Squatters Outer Darkness - Squatters Pub Brewery

wisrarebeer

Wisconsin

4.08/5  rDev +1%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

$10.99 for the bottle.

A: incredible pour, great thick tan head, deep black color
S: medium nose, treacle toffee, burnt coffee, very good
T: well-made beer, all the hallmarks of a good RIS, roasted, treacle, burnt malt up front with a great dose of hops, this one well age for a few years but is already very drinkable
M: velvety, well-balanced
D: good drinkability

Serving type: bottle

01-01-2011 02:47:27 | More by wisrarebeer

LilBeerDoctor

New York

4.08/5  rDev +1%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Reviewed on 3/15/2010. Bottle. Pours black with a thick dark tan head. Aroma of booze, vanilla, roasted malt, lactose, milk chocolate, nougat, graham cracker. Flavor of booze, sweet malt, roasted malt, vanilla, coffee, bitter chocolate with a dark chocolate finish. A little strong but nice combination of roasted malt with the sweet vanilla, lactose, and chocolate notes. Impressive beer. It got better as you drank (or as it warmed I suppose). Delicious!

Serving type: bottle

12-23-2010 19:51:07 | More by LilBeerDoctor

BretSikkink

Mexico

3.9/5  rDev -3.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 3

Inky black pour with little initial head. However, a sturdyish tan foam forms after a minute or so and keeps nicely. Great stick, and a great look over all.

Similarly happy with the nose, which is powerful and complex enough for the style. I get some chalkiness among the dark chocolate, overripe fruit, and caramel. Hints of molasses and herbs, lightly charred all around. Very nice.

The taste profile follows, with a moderate sweetness that is definitely not cloying while cold - due to the thick nature, this one could get quite sticky towards room temp. Solid roast notes, with chocolate and coffee leading. Oak and herbal bitterness come in toward the tail end. The strong alcohol presence is reminiscent of drinking tequila and vanilla rum. Not necessarily a hugely bad thing, but this one is really hot when you stop to notice.

And it's rather easy to pass by. With its girth and velvety smooth nature, Outer Darkness glides right on by, and it's in the gullet before the heat gets turned on. Not a bad drinker, but its bite is worse than its bark.

Serving type: bottle

11-10-2010 03:29:58 | More by BretSikkink

ebrauser

Utah

3.63/5  rDev -10.1%
look: 5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

22 oz. (approx. 3 weeks after bottling of the series) into a brandy glass

Appearance: Chocolate brown, impossible to see through, with a thin brown head. Classic Imperial stout.

Aroma: Potent chocolate, coffee, and alcohol in the nose, along with some prune and raisin notes. Swirling released an aroma slightly like rubbing alcohol.

Flavor: Strong fruity beginning doesn't do much to mask the intensity of the alcohol, which is present throughout. Notes of figs and raisins with coffee and a cherry like sweetness. Bitter finish, like a mix of dark chocolate and everclear.

Mouthfeel: Strong, heavy body that feels thick and syrupy going down. Doesn't coat the mouth much at all.

Overall: I'm wondering whether I cracked this one open too early after bottling, and I'm excited to let the second and third ones age (vertical test??) for a while. The beer lacks some complexity that I expected from Squatter's, but here's hoping that it comes out with time

Serving type: bottle

10-28-2010 02:39:47 | More by ebrauser

cpetrone84

Pennsylvania

3.53/5  rDev -12.6%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

A-pours a jet black thick and viscous liquid with a mahogany brown head that is tight and creamy.

S-light notes of roasted to burnt malt, hints of chocolate, lots of sweetness and dark fruits.

T-very sweet, tons of roasted or burnt malts, notes of chooclate, light vanilla, very bitter and astringent burnt coffee, dark fruits in the back add some sweetness.

M-somewhat smooth, a little grainy on the palate, thinner, high carbonation.

D-nothing out of the norm here and little hot for the starndar flavors it provides. pretty average imperial stout and very burnt and bitter flavors fighting against lots of malty sweetness.

Serving type: bottle

08-10-2010 14:13:28 | More by cpetrone84

RedHaze

Nebraska

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

22oz waxed bottle. Thanks to Wasatch for this one.

Pours about as pitch black as I've ever seen with a dark mocha one finger head. The resulting lace is thick, leaving layers of foam behind.

Smell; relatively tame in the aroma department for a big RIS. Chocolate and espresso with a little alcohol sprinkled in, but overall the aromas are kind of subdued.

Taste; makes up for the somewhat lacking aroma. Milk chocolate, espresso beans, faint dark fruits and licorice. A mild smokiness floats through the middle with a touch of vanilla, and all topped off with just a little spicy alcohol in the finish.

Mouthfeel is full bodied and silky smooth. Dinkability is good, but as with all beers of this type, limited by the high abv.

This one damn good RIS. Glad to see breweries making beers like this in Utah.

Serving type: bottle

06-21-2010 00:29:19 | More by RedHaze

ybnorml

Rhode Island

4.5/5  rDev +11.4%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 5

An opaque black beer. Has a thick and creamy dark brown head and nice lace.The aroma is spicy sweet with nice bittersweet chocolate notes floating in the background. A big chocolaty character start out the taste with inviting spicy notes following. Nice licorice and piney hops on the finish. All around a good silky mouthfeel. An excellent example of the style...
Thanks John

Serving type: bottle

05-03-2010 22:48:17 | More by ybnorml

gford217

Georgia

4.38/5  rDev +8.4%
look: 5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Huge thanks to wasatch for this one, 22oz bottle poured into a tulip.

First off, this is a truly gorgeous looking beer in the glass. Completely pitch black with a frothy mocha head that showing exceptional retention and sheets of lacing.

The aroma is huge and roasty - tons of heavily toasted dark malts, cocoa and espresso. There is also some sweet dark fruits and molasses fighting to get out of the burnt malts.

The taste is just as massive. it's got dark chocolate, molasses, espresso and most prominently, toasted black malts which really anchor this thing. The finish is almost smoky with some charred wood in addition to licorice. Whoa, big.

The mouthfeel is pretty full and thick with a strong enough carbonation to keep it from getting too syrupy.

I have to say this one really surprised me. This is one of the best stright-up RISs I've had in recent memory. Complex, full-bodied yet still oddly drinkable. Wonderful.

Serving type: bottle

04-14-2010 02:38:25 | More by gford217

Mora2000

Texas

4.03/5  rDev -0.2%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Thanks to swalden28 for sharing this bottle.

The beer pours a very nice black color with a large brown head. The aroma is dark chocolate with some bitterness. The flavor is chocolate, roasted malt, pepper and smoke. Thick, inky mouthfeel and low carbonation.

Serving type: bottle

03-19-2010 22:50:29 | More by Mora2000

tpd975

Florida

4.13/5  rDev +2.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Thanks to ibrew2or3 for this rare gem.

A: Bad ass label to start. Pours dark black with a nice tan head. Good retention with lace spotting all the way down the glass.

S: Lots of roast, almost char like. Hints of chocolate, coffee, and molasses soaked dark fruits.

T: Very similar to aroma. Very roasty, bold chocolate, and then more roast. Subtle espresso notes with hints of molasses sweetness that seems to peek in and out.

M: Rather full in body, bold, roasted flavors.

D: Not poundable, but damn drinkable.

Serving type: bottle

03-11-2010 04:13:02 | More by tpd975

Douglas88

Utah

4.25/5  rDev +5.2%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

650 ml bottle from the Brewpub. I missed this beer's release, but I've been eagerly anticipating it. To my knowledge, Utah's first Imperial Stout (minus homebrews). Pours a dark opaque brown color with an initial large brown head that goes down to some bubbles. A powerful nose; loads of alcohol, cocoa, wood, rich roasted notes. The flavor is hot and massive; molasses, cocoa, roasted malts, light fruit, vanilla, wood, a smooth nice mouthfeel. Very hot. Somewhat dry and very aggressive. A very nice brew from Squatters as usual. Might gain with some age.

Serving type: bottle

01-27-2010 17:55:34 | More by Douglas88

JohnGalt1

Idaho

4.45/5  rDev +10.1%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 5 | overall: 4

Footbalm and Douglas88 brought up a couple of these for the RIS tasting... Utah's 1st RIS!! Props to Eric and Doug for the bottles.

Pours a deep dark brown... close but not quite black... pretty clear... Nice tan head and good lacing.

Aroma has a surprising cherry fruitiness and a bit of lite phenol .. but cocoa and roasty malts are the star players... some lite alcohol comes off as cinnamon in my mind.

Flavor is rich chocolate with clean espresso notes... still some fruitiness and the phenols are a bit more prevalent.. reminds slightly of a "Belgian RIS" but with an impeccable American body and carbonation... this gained a bunch of complexities as the bottle sat open.

Thanks again to the Utah crew.. Don't forget my other bottle ;-) An awesome beer and a nice welcome for Utah to come out of the beer dark ages.

BTW... Funny story goes with the name... ask an Ex-Mormon or somebody who doesn't like the LDS church.. they'll probably be able to explain.

4.5/4.5/4.5/5/4

Serving type: bottle

01-21-2010 08:01:50 | More by JohnGalt1

Wasatch

Utah

4.5/5  rDev +11.4%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

2011 Vintage
750ml
Gold Foil

Poured into a chalice a nice black color, nice carbonation, nice one-finger creamy tan head, with some nice oil slicks and sticky lacing afterwards. The nose is malty, with some molasses, some chocolate/toffee notes, and very slight oak note. The taste is sweet, malty, nice touch of molasses, a nice touch of chocolate/toffee, slightly oaky, vanilla, and some licorice. Medium/Full Body, it does not taste/feel like a 10.5% ABV brew at all, smooth, and not as hot as other RIS, pretty creamy. This one really does not need to be aged. Very Drinkable, this is a pretty tasty RIS, not quite as good as many others out there, but a nice one at that. It's starting to grow on me.

2010 Vintage
750ml
Gold Foil

Poured into a chalice a nice black color, nice carbonation, nice one-finger creamy tan head, with some nice oil slicks and sticky lacing afterwards. The nose is malty, with some molasses, some chocolate/toffee notes, and very slight oak note. The taste is sweet, malty, nice touch of molasses, a nice touch of chocolate/toffee, slightly oaky, vanilla, and some licorice. Medium body, it does not taste/feel like a 10.5% ABV brew at all, smooth, and not as hot as other RIS, pretty creamy. This one really does not need to be aged. Very Drinkable, this is a pretty tasty RIS, not quite as good as many others out there, but a nice one at that.

22oz. Bomber
Black Wax Dip

Only sold at the Brewpub, good to go as well.

Poured into a chalice a nice black color, nice carbonation, nice one-finger creamy tan head, with some nice oil slicks and sticky lacing afterwards. The nose is malty, with some molasses, some chocolate/toffee notes, and very slight oak note. The taste is sweet, malty, nice touch of molasses, a niceh touch of chocolate/toffee, slightly oaky, and some licorice. Medium body, it does not taste/feel like a 10.5% ABV brew at all, smooth, and not as hot as other RIS. This one really does not need to be aged. Drinkable, this is a pretty tasty RIS, not quite as good as many others out there, but a nice one at that.

Serving type: bottle

12-24-2009 23:08:54 | More by Wasatch