Black Bear XX Stout - Alameda Brewhouse

froggyfrog

Pennsylvania

3.6/5  rDev -9.3%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3

22 oz. labeled bottle, beer served in glass snifter.

Pours about as black as a starless night with a slight red tinge. A huge, billowy, brunette head coats the glass in chunky sheets of lacing.

Smells highly of roasted barley with steamed milk and rich caramel overtones. Also dark cacao and hints of floral hops.

For flavors I'm getting toast and roast and a healthy dose of kola. Caramel flavors are on the milky sweet side, with the sweetness more than adequately cut by the bittering hops, carbonation and dryish finish. The dark chocolate in the nose transitions into a creamy milk chocolate here.

Downy on the tongue from the bottle, this beer must be downright velutinous served from a nitro tap. This is a full-bodied but easygoing stout with no rough edges.

Smooth and simple to drink, this beers sets a nice pace with its full weight and enjoyable flavors.

Thanks to msubulldog25 for the chance to sample this fine brew.

Serving type: bottle

10-23-2006 03:57:05 | More by froggyfrog

Dogbrick

Ohio

3.53/5  rDev -11.1%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Thanks to cmaruschak for sharing. Deep dark brown color with a reddish halo and a thick light tan head that dissipates steadily. Roasty aroma of coffee and malt. Medium-bodied and smooth with a rather sharp bitterness around the edges. The nitro smoothness seems to contradict the somewhat harsh acidity in the flavor. Malt and coffee flavors keep it from falling apart luckily. The finish is creamy with a bitter aftertaste. I would not go as far as to say the bottle had turned but something seemed a little off about this.

Serving type: bottle

10-04-2006 18:10:51 | More by Dogbrick

jdhilt

New Hampshire

4.03/5  rDev +1.5%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Pours like motor oil with a four finger tan head that fades slowly to a thin layer leaving a good lace. Totally black color. Light carbonation and very heavy bodied. Chocolate nose. Starts with a bitter chocolate flavor, some middle sweetness, finish has a slight bitterness. A decent stout. $3.25 for a 22oz bottle from John's Grocery Tigard, Or. Label puts the ABV at 7.0%.

Serving type: bottle

07-29-2006 22:35:05 | More by jdhilt

bjohnson

Massachusetts

4.5/5  rDev +13.4%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

My buddy kindly brought a 22oz. bomber back from Portland on his recent vist to see his brother. $3.95 at Belmont Station, Portland, OR.

A: Pours a jet black almost inky color with a two finger caramel colored frothy head that leaves puffy cloud like lace.

S: Aromas of sweet caramel malt notes with a roasted mix. Noticed some licorice and chocolate malts on the second whiff. Smells very smooth and full bodied.

T: Tastes of sweet chocoloate and caramel malts blends with roasted malts. Very silky smooth and quite rich tasting. Not overly rich though, just that perfect taste that keeps you coming back for more.

M & D: Mouthfeel and drinkability are awesome on this offering from Alameda. Full bodied but very well balanced. Low carbonation allows you to fully taste the chocolate and caramel. This is what a stout should taste like. Two thumbs up for Alameda. If I had another, I'd drink it right now. I would love to try this on tap...Gotta get out to the Left Coast soon!

Serving type: bottle

03-15-2006 00:54:51 | More by bjohnson

MuddyFeet

North Carolina

4.35/5  rDev +9.6%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Written from notes. Sampled on-tap at Redbones during lunch on 11/15.

Thick and dense in appearance. Very black. Thick brown, creamy head that was glorious. Even more impressive layered, coating lace all around the glass.

Aroma was very subtle but deep and dark. Kind of like a low basson you cannot quite hear but you know is there and you find a pleasant feel from the low note vibrations.

Not a lot of anything but there was a little of a lot of things. Some slightly toasted malts with chocolate, vanilla and licorice. Kind of a dark bread flavor going on too. Slight hop bitters come through at the finish.

Very full body. It tried to be milky but was more creamy. Easy and smooth drinking. Not so much a cloying finish but more of a thorough finish. Very nice afternoon working my way through my pint.

Serving type: on-tap

11-16-2005 22:32:22 | More by MuddyFeet

feloniousmonk

Minnesota

4.58/5  rDev +15.4%
look: 5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 5 | overall: 4.5

Full ebony proclaims the appearance, not a streak of light seeps through, and a majestic cocoa cap holds guard on top, lush and creamy, an impressive looking stout, at the start.

Aroma begins with chocolate, molasses, spice, and bittersweet coffee tones. Earthy, gritty, rich...coffee grounds are now the primary senstation, overall an expansive, and flavorful nose.

Immensively full on the palate, at first swallow. Rich, dark, utterly satisfying. Plenty of grit and texture, flavors of syrup, rich chocolate, bitter coffee beans, tangible, and a touch tart behind the bitter.

Plump mouthfeel,... long, sticky finish,... viscous is an appropriate qualifier, but not too, this is very approachable for the stout fan. But definitely not a brew for those that shy from the darkness. The rest of us, we're in high heaven here. A stout lovers wet dream, not too strong, not too thick, but so full in all other respects that it fulfills our every need. Drinkability? Assured. When you're that tasty, you don't stand a chance in my glass, pal.

A very solid stout. So tired of middling versions, blase' people pleasers, so glad to find one with serious cojones, yet so simple to slide back the throat.

Thanks, Kim, for the growler!

Serving type: growler

08-02-2005 06:02:12 | More by feloniousmonk