Rye Stout
Goose Island Beer Co.

 

Pours black with a small off white head and good lacing.

Scent of chocolate, rye, and smoke. Good, but not great; a little too plain.

Taste of rye, spices, and chocolate. Not very much to it, but it is good. The people at Goose Island know their way around a Stout, this one was pretty tasty.

Mouthfeel is medium light bodied and smooth with a small bite of carbonation.

Has this on tap at Goose Island-Clybourn on 1/08/08

Really a nice color for this one and for a stout in general. A dark chocolate brown color with a slight, very small red tint to it. A small light white head that had some light carbonation through out it; yet quickly disintegrated away.

Could smell the light smell of chocolate and sweet malt coming off of the brew. Could get a bit more of a smell off of it once it started to warm up but overall not too fragrant of a brew.

The taste was rather great especially given the low amount of fragrance coming off of this one. A first it was a rather sweet brew that hits the tongue with a low grade dark chocolate flavor that comes in and covers the mouth. Yet, this sweetness is not at all overpowering or too sweet because all of a sudden it is offset by a tangy hop profile that later filters in through the beer. The contrast is great and this could be a 5 for taste but on the whole everything fades away into nothing without much of an aftertaste left the tongue. The contrast between the bitter, tangy hops and the sweet chocolate, malt flavors is actually rather beautiful and was rather impressed by this one from GI. After a while, I began to think that the tanginess hop was citrus especially orange which I have to say went well with the chocolate.

The mouthfeel was good but nothing special really. There was at first a light carbonation that hits the tongue but fades away before long. Thought this was on the whole a rather light bodied stout; Also did not leave too much on the whole for an aftertaste or after feeling on the mouth.

Overall, a very drinkable stout from GI. It is very tasty and pretty complex but its light body would make it to the point where you could drink a lot because it does not fill you up with heaviness. Also, pretty low alcohol so I would say a rather good sessionable stout that I could drink all night and be very happy

on tap poured into a tumbler. this was a special brew at the Wrigleyville Brewpub. pours black with a half finger of light brown head. almost opaque with slight garnet highlights.

Aroma is of roasted black malts predominately, with chocolate malts, caramel malts, and a light yet distinct spiced character from the rye and possibly some hops. Notes of coffee and toffee are detectable as well.

taste is of mildly restrained black and chocolate malts, with caramel and cream notes and a light spice from the rye. a dry fruity undertone takes over the finish.

mouthfeel is creamy, with a medium to full body and a very smooth texture. finishes smooth as well, with a semi-dry feel in the aftertaste, consisting of coffee and chocolate.

drinkability is great. for a stout, this is rather light, without much alcohol, at 5.7% APV. hops are distant if at all present, and the rye is crafted beautifully into the rest of the flavors, always in the background, and never too strong. an excellent brew. cheers!

On tap at the Clybourn brewpub. Pours black with a thin ring of cream-colored head.

The aroma is mostly dark-roasted malt, typically stout stuff-- coffee and dark chocolate. There is a slight suggestion of piney hops, and an even slighter suggestion of spicy rye.

The flavor is similar, opening up with malty sweetness that quickly fades, exposing just a trace of rye flavor mid-palate. The finish is malt and hop bitterness.

This would be a great beer, but everything tastes too dilute, in a way that impacts both the flavor and the mouthfeel. This beer is really just far too light-tasting to be as good as it ought to be.

Drinkability is all right, but the watered-down taste of the beer actually made it harder for me to finish than the barleywine I drank after it.

(Served in an American pint glass)

A- This beer pours a jet black body with a thin film of dark tan foam on top. The body is to opaque to see any carbonation through.

S- The peppery spice notes are strong with a green floral and earthy hop note. There is some hint of dark black roast but it is faint.

T- This beer has an earthy dark roasted black malt flavor with a slight oily tang as it warms. The finish has a nice pine resin hop flavor. There are some faint coffee notes with a dark chocolate quality in the background. The hops and spice linger in the finish hanging on the tongue.

M- This beer has a creamy full mouthfeel with a slight slippery texture.

D- This beer has really good complicity with enough dark black roast to really give it that good stout taste. It’s not just a big porter.

Served cask conditioned, only a ring of head remains. This shows through in the body, nearly opaque with a velvety touch. Low carbonation -- which is a welcome break from the brewpub norm! Rye bread flavor clearly comes out, and lingers in the finish. A very good brewing effort.