Lights Out Stout - Barrier Brewing Company

Gmann

New York

4/5  rDev +2%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Pours a black color with a short, dense toasted khaki head that settled into a sparse cap.

The aroma is light but has notes of char and roast.

The taste is of moderate roast, some coffee grounds, and powdery chocolate. Pehaps some oat in the grain bill as the stout is quite smooth. Some wet wood and char notes as well.

Moderate feel with soft carbonation. Smooth. Light roasted bitterness in the finish.

Very tasty stout, smooth and drinks quite well.

Serving type: on-tap

05-04-2013 14:23:55 | More by Gmann

brystmar

New York

3/5  rDev -23.5%
look: 2 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 4

On tap at Jimmy's 43.

A: Pours black with 1.5 fingers of tan head. Poor retention, almost zero lace; nothing special here. Swirling the glass summons absolutely nothing. Barrier, I am disappoint.

S: Hard to detect anything with no head releasing aroma. Hoppy, roasty malts I guess? Who knows, I smell more glass than beer.

T: There we go, this is a stout! Strong malt backbone with plenty of hops in tow. Nothing fancy (no coffee, chocolate, etc) here, just your typical stout. Finishes dry and hoppy with mild hop bitterness.

M: Bland medium body, smooth and swishy in the mouth. They badly need to throw in some oatmeal or put it on nitro to spice things up.

D: On the flipside, this is a sessionable beer. Not too strong in any direction, finishes smooth enough, no reason someone couldn't enjoy a few pints in a single sitting.

Overall: it's a plain old stout. Nothing fancy here, and not really worth your time & money in a city like NYC with so much great beer at your fingertips.

Serving type: on-tap

09-21-2011 23:53:35 | More by brystmar

nassaubeercop

New York

4.33/5  rDev +10.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Poured from a growler into a (Duvel) tulip glass.

A- Black with a 1/4 inch of off white head which quickly dissipates leaving a little lace.

S- Roasted malts, coffee, caramel notes.

T- Like it smells, little carbonation, dry, smoke, chocolate, robust bitter coffee flavors.

M- Nice smooth, silky, a bit thin for the style.

O- One of my favorite styles and a pretty good example of that style. I recommend it.

Serving type: growler

07-30-2011 01:18:08 | More by nassaubeercop

greybeardloon

Rhode Island

4.28/5  rDev +9.2%
look: 5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

A: Black with a couple of fingers of light-brown head that looks like a pancake on the griddle. The head lasts for a few minutes and leaves lots of lacing.

S: Roast, char, unsweetened chocolate, a wisp of clean (not bacony) smoke.

T: Dry, bitter, burned, chocolaty goodness. A second or two after swallowing, bitterness reappears and makes me immediately want to take another sip.

M: Smooth and creamy. A bit thinner than I would like, though. I'm fooled into thinking there are oats in this beer.

O: This is a very tasty and very drinkable beer. It is rather unbalanced, but that only seems to make it more enjoyable.

Serving type: growler

04-29-2011 02:53:36 | More by greybeardloon

metter98

New York

3.95/5  rDev +0.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

A: The beer is jet black in color and poured with a thin off-white head that slowly died down and left lacing on the surface.
S: There are aromas of coffee beans in the nose along with hints of roasted malts.
T: Like the smell, the taste has flavors of coffee and roasted malts with some hints of bittersweet chocolate and smoke. There is a light amount of bitterness in the finish.
M: It feels medium-bodied on the palate and has a moderate amount of carbonation.
O: The beer is very drinkable because the body isn't very heavy.

Serving type: on-tap

04-08-2011 12:53:12 | More by metter98

jzeilinger

Pennsylvania

4/5  rDev +2%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

A - Jet black with a light toffee colored ring, no head, and oozes down the sides of the glass almost syrup-like.

S - Smoke, charcoal, dark bitter chocolate, expresso, cocoa beans, and anise. For a lower octane stout, this one has alot going on in the nose - I'm digging it.

T - dry, Dry, and DRY!! Massive amounts of charcoal, bitter chocolate. Expresso surges to the front followed by a dry charcoal, smokey character and finishes with a mildly bitter bite. Leaves the mouth bone dry with a charcoal coating.

M - Light medium body and mild on the tongue.

D - Good.

A great beer to enjoy with several glasses since it's not overly high ABV, that's a very good thing. Not complex or deep, just a well brewed stout that could be a session beer! For low ABV, there's alot of flavor going here. NICE!

Serving type: growler

11-20-2010 02:29:06 | More by jzeilinger

Kegatron

Pennsylvania

4.3/5  rDev +9.7%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

32 oz growler purchased at Big Z Beverages (Huntington, NY) into a pint glass.

Pours black, with a ½ finger of foamy mocha colored head. This retains with some very thin trimming around the edges, leaving a light smattering of spotty lace behind. Not the most impressive look but it hangs in there enough. The aroma is rich with burnt roast and crunchy coffee character, along with a thick malty backing of chocolate and sweet caramel notes. A touch of green hops adds a bit of earthy freshness to the back of the nose.

The taste is burnt roast and earthy hops giving this a blackened and green feeling bitterness that spreads throughout the profile. This is well balanced by a chewy mix of chocolate and toffee sweetness before working itself into a zippy espresso finish. This just has some very well done roast and coffee flavors here, with a very low astringency to them. This finishes with a burnt and blackened feel that sticks to the tongue with a dry bitterness. The mouthfeel is fuller bodied and quite sharp up front before segueing into a big creaminess that fills the throat up as you swallow. Despite the fuller feel, I'm pleased to find that there is no alcohol present in the taste, as this stays quite smooth overall on the palate.

I would be hard pressed to not call this a Coffee Stout, except for the fact that according to the stats on their website, this contains no coffee in it! I'm amazed that they were able to get that much java flavor into a beer just from the malts. REALLY solid effort here and that makes it 2 for 2 from these guys for me. I'm definitely looking forward to future offerings on subsequent trips up to Long Island.

Serving type: growler

09-08-2010 16:56:57 | More by Kegatron

plaid75

New York

4.22/5  rDev +7.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Poured a deep black hue with a one finger foamy tan head. There was good retention and lacing.

The smell featured a solid roasted malt with elements of coffee and charcoal.

The taste consisted of a clean burnt grain with waves of charcoal and dry coffee.

The mouthfeel was typical of the style.

Overall a tasty and relatively brawny stout. Nicely done and very enjoyable.

Serving type: growler

08-27-2010 01:49:25 | More by plaid75