Smuttlabs Oak-Aged The Stallion
Smuttynose Brewing Company

 

 

 

 

Another killer Smuttlabs Beer. Comes bottled in a 1 Pint, 0.9oz with an ABV of 11%. Pours a thick, deep reddish-brown with about 1/4 inch head of brown foam. The smell is similar to what you would smell from brandy barrel-Aged beers, almost comparable to a Sherry. Mouthfeel is thick with minimal carbonation. The red wine taste hits first, combined together with subtle notes of coffee and a rich chocolatey taste. It finishes with that similar pleasant, dry red wine burn. What comes next is a strong oaky taste that sticks with you until the next sip. A fantastic stout which is only enhanced by the barrel-aging process. I would love to try Smuttlabs original "The Stallion" to be able to compare. A 5/5 Beer!

 

 

 

 

Poured a dark black color into my snifter glass. There was about a 1/2 inch head on top with an aggressive pour. The nose contained lots of different notes I found some chocolate and coffee overtones with a nice mellow red wine in the back. The taste was smooth showing the chocolate and coffee flavors with the nice red wine finish. This is a better than average beer IMO. I had high hopes for this beer when I heard it was coming out Smuttlabs didn't disappoint with this one.

 

Swung by Smuttynose today with daughter Caitlin. Had some samples of this and then opted to buy a couple of bottles. They were 16.9oz (0.5l) for $14.00 each.

Now home, I poured most of the contents into a Portsmouth tulip. Jet black and opaque The Stallion is, with a thin, fine layer of mocha-hued foam. Doesn't leave much in the way of lacing, though. Aroma has lots of roasty choco and some coffee, along with noticeable vinous red wine notes. This one is quite smooth going down, with minimal prickle detected. The body falls in the medium to medium-plus range.

Taste has some more vinous action and some dark fruit flavors, like raisins, dates and currants. This sits on top of some roasty espresso and some dry cocoa. There's a smidge of floral hopping in the finish, where the red wine is still detected. Pretty solid overall, though I'd like to see how it tastes in 6+ months, if I can wait that long on the other bottle. Prosit!!

4.24/5 rDev +4.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25

1810

 

Sample from EBF 2016
Solid black color with a small tan head. Rich chocolate with bits of earth dark fruits and light vanilla. Slightly vinous but so damn tasty, can't wait to chase bottles of this.

 

 

 

The red wine dryness works well to balance the super heavy stout. While it works, it tends to dry out the finish and its lacking a typical full stout finish.