Virgin Stout
Zion Canyon Brew Pub

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Appearance: A bit thin as far as stouts go. Extraordinary foam, which is good though. Quite the bottle!

Smell: Mostly coffee. Pretty good, but not terribly unique.

Taste/Mouthfeel: Mildly sweet coffee initially, with mostly bitter coffee notes in the background. It's a nice and crisp flavor and feel, but a tad watery.

Overall Drinkability: A fairly decent stout. Very easy to drink a few of these.

a gift from wasatch...

Poured into my East End Brewing pint glass

A - pours a very dark brown with light bubbles that disappear into a ring around the glass

S - a nice aroma of coffee beans and light chocolate

T - again, nice coffee bean flavor with sweet malts to even this out

M/D - very nice stout, not too heavy and thick and very flavorful. I could drink many of these and be a happy camper.

Thanks to Wasatch for this one!

Pours black with a thin, lasting tan head that leaves some lacing.

The smell is of chocolate with mild coffee notes. Some mild dark fruitiness and earthiness are in the back.

The taste is of cocoa and mild coffee. Berry-like and dark-ish fruitiness mix with a roastiness to give balance to the sweetness. It has a dry finish.

It's a bit watered-down with carbonation leaning towards aggressive. It has enough to it, however, to coat the palate well enough.

A well-balanced, drinkable/"sessionable" stout.

Thanks again, John!

I got this bottle in a trade with Wasatch. Thanks John!

It pours a very dark brown with some reddish hues. Th head is about 1 fingerand is more white than tan.

The smell has some roasted malt goodness with some slight bitterness. A pretty good nose overall.

The taste is packed with roasted malt, a touch of coffee, some dark chocolate bitterness....yep, this is another tasty 4%abv brew from Zion. They must have some skilled brewers there...

The mouthfeel *just* sneaks over into medium territory, the carbonation is lightish, and it finishes with some nice roasted malt bitterness. Drinkability is pretty top notch though...the foam quickly disappeared and no lacing is to be found. Oh well, it's the taste that counts the most and I think Zion has done a great job with that here.

Bottom line: My second sample from this brewery and tastewise, it's pretty darned satisifying. The appearance is the only thing that holds me back from scoring it higher. A good American Stout.

12 oz received in my recent trade with Wasatch.. thanks for another cool extra... today, it goes into my shaped SA glass... turned on some tunes.. listening to "The Song Remains the Same"

1" head goes away immediately.. no lacing and just a little cap.. brew is black until held to a light and it reveals a perfect polished antique walnut..

Aroma is light French Roast .. dark malts without too much char.. some subtle chocolate.. not getting much in the way of hops.. some background spiciness that may be in my imagination.

Flavor is obviously dark malts.. roasty and coffee.. a little bittersweet chocolate.. just enough sweetness to tie things together.. dry finish with some char and residual roasted malt essence.

Body is on the light side as expected from such a dry and low ABV brew.. flavor is still remarkably complex.. I am not normally too into light stouts, but this is very nice... even possibly sessionable.. Wow.. I don't think I've ever said that before. The brewers in Utah have again made me question my preconceptions numerous times over the years .. Zion is batting a thousand right now.. John.. thanks for the opportunity to test my palate.. I honestly appreciate it ... On to the Amber.

3.5/3.5/4/3.5/4

Pours a nice dark brown color, nice carbonation, nice little fizzy tan head, which does leave some sticky lacing behind. The nose is malty, with some hops, slight coffee/toffee notes. The taste is malty, nice balance of hops, some bitterness, slight coffee/toffee notes. Medium body. Drinkable, this is a very nice session stout.

a: dark black with ruby highlights.

s: strong molasses. roasted coffee. brown sugar. dark chocolate.

t: vanilla. light chocolate. light coffee. a certain amount of roasty and hoppy bitterness. a definitely unpleasant watery aftertaste.

m: light carb and light cloy but not stout creaminess in my opinion

d: ok but i think that even a guinness is better and you can get that at any bar for like a buck.

A: It poured a rich dark black with hints of a reddish hue on the edges. There was a nice lingering one-finger chocolate head and the beer supported a dense lacing most of the way down the side of the glass.

S: It displayed a brunt sweet malt aroma with hints of dark fruit and dark coffee.

T: It began with a semi-sweet chocolate flavor that was quickly surpassed by a deep bitter coffee with hints of plums and other dark fruits. Despite the low ABV it finished wet and clean.

M: It was medium bodied with a bit of thinness. It finished clean and was moderately carbonated.

D: Nice session brew. Easy to drink, smooth, clean finish and low ABV.

Nearly black, but actually a light-swallowing magenta-brown with a low rise of tan head.
Small in the nose, but what's there is pleasing. Coffee grounds, char, milk chocolate, vanilla, and caramel.
Enters into the mouth, tentatively at first, then blossoms into roasted coffee beans. It lingers with like-minded char and smoke for several moments, then sweetens a tad with caramel, anise, and chocolate. It finishes with some tea-like hops and a reedy bitterness that lingers a while post-sip.
By all means, it's a very mild stout, but not a Dry one. It showcases a good deal of malt depth for a beer of capped strength.
The 4% ABV limit catches up in the mouthfeel. It's on the watery side. Medium-light. The body does what it can, but ultimately, it seems too thin.
The low proof and quality composition aids greatly to its drinkability. And as such, it's gone quickly.

This is the last of my beer tour of Utah. I expected a beer wasteland of 4% blandness. I'm markedly impressed. There are some good, true-to-style brews coming out of there. The 4% cap isn't so much a death sentence to beer, and only means one can drink a shitload of them...and actually WANT to do so. Great session stuff.
Zion Canyon BC gets special mention as the Utah brewery that I'm most impressed with. I'd buy from them regularly if they were available here. Damn, I guess I'll have to go back to one of the most beautiful places I've ever been to get more.