Plevna's Stout
Panimoravintola Plevna Koskipanimo

On tap in Helsinki.

Dark color. Black. Tan head with lace.

Lots of roasted malts and chocolate. Caramel with a coffee flavor. Too roasted for my liking. Dry.

Reviewed from notes taken in Helsinki in Summer 2014.

7.0% ABV. Cost was 3 euor per 10cl pour on-draught at a bar.

HEAD: Half a finger worth of khaki foam. Great milky creamy consistency. Aptly thick and full. Good complexion. Retention is subpar - merely ~1 minute. Leaves no lacing as it recedes, but there is a ring of foam that sticks around a good deal longer than the head.

BODY: Opaque solid jet black. Nothing is visible within (no yeast, no lees, no sediment).

Looks nice for a stout overall.

AROMA: Lovely roasted barley notes blend well with a subtle hint of peat. Together they drown out any dark malt sweetness that might otherwise have been present. Some chocolate malt fills it out nicely.

No overt alcohol, yeasty notes, or hoppy notes are detectable.

The roast is a highlight, and seems to balance out the malty sweetness. I'm excited to try this based on the aroma, but it is pretty mild in terms of intensity.

TASTE & TEXTURE: Smooth, wet, undercarbonated, medium-bodied, of apt thickness, and slightly syrupy. The beer's undercarbonation is probably its biggest flaw.

Sweet chocolate and dark malts comprise the core of the brew. Roast isn't as prominent in the flavour profile as would be ideal (and as was suggested aromatically), but the kiss of peat is lovely.

It's decently balanced but lacks sufficient complexity given its style - at least if it's meant to compete with the best expressions thereof. Suffers from below average depth of flavour and flavour intensity. Flavour duration is average.

I do like it, but the build - while cohesive - doesn't amount to a gestalt whole that exceeds the sum of its parts.

OVERALL: Not bad for a no-frills stout, but you can do far better in terms of stouts (especially in Northern Europe/Scandinavia). I might try it again if I find it at a better price. It's certainly above average.

Low C+ (3.05) / ABOVE AVERAGE

 

Black body with some ruby highlightsand the skimpiest of brown film poured from the tap.

The nose is full of rich dark chocolate. Roasted malt and licorice. Some hop to it.

Big bitterness to this beer. Coffee and chocolate flavor. Not much carbonation to it. Dry.

Good beer. Less bitterness and/or more body would be great.

While drinking this last night on draft at the Villi Waino pub I thought it might be a bit spoiled, but now I see it's described as an Irish stout, so maybe that tart tang was intended. Served with a thin fine tan head and some lace. color was an opaque brown black. Aroma was malt, roast, licorice, medicinal. Flavor is similar but tartness comes out and medicinal character is also forward, plus has some coffee. Body is good and so is carbonation. Finish is like flavor and long. Not a session for me.

On tap at Kaisla Oluthuone in Helsinki. From notes.

A - Poured black and opaque. Khaki head on top fades fast to a cap. Slight visible carbonation towards the top. No real lacing left.

S - Quite mild. Sweet notes from dark malt combined with a roasted character with coffee elements resulting. Some very mild chocolate sweetness as well.

T - Better than the aroma as it's more intense. Roasted element comes out more and some chocolate sweetness is there too. Result is a balanced stout with the two elements melding nicely.

M - Medium carbonation with a medium body. Finish is dry with a semi sweet chocolatey element lingering.

O/D - I liked this stout. No flaws yet not spectacular. I could have a number of these without complaints though, especially on a chilly Helsinki day. Alcohol was not an issue and masked well. Good stout.