Beer Blogging - Bear Republic Big Bear Black Stout
I have another excellent beer to drink tonight, from Bear Republic brewery in Northern California. It's their Big Bear Black Stout. Let's see what we've got here...
The Pour: This is a deep black beer. Holding it up to the light, I see absolutely nothing coming through. Even with Guinness, you see a little ruby around the edges of the glass, but not with this one. The head is a deep tan, with lots of large bubbles. It's almost creamy looking on top, and it's certainly not in any hurry to dissipate.
The Aroma: It smells strongly of roasted malt. There might be a little bit of floral hops under there as well, which is pretty common in beers from northern California.
The Taste: There is some serious roasted malt happening here. The first thing you taste is that roasted malt, which tastes like espresso and chocolate. That's followed by just a hint of floral hops, which don't taste out of place as they would in some other dark beers. The aftertaste is a little bit sour with hints of caramel malt and vanilla. The vanilla sticks around longer than anything else and provides a very nice finish to every sip. There's not too much carbonation, just enough to keep things interesting.
The Rating: 9/10. If you like stouts, this one is an exemplary specimen. You might not be able to find it outside of California, but if you happen to be in the area and you like stouts you have a moral obligation to buy a bottle.
The Pour: This is a deep black beer. Holding it up to the light, I see absolutely nothing coming through. Even with Guinness, you see a little ruby around the edges of the glass, but not with this one. The head is a deep tan, with lots of large bubbles. It's almost creamy looking on top, and it's certainly not in any hurry to dissipate.
The Aroma: It smells strongly of roasted malt. There might be a little bit of floral hops under there as well, which is pretty common in beers from northern California.
The Taste: There is some serious roasted malt happening here. The first thing you taste is that roasted malt, which tastes like espresso and chocolate. That's followed by just a hint of floral hops, which don't taste out of place as they would in some other dark beers. The aftertaste is a little bit sour with hints of caramel malt and vanilla. The vanilla sticks around longer than anything else and provides a very nice finish to every sip. There's not too much carbonation, just enough to keep things interesting.
The Rating: 9/10. If you like stouts, this one is an exemplary specimen. You might not be able to find it outside of California, but if you happen to be in the area and you like stouts you have a moral obligation to buy a bottle.
Labels: beer
posted by The Disgruntled Chemist at
9:02 PM
