dark roasted malt quickly giving way to hints of licorice, coffee, chocolate and a fairly noticeable hop bite. The prickly carbonation still gives off a bit of an off flavor but it isn't as prevalent as in the nose. Finish has a bit of roast and a touch of booze, lingering on the pallet for some time.

M - Heavy body and flavor with moderate carbonation. Deep, roasty feel with prickly carbonation dancing on the pallet, lingering for quite awhile.

O - This one was ok. The over carbonation really brought it down on all levels. I may revisit this one in the future, I just hope it is better than this one was.

Serving type: bottle

02-07-2012 05:17:14 | More by orangesol

AleWatcher

Illinois

1.8/5  rDev -53.7%
look: 2 | smell: 2 | taste: 2 | feel: 1 | overall: 1.5

Blind Beer #10 from Shogo.
Served in a nonic pint...

Good thing I used a 20 oz glass for this one-- it had a HUGE 4 finger head. No, it had a fist. (four fingers just weren't enough. Had to go full fist). Huge creamy tan head over a deep reddish murky body.

Whatever style this is, it is extremely overcarbonated. Thin and fizzy feeling.

Smells like a chocolate cherry diet rite soda. Wow. This is not good. Very strange beer. There is some choclate malt with a strange dry roasty finish... Virtually nothin about this impresses me....

--- REVEAL ---
De Dolle Foreign Export Stout.

Wow. Really? I've seem this on shelves in Indiana... It is NOT worth the $7-$8 per bottle pricetag!
Now that I know what it is, I still don't pick up any notes that improve my opinion. it is really like a roasty diet chocolate cherry soda with a touch of dry boozy bitterness at the end.
Me no likey.

Serving type: bottle

02-05-2012 21:00:04 | More by AleWatcher

tsauce2

Indiana

3.8/5  rDev -2.3%
look: 3 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

P: 11.2 fl oz bottle into a DFH snifter.

A: SRM is dark brown/black. Opaque. Head is tan, 2 in, after 5 minutes dissipates to 1 cm. Heavy carbonation. Medium/light lacing.

S: Dark roast malt, light chocolate/coaco, light hops, faint cola smell.

T: Dark roast malt, hops, light watery taste, dark semi-bitter chocolate, alcohol, light nuances of moss/peat. Aftertaste is malt, light bittered chocolate malt notes, light hop, alcohol.

M: Medium body. Malt and hop create a contrasting feel of malt heaviness and hop lightness. Malt ends up coating the palate lightly. Bittered choclate malt gives a dry and lightly powdery feel. Dry finish.

O: Interesting beer from the point/counterpoint of the malts and hops. Very tasty, but point deductions for extreme head. I would not buy this again at the price I bought it, but would definitely not turn this down if offered.

Serving type: bottle

01-23-2012 13:02:26 | More by tsauce2

match1112

Illinois

2.85/5  rDev -26.7%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

stamp on the cap says bottled jun 2010, but a stout with 9%abv, i decided to give it a try. there is plenty of life left in this bottle. a very slow pour results in a glass full of head that takes twelve minutes for it to get to the point where i can drink it. with all this foam i expected some lacing, but nope, this looks oily. the nose is very sweet and cola smelling. hints of toffee and caramel can barely squeek thru the strong alochol aroma. taste is dominated by alochol also. the flavors that do manage to be detected are more cola like than stout like. mouthfeel is very thin and warming, almost burning. over carbonation is also a problem for me with this beer. overall i feel this is not worth the $7 i paid for a 11.2oz bottle.

Serving type: bottle

01-23-2012 02:25:49 | More by match1112

Zimbo

United Kingdom (Scotland)

3.95/5  rDev +1.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Many thinks to Thijs for this. His generosity knows no bounds.

Drank this paired with Harvey's Imperial Stout seeing as they both seemed to be inspired by the same beer and both use similar labels.
Brewed: Jan 2013
BB Jan 2013

In the bottle there is the scent of cola and sweet roast dark chocolate and when poured it effortlessly creates a hugely massive crazy foamigh yet loose magnolia head. Takes on a sweeter smeel there too.

Very black to look at yet on the tongue it is lighter in body than you'd expect despite the strong smell and it takes on an appteising yet very acidic and fizzy quality with some apply clove spiciness. Then these elements just seem to jump off a cliff and are replaced by a longish dark earthy quality.

Unbelievable lightness of touch for a 9%ABV beer. Very unique.

Serving type: bottle

01-20-2012 17:50:44 | More by Zimbo

brewerburgundy

California

3.95/5  rDev +1.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

12oz bottle, Duvel tulip, no freshness info. Thank you to Jayli via Secret Santa 2011.

Massive dark brown head that looks all Stout and betrays the Belgian heritage with its size and meringue quality. The liquid is shades of nighttime shadow. I poured a might too much and there are a few globules in the glass bottom.

Extremely vinous, dark fruit bursting its overripe skin all over the place. Chocolate truffles and sweet, fruity alcohol and yeast. The alcohol becomes sharper, more phenolic as it warms.

Bitter chocolate and sweet alcohol. Vinous fruit, craisins and cherries in ripe bunches. Chocolate milk and a nice moderate level of fruity Belgian yeast. Slightly acidic cherry, real faint, a little metallic.

Texture is silky smooth, but a little thin. The carbonation is well in check despite the huge head.

There is a lot of flavor here, the vinous qualities run deep. The difference between this and a normal Imperial Stout is subtle and yeast based. I thoroughly enjoyed it.

Serving type: bottle

01-07-2012 05:49:38 | More by brewerburgundy

Hopdaemon39

Massachusetts

4.28/5  rDev +10%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

I must preface this review by saying that I am a big fan of De Dolle and they were one of the first small scale breweries to which I was introduced.

Poured from 33 cl bottle into a wide-mouthed wine glass. Beware to any trying De Dolle for the first time- all of their brews are EXTREMELY lively and should be poured very carefully. I've only poured half the bottle and upon looking at the remainder there is a significant amount of foam in the bottle itself. It pours a very dark brown bordering on black as any stout should; very lively head that was a finger and a half even in this wine glass and it retains it well with limited lacing. The smell is primarily of Belgian yeast but with hints of dark malt and chocolate. The taste is rich and chocolatey but not too much so. The mouthfeel, in my opinion, is the more important aspect of these brews- in short, it is wonderful. Totally carbonated and sparkling to keep the heaviness of the malt palatable. I highly recommend this or any of De Dolle's other beers to those looking for something out of the ordinary (or even if you just want a damn good Belgian brew).

Serving type: bottle

01-06-2012 05:10:18 | More by Hopdaemon39

Stinkypuss

Pennsylvania

3.5/5  rDev -10%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

De Dolle Extra Export Stout
Brouwerij De Dolle Brouwers

Jan 2011 bottling date.

Appearance: Pours a very dark, murky brown. Huge foaming head, lively carbonation bubbles. Looks alive, and very much is. Over-carbonated but interesting.

Smell: Not much like a stout, strong alcoholic aromas, with faint deeply roasted malt notes and a very present Belgian ale yeast fruityness.

Taste: Up front are some dark fruits (date, plum) and roasted malts. Herbal hops are on the fringes, along with a semi-sweet sour note. Alcohol and roasted malt lingers into the finish, along with some fruity esters. Dark chocolates come out more late. Peat and smoke are lurking.

Mouthfeel: Light bodied for a stout, mild creaminess and effervescent at the same time, pretty unique feel.

Overall: A Belgian export stout with good character. Unique flavor, look and feel. Enjoyable, but messy. Has aging potential, but I think the sweetness could take over.

Serving type: bottle

01-03-2012 06:35:01 | More by Stinkypuss

Ghenna

California

3.83/5  rDev -1.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Received as an apology from a fellow brew club member for flaking on a brew day. Just about 2 years from bottled date on the cap (Jan 2010).

Man, massively overcarbonated as far as the head goes- very slow to recede. Nice milk chocolate color head, typical stout body.

Smells mostly of roast and dark fruit (df generally, black cherry specifically) and even a bit of soy sauce. Flavor follows the nose, the most pronounced part is the roast.

If you put hops and roast flavor on opposite sides of the beer spectrum, this is the roasty equivalent of a DIPA.

Serving type: bottle

12-23-2011 03:21:06 | More by Ghenna

delapowicz

Virginia

3.75/5  rDev -3.6%
look: 3 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

Wow, Smell is very nice. Clean with some prune, and nice malt aromatics. Strong head with dominant carbonation. Over carbonation. It is like Cola. Completely black. Cannot see light through it. A little burnt acrid aftertaste that is subtle, but still drinkable. Points taken away for over carbonation. The bubbles feel like they are attacking my tastebuds and I would like them to stop so I can taste the beer. I just did the stir with a knife trick to release some carbonation and it over flowed. Wont do that again. Licking it off the table helps taste the alcohol. It is warming and pleasant. The head came way down and now has a much better taste now that the carbonation is lower. Pretty intense licorice and slight anise spiciness.

Recomend for one 12oz and move on to something else. Nice fireside winter warmer

Date on cap was June 2010

Serving type: bottle

11-15-2011 02:49:53 | More by delapowicz

ommegangpbr

New York

4.4/5  rDev +13.1%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Hoo boy!
This bottle has been sitting in my fridge for at least a year now; probably two. I've been craving a stout for a bit now and noticed the bottle hiding in that corner of my fridge.
I'm pleased at the rediscovery. This bottle was delicious.
Lively tan brown head with a deep, dark body.
This has all you want out of a lightly sweetened dark roast coffee. Flavors are rich, deep and lingering. The really fancy part about this beer is that the quality of sweetness that lives here is that of a dark Belgian strong ale. Everything else speaks of straight up, quality stout beer. The sugar is very Belgian.
A rare and tasty treat. I meant to sit and savor this for longer than I did. I think I did a pretty good job considering how much I was craving a beer like this. Carbonation was very lively considering the amount of time I've had this bottle in my possession.
I hope you find a good bottle of this and enjoy!

Serving type: bottle

11-09-2011 08:47:47 | More by ommegangpbr

jrenihan

Ontario (Canada)

3.93/5  rDev +1%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Bottled Jan 2010.

Beer is basically black but with some hints of maroon/red. Even a slow pour results in a MASSIVE tan head that has absurd staying power. Pretty remarkable.

Smell is dark fruit (cherry), chocolate, sugar/candied fruit. Only somewhat similar to a typical stout. Smells more like a BSDA, or a cross between the two. Very nice. As the beer opens up, a smoky peat scent is also there, which was a surprise and is not as nice as the rest of the flavours - even coming from somebody who likes peaty scotch a lot.

The dark fruit and chocolate are there strongly in the flavour. Somewhat bitter, especially in the finish, with cocoa and coffee up front. Flavour is more stout-like than the nose, but the Belgian aspects are there as well pretty strongly. Like the nose, a smoky flavour starts to become more recognizable.

High carbonation level, full bodied but a little thinner than expected. A little syrupy. A bit of booze.

Very enjoyable. Taste is very good but not as good as the nose. Overall rating reflects that this just slightly warranted a 4 taste-wise. A nice beer, interesting mix of a BSDA and stout.

Serving type: bottle

11-09-2011 02:19:57 | More by jrenihan

twiggamortis420

Texas

1.98/5  rDev -49.1%
look: 4 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 1.5 | feel: 2 | overall: 2

330 mL bottle pours a dark brown color with a fine-bubbled tan head. Retention and lacing just ok.

Whoa...interesting! Nose is earthy mushrooms and blue cheese. Infected? Old? This bottle did not sit for more than 2 years or so in the cellar, so not sure what is going on here.

Taste is rotten cocoa beans with a side of dirt and old fruit. Im guessing this is bad, but it is not sour like most infected beers I have had. Drain pour and I will post this review merely for anyone else who might have a similar experience with this one.

Serving type: bottle

10-18-2011 00:38:38 | More by twiggamortis420

doopydoogle

Tennessee

3.9/5  rDev +0.3%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

A - Exploded out of the bottle with a brown head that leaves fat bubbles that refuse t give way. A black-brown color with a faint red around the sides.

S - Metallic malts, coffee, chocolate, yeasty sweetness, currant/cassis

T - Tangy coffee, chocolate, ash, wood, smoke, currant, dark fruits, raisins, almost wine-like quality, alcohol, meat.

M - Good carbonation, sticky but not obnoxious.

O - A very nice fuerte stout! Has a zing and is a little earthier than your typical RIS. Worth a go!

Serving type: bottle

10-17-2011 05:12:40 | More by doopydoogle

jsanford

Georgia

3.3/5  rDev -15.2%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

330ml bottle poured into a Tulip Glass. Not sure of the vintage, but I'd guess at least a couple of years.

Pours a fairly dark black with a huge fluffy head that settles to a squat cap. Aromas of dark malt, soy sauce, molasses, and dark berry jam with a slight touch of vinegar, this is likely past it's prime. Taste follows the nose closely, lots of dark malt, molasses, and blackberry jam with a long-lasting bitter finish. Definitely a bit oxidized, but far from undrinkable. Mouthfeel is a bit thinner then expected (perhaps due to the age), about medium-bodied overall with decent carbonation. The ABV is hidden nicely. Overall a decent Stout, but probably a touch past it's prime. I'd like to try a fresh bottle.

Serving type: bottle

09-19-2011 16:56:01 | More by jsanford

MoreThanWine

Massachusetts

4.33/5  rDev +11.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Poursed a massive all head with a muddy mocha brown tinge to the head. Smells great with caramel and toffee. The taste comes out more of a coffee and cocoa but some of the candied aspects are there too, especially as it warms. Pretty high alcohol at 9%, and they probably could have called this Imperial. An interesting bold stout and I'm learning De Dolle is a brewery turning out top knotch stuff.

Serving type: bottle

09-09-2011 08:50:06 | More by MoreThanWine

LambicKing

Virginia

3.45/5  rDev -11.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

Bought 330mL bottle at Dranken Geers. Poured into my St Bernardus chalice.

A: Holy carb! A full 4 fingers of foam took 5 minutes to settle to the surface. Leaves a persistent film and edging of small/med bubbles. Dark brown body and toffee-colored head.

S: Caramel, toffee, candy sugar, leather, coffee, touch of booze. Smoke?

T: Some smoke amongst caramel, coffee, figs/dates. Somewhat vacant in the middle, but definitely full-bodied up front and at the finish. Mid body is beginning to fill out as it warms. Solid alcohol heat at the finish, but not overly hot. Pretty nice flavor complexity.

M: A bit too much carb for the style IMO (or at least for my preference), but a nice full, chewy feel. Slightly dry finish, but leaves complex coating.

O: Makes me even more excited for some of the Stateside stouts. I would have this beer again in Europe, but probably wouldn't pay the premium to taste it in the States. Wish it was a bit more full, considering the ABV.

Serving type: bottle

08-24-2011 18:43:12 | More by LambicKing

scottfrie

California

3.73/5  rDev -4.1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

330ml bottle into Portsmouth snifter.

A: When I tried to pour this all I got was a glass of foam, and it was a slow pour. This beer has the craziest, foamiest, billowing head that I’ve ever seen. After about 5 minutes it finally faded into a thick dark brown film over about an inch of even darker brown liquid. I took a tiny sip to see if it was infected, but all I got was foam in my mouth (it didn’t taste infected though). I swirled the glass around to burn off some carb, but the head just foamed back up to the rim and I had to wait another 5 minutes for it to die down. I might be here a while.
S: Strong notes of ripened dark fruit, anise and black licorice, leather, and warm alcohol vapors. I get a few sugary sweet notes as well. The leather smell reminds me of shoes.
T: The anise, leather and dark fruits carry over from the nose but there is also a pretty good dose of dark chocolate and roasted coffee beans. The flavors in this are strong, rich, and a bit acidic. I get a few notes of sweet caramel in the finish, and the aftertaste is roasted and lingers long after the swallow. No infection here.
M: Like I said before, the initial amount of carbonation made this undrinkable, but after most of it burned off this beer was quite smooth. The only knock against it is the slightly rough acidic/alcoholic finish.
O: Not my favorite stout, and obviously over carbonated, but this had a good flavor to it and was enjoyable enough.

Serving type: bottle

08-11-2011 00:51:31 | More by scottfrie