No. 50 Liberty Stout
Gella's Diner & Lb. Brewing Co.

 

 

 

From BeerAdvocate magazine Issue #68 (Spetember 2012):

LOOK: Opaque, black, sturdy tan head

SMELL: Burnt raisins, charred wood, mild molasses, mild spiciness, toast

TASTE: Roasty, smooth, semi-silky, charcoal, modest hopping, treacle, dark bread, hint of alcohol, faint black currants, long roasty finish, sem-dry

A very well constructed stout we have in our pints, what really stood out here is that it is very well balanced which only increases its drinkability. Deserving of its accolades of back to back gold medals in the 2009 & 2012 Great American Beer Festivals.

 

 

 

 

 

Growler from the brewery. Pours black, healthy build of thick espresso foam on top. Nice, big roasty flavors are first - strong coffee, raw cocoa, overly caramelized sugars, and a bit of smokey char. A nice punch of American hops follow - leafy, herbal, earthy, with a faint citrus undercurrent. Just an awesome, straightforward old school craft American Stout. Big flavors, satisfying complexity, but not huge on the ABV.

 

 

 

Had on tap at Gella's Diner in Hays.

Very good poor, a tan 1/2-inch head sits over a dark beer. Good lacing on the sides on the way down.

Not much smell to this beer, a little roasted malts is all.

Taste is good though. Hoppier than most stouts. Coffee, roasted malt flavors. Creamy, goes down easily, and slightly less roasted malt flavor than expected from a stout.

While their Oatmeal stout balances sweetness with roasted flavors, this one balances some hops with roasted malts. In both cases, you end up with a different, less malty, version of a stout, and your preference for the Oatmeal stout or the Liberty stout will depend on whether you like the sweet balance or the hop balance.

Overall, this is a solid offering. I preferred the Oatmeal one by a hair.

It's not often that you come across a brewery who has a stout as their flagship beer. However, in the case of small micropub Gella's Diner / LB Brewing, they've got not one, but two. On a recent trip I was able to stop in at the brewery and sample their beers, coming away sufficiently impressed. I picked up growlers of both their Liberty Stout (#50) and their Oatmeal Stout (#6), both of which are multiple award winners at the GABF and even the World Beer Cup.

I'm enjoying the Liberty Stout with a ribeye steak that I marinated in, yep, Liberty Stout. Pours a deep brownish black, like espresso. Continuing the coffee theme, the tan brown head looks a lot like frothed milk. Sometimes you get a stout that's just too watery. Not the case with this guy. It's rich, thick, and delicious, with tons of body, decent amount of lacing. Aroma is impressive for the style, with some very deep roasted notes followed by chocolate syrup. Once again, espresso comes to mind. Mouthfeel is lightly carbonated, with some surprisingly hefty bitterness. Balance is the name of the game here. This tastes like a milk stout but without the lactic - it's very sweet, and really amazing, as there's lots of brown sugar in the finish. Kind of like a chocolate coca cola. Pretty darned good take on an American Stout. Enjoyable.

I had the Liberty Stout at the brew pub off the tap a week ago. I got a growler of it, which is good since I didn't take any notes on it the first time.

A - Poured into a pint glass. Dark, dark, darkness. It even keeps a little head coming out of the growler.

S - Roasted espresso beans, dark chocolate and almonds.

T - Surprised by a tiny sweetness of malt at first, then strong espresso, ending with nice bitterness; a solid balance.

M - Medium body for a stout. Slight tingle on the tongue, not the smoothest stout. I graded on this glass, but I do remember the tap version was a lot smoother.

D - With an almost perfect balance of flavors this could be my regular drinking beer if I lived closer to Hays, KS.

Poured from a growler into a New Belgium globe glass.

Poured a beautiful opaque black. Not a huge head, but it has been in the growler four days before I broke the seal.

The aroma is very nice, almost exactly what a stout should smell like. It's full of coffee, with a little chocolate added for good measure. The roastiness is somewhat subdued, yet definitely there. There's also a sweet caramel scent, almost candy-like, that rather ties everything together. Quite appetizing, and an aroma that begs you to drink the beer. Can't ask for much more than that, can you?

And the taste? It matches the aroma perfectly. I could cut and paste the smell paragraph here and it would be accurate. The sip starts with coffee, moves into a roasty flavor from the dark malts, mellows into a smooth, almost creamy sweetness, and trails into a subtle cocoa flavor that slowly eases away in the aftertaste. This, to me, is what an American stout should be. Extremely well made, well balanced. Nothing stands out or punches you in the face. It doesn't overwhelm like an imperial. It just goes down your throat like it belongs there and makes itself at home. Damned near perfect, and easily one of the best examples of the style I've ever had.

The mouthfeel also matches up with everything else. It's got substance. It's creamy, bu not oily. The carbonation is at the perfect level, so there's no fizzy prickliness to it. An excellent complement to the rest of the beer.

This is excellent. No other way to describe it. Balanced, roasty, just about perfect. And it's made in a little town in West Central Kansas. If you find yourself travelling down I-70 and see signs that Hays is coming up, do yourself a favor: Take the exit and find this place. This stout alone is worth the sidetrack. Well done, and bravo!

On tap at the brewpub in August 2009. Poured a very dark brown with minimal tan-ish head. The smell was of roasted malt and hints of coffee, with the taste being much the same. A mild dryness from the hops, and not too much alcohol presence. Moderate carbonation. Quite drinkable for a stout--wish I'd had in November rather than August!