Just saw this at the bottle shop tonight and picked one up. Smelling and tasting some diacytl and it pours and tastes very undercarbonated. The bottle says Draft Ale so were these bottles filled from a keg? I love to see some local breweries barrel aging stouts but Skookum seems to have missed on this one. Pass on the $12 bottle on this round fellas.
I wasn't a fan, reallly, either. I didn't pick up the diacytl, though. I thought the flavors were OK --- a little muted --- but I thought it was awfully thin for a barrel-aged impy stout. I was wanting for more nearly all the way around. I'm willing to give them another shot as they work out the kinks.
I had it on draft at the brewery and I liked it a lot. I thought it was very solid - at $10/bottle, worth putting a couple away for future verticals.
I saw it a few minutes ago for $14 a bottle at Norm's Market in Silver Lake. Prices all over the map on this one.
I picked up a bottle @ Chuck's (haven't opened it yet) and the guy at the counter mentioned that they'd been dealing w/ carbonation issues. He said he'd tried an earlier sample (pre-bottling, sounded like, not quite sure) and he said it was delicious, but completely flat. But he seemed to indicate that they'd worked all that out for the bottling. Forget what I paid, I think around $10.
Yeah, Annie at Special Brews told me she had a "tester bottle" for her to try that is apparently pretty flat too. I didn't get much carbonation from my bottle either. Post if you get any of that diacytl flavor or scent from your bottles. If you don't know: buttered popcorn/butterscotch. You'll know it when you get it.
I just opened a bottle and ended up dumping it. Flat and starting to taste sour. Ok now, but not a good sign.
Sadly, this one is as un-carbonated as Dark Lord and (according to the majority) severely less tasty.
Halfway through my bottle. I actually like the taste, for me it just has a hint of red wine sourness (which is more prevalent in the aroma). But the combination of chocolate, bourbon, and oak is pretty good. Where it falls apart is the mouthfeel. Pretty much completely flat. Could have been a lot better, but this is no Hellshire II.
I broke down and popped one of my bottles to see for myself. It definitely lacks carbonation. But diacetyl? Not that I could tell. It tasted just fine to me. Definitely not a drain pour. draheim got it right in my opinion. Tastes as he describes. For a ten spot, I don't feel I'm out anything but I wouldn't rush back to buy more either.
I'm not trying to hate on Skookum, I've really enjoyed their IPAs when they come around. I'm also not simply comparing it to other beers of the style, because obviously a local brewery taking their first shot at barrel aging something won't turn out perfect. But this beer was the closest thing to a drain pour I've ever encountered. It came out of the bottle like it had been poured and left in the fridge over night. Maybe it varies from bottle to bottle even, but from my bottle, if I was the brewer, I don't see how this could be what I intended to make. I did get a bit of diacetyl but that could have been because I had heard it. I wouldn't go as far as to say it was starting to sour, that could have been a red fruitiness, but I thought there was something funky going on in the taste. The smell was the best part of this beer, it did have decent vanilla notes. I really wanted to like this beer too
Exactly. If anything, the bias would be the opposite. We want our Nanos to be successful. All the more reason I appreciate the honest opinions.
