Illuminator Stout
Yamhill Brewing Company

The bartender could provide me with no information as to the nature of this stout. Was it export style? Oatmeal? Milk stout? Imperial? He didn’t know. All I knew from the outset was that “Illuminator” was a peculiar name for a black, opaque beer. It sounded like a doppelbock.

But the taste clearly revealed bourbon barrel aging. At first, this seemed to hold promise. The smell was faintly of sherry wine – a fruity-sweet alcohol scent that fought for my olfactory attentions in a house full of cigarette smokers. The taste had the warm appeal of aged bourbon, a light sweetness, and a faint touch of smoke in the finish.

If this wasn’t a bourbon stout, then a funky mix of smoked malts and bacteria was doing a credible impersonation. The taste was certainly agreeable. But was it supposed to taste like it did? And should that matter?

My Illuminator came entirely devoid of head, it trailed no lace, and its sullen body lacked fullness despite a complete lack of carbonation. Regardless of style or flavor, the pint seemed weary.