Highlander Stout
The Highlander

Reviewed from notes taken Summer 2014.

Served on-draught into an adorable miniature conical pint glass at the brewpub.

Stout.

HEAD: A half finger's worth of head height, white in colour. Boasts fantastic creaminess and thickness. Has a perfect smooth and even consistency. Good complexion. Great looking across the board; the softness and creaminess in particular are stellar. It's got a very good head retention too, clocking in at about 7 minutes.

BODY: Dark amber-black in body colour. Opaque. No yeast/lees or sediment are/is visible.

Appears well-carbonated. Not unique or special for the style, but certainly inviting.

AROMA: Creaminess, amber malts, roasted barley (carafa?), bread crust. Not a great aroma for a stout per se, but passable, and I love that it incorporates overt roasted barley, an ingredient I can never get enough of.

A pleasant aroma of mild aromatic intensity. I find no off-notes, booze, or overt yeasty notes (all to style).

TASTE & TEXTURE: Silky and creamy yet roasty. Strange. Malts dominate.

It's not too airy, but it's definitely light-bodied and thin for the style. Soft on the palate, with perfect carbonation.

Would be better with a creamier feel (e.g. on nitro).

Some caramel.

Quite simple for a stout, basically checking the boxes of dark malt sweetness, roast, and caramel without any additional flourish or ornamentation.

Average depth of flavour. Average flavour intensity and duration. Not without subtlety, but there's ample room for improvement here.

Well-balanced and likeable stuff, but basic. Has a decent presence on the palate and doesn't suffer from any off-flavours or booziness.

Not oily, gushed, hot, boozy, astringent, harsh, rough, or scratchy.

A bit weak in feel, unfortunately.

OVERALL: Very easy to drink, but not a world class stout by any means. I'm glad to see a stout being brewed in Vienna, but I wouldn't recommend this unless you have a stout itch that desperately needs scratching. If I lived in Vienna, I could see myself getting this again, but it's really not worth seeking out if you're travelling through.

Low C+ (3.06) / ABOVE AVERAGE

Apperance is spot on...deep, dark and black. Creamy head. Aroma is bit too smoked and fairly sour. I don't think this one was too fresh. Taste is a bit bland, except for some smoke and soured malt characteristics. Seems a bit thin as well. I couldn't help but think that this beer tastes remarkably similiar to a stale Murphys. At €4,40/0,5L, I expected more...its boring and judging from it being on the sour side, I'm not the only one who thinks so.

I give the brewpub credit for trying this style most rare in central European brewpubs. It came out an impenetrable dark chocolate brown under a one finger beige head that lasts forever, leaving thick sheets of lace. The nose is too mild, with just a hint of smoke and a touch of caramel - should be much stronger. The mouth is light and mildly carbonated. This sample has gone sour. A bit of roasted grain is still there, and the dry bitter manages to break through at the finish, but it is too sour overall. They probably don't move enough of this to keep it fresh. Pity.