Solstice Stout
Kuhnhenn Brewing Company

4.67/5  rDev +3.8%
look: 4.75 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.75
by DucksFan16 from Tennessee

2018 vintage, enjoyed on 12/14/2021. Licorice, leather, molasses and vanilla on the front. Tobacco/cigar and maraschino cherries on the finish. So much going on, it’s hard to describe everything. At 16%, the alcohol is hardly even noticeable. Incredible!

Dec 14, 2021

4.46/5  rDev -0.9%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.5
by Roy_Hobbs from Connecticut

Served at 54 degrees and poured into a tulip. Pours absolutely jet black. Not even a hint of any other color. Somewhat small coffee ice cream colored head that didn't last long. Overall, an attractive beer. Aroma is extremely rich. Waves of fig, raisin, malts & more. Taste largely follows the nose, but adds in wonderful toffee notes. Sweet molasses / caramel notes, but not cloyingly so. Feel is fairly thick but smooth.

This is one of those beers that makes me wish I were a more sophisticated reviewer. I can't pick up every note, and I certainly can't describe them all, but what I do know is that this is an excellent beer.

Dec 13, 2020

4.54/5  rDev +0.9%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5
by larryi86 from Delaware

Blind review:
12 oz bottle poured into a wine glass

A- Black with small mocha head. 4

S- Chocolate, whiskey, oak, cocoa, some caramel malts, roasted malts. 4.25

T- Chocolate, cocoa, whiskey, oak, some dark fruits, touch of caramel malts, some roasted malts. 4.5

M- Smooth, medium to full body, carbonation is a touch high. 4

O- A tasty barrel aged stout/porter with chocolate added, nicely balanced. 4.25

After thoughts:
I’m moving some number up after learning this 16% ABV I have to bump up numbers because is drinks like it is between 10-12%. Also getting some toffee and more of a complex dark fruit flavors was it warms up.

Jul 16, 2020

4.47/5  rDev -0.7%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5
by matts2896 from Connecticut

L: very low carb; very dark brown, almost obsisian in color; a little sticky lacing on the glass

S: big oxidation aromas: old books and leather, generic must, masticated dark fruits

T: initial impression follows smell, this beer tastes wicked old despite having been bottled last year. Midpallette, mustyiness of the nose gives way to toffee, fig newton filling, and sickly-sweet marshmallow. The finish is sweet with a bit of bitter dark cherry on the swallow. This beer's flavor is defined by oxidation, but in this case, that is not a bad thing.

Barrel is a nice balancing presence and comes through appropriately. But I do not think the barrel is the star here.

F: solid mouthfeel: slick and a little syrupy, not big and chewy as you might expect a 16% stout. From first taste, however, you can tell this is not a traditional stout. A thinner, more syrupy mouthfeel and low carb work well here

Feb 23, 2020

4.49/5  rDev -0.2%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5
by Buck89 from Tennessee

Poured into a snifter. An opaque dark brown color with a modest tan head that lingered. Complex aroma with chocolate, coffee, dark cherries, vanilla, and bourbon. Same on the taste. I was impressed with the complexity of the malts which only increased as the drink warmed. The barrel presence was there but it did not detract from the stout flavors. Surprisingly not boozy on the finish. Really outstanding.

Dec 26, 2019

4.15/5  rDev -7.8%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
by GreesyFizeek from New York

This one pours a very dark black, with a tiny head, and basically no lacing.

This one smells like molasses, sarasparilla, chocolate fudge, roast, oak, sweet bourbon, caramel, and dried dark fruit.

This is very, very sweet, but doesn't get too cloying luckily. That classic molasses and almost sarsaparilla type flavor from Fourth Dementia is certainly there, with a ton of bourbon and oak, along with maple and caramel, plus melted sweet chocolate fudge.

This is medium bodied, slightly syrupy, with strangely no booziness, despite the 16% ABV. It's not super thick but it's also not thin.

This is typical knockout territory for Kuhnhenn - big, malty, and sloppy.

Nov 17, 2019

4.56/5  rDev +1.3%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.5
by bbtkd from South Dakota

Kuhnhenn Solstice Stout, 16% ABV. Pours thick and black with a real nice two finger brown head that left some lacing. Nose is sweet toffee, bourbon, and malt. Taste follows, quite sweet, plus fruit, very slight bitterness. Excellent mouthfeel, overall world-class. Tastes so great that it is all to easy to drink fast, dangerous with that ABV.

May 12, 2019

4.39/5  rDev -2.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.75 | overall: 4.25
by Wolvmar from Michigan

12oz bottle. 2018 vintage. Poured into a tulip glass.

Pour: jet back with a half finger dark tan head. Absolutely black with only a hint of brown from the head. Head dissipates into a decent ring that lasts along with a few clouds. No lacing to speak of.

Nose: sweet malts, bourbon, dark fruits. Hints of coffee and chocolate.

Taste: follows the nose pretty closely. Sweet but not cloying. Dark molassses, maybe some brown sugar, malts, balanced with coffee/dark chocolate bitterness. Dark fruits, maybe some vanilla. Probably some hops somewhere but well hidden.

Mouthfeel: smooth, silky, low carbonation. Slight marshmallow feel. A beautiful sipper that you’ll want to swirl around a few times before swallowing. Really enjoyable.

Overall: along with BA 4th Dementia, my favorite from (my first) the Kuhnhenn Winter Solstice releases. Would absolutely buy again although it may be a bit sweet for some.

Mar 04, 2019

4.57/5  rDev +1.6%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.75 | overall: 4.5
by GreatStoutman from Texas

Really unique, and huge beer. Not incredibly complex, but the flavors that are presented are really big.

Roasted malt, sweet caramel/toffee, and a finish with hints of coffee and bitter chocolate.

Full bodied, but not quite motor oil level. This bottle is a 2018 and I’m guessing it develops nicely!

Mar 03, 2019

4.25/5  rDev -5.6%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4
by maximum12 from Minnesota

Thanks again to FlintB for this 12 oz. bottle. I had no idea this was 16% when I popped the bottle open to *begin* an evening of drinking. Might be a short night.

Darkness flows, with little foam except around the edges of the pond. Nose brings caramel, vanilla, bourbon, chocolate. Waiting for the fruit but never materialized.

Solstice Stout – damn, son. This has that cherry taste in a positive way, which I find hard to discover in combo with a stout-type beer. Stone cherry dipped in caramel, vanilla bourbon (together, not separated), licorice (which is what really sticks around), ending with oak dental implants for days. Remarkably, no booze at all. Big thick. The serious ABV is disappearing faster than it ought.

Before looking it up, I thought I was in for a routine (or as routine as Kuhnhenn gets) imperial stout. I should have known better. A really interesting & excellent brew.

Mar 03, 2019