Sharing my hard work in learning about, brewing and even drinking beer.

I am a beer nerd, homebrewer and hopefully future beer competion judge. I am working my way through sampling, learning about and hopefully brewing all eighty current BJCP beer styles. It's hard work, but somebody has to do it.

Thursday, March 10, 2011

A stout'll do the trick

March is coming in like a lion this year, which means a whole lot of crap weather. The past two days have been cold and rainy and the next few days are predicted to be cold and snowy. To console myself over Punxsutawny Phil lying to us all about an early spring, I picked up a six-pack at Beer Nutz in Fox Chapel. Beer Nutz doesn't have quite the selection as 3 Sons does, but it has better six-pack prices. I chose some nice heavy beers to get me through this last wintry push, and I got the following for $12.84 after some strange tax calculations:



- Young's Double Chocolate
- Stout Sam Smith Oatmeal Stout
- Old Rasputin Russian Imperial Stout (North Coast)
- Unibroue Maudite
- Paulaner Salvator
- Brooklyn Monster Barleywine



Not a bad haul right? Starting off with the stouts, (no, I'm not going to drink all of these tonight, but thanks for thinking I could) the Young's Double Chocolate Stout came in a generous pint bottle. It poured beautifully thick and dark with a fat, creamy, tan head. For those that care, this beer is not brewed according to the Reinheitsgebot, as chocolate is an ingredient, and essentially the showcase of the beer. The chocolate is evident in everything from the aroma to the flavor to the finish, but manages to blend instead of overpowering and making the beer taste like a milkshake. This is a plus for me, as I like my beer to taste like beer. This is an easy-drinking beer and would wash down a meat-and-potatoes kind of meal perfectly. The Samuel Smith's had a surprisingly fruity aroma when first poured. It also had a smoother mouthfeel and the fruitiness carried over into the flavor. After a bit the fruitiness mellowed to a nice maltiness. This is a beer that coats your mouth. Unfortunately, I consumed the other beers without keeping notes. I know, I know (puts on dunce cap and sits in corner).