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Stillwater Artisanal Ales

LOOK - Really dark - only 1 finger head when pouring - dies off very quickly - only a slight foam ring continues on
SMELL - slight dark fruit - slight funk - slight charred oak - not very aromatic
TASTE - nice dark grain bitter bite at first - nice nutty toasted flavor - mostly dry which increases - not much at all on the Belgian characteristics - flavorful - slightly towards a quad I guess but just charred grains mixed in - interesting with some coffee and chocolate flavors
FEEL - pretty thin and only in the medium cat. - pretty much goes flat half way through
OVERALL - This is a decent drinker - probably wouldn't buy again - looks like this one is retired - decent but for $5 not that great

 

 

Crests about a finger of dark tan foam, even surface but leaving a sizzling patch at the pour point, poor retention and and minimal cling to the lacing. The liquid is a dark black and hard to tell the relative cleanliness of it, no too much residue left in the bottle, you can see extremely miniscule bubbles break on the surface. The nose is very heavy on the roasted coffee and bitter dark chocolate, the red wine comes through clearly and adds a vinous edge, a few notes of scone or croissant, the fruit is muted and mainly cherry to cranberry scents, seems to have settled down, has staying power despite lacking breadth of aroma. Medium-bodied, creamy mouth entry quickly switches gear to sour pucker as that vinous nature takes hold. Yeast, lees, wet oak and then comes that coffee roast and chocolate. The carbonation adds a steady churn and likely helps to reduce the sourness, lifting it off the tongue. Now and then tries to act like a stout but can’t get its ducks in a row. Golden raisin and fig join the cherry fruit. There is a chocolate to cola bean echo retronasally. Basically it’s an admirable attempt but does not hit the bullseye.

2015 vintage; drank 7/21/15 @ the Yarchives.

Poured from the bottle into a glass.

Black/brown appearance.

A careful pour yielded a big dark tan head; nice lace.

Coffee, yeast & milk chocolate notes in the nose.

Medium thick mouthfeel.

Rancid coffee flavor up front; rancid trash water notes on the finish. I sincerely hope I got an infected bottle & this was not the intended flavor.

 

375 ml caged and corked bottle, no dating on it that I noticed but I know I've had this bottle sitting in the fridge for a while. Served in a Prairie Teku, the beer pours dark brown/black with about an inch tan head. Head retention and lacing are both good. Aroma is nice, the brew smells like chocolate, dark bread, earthiness, dark fruit, and some peppery spice. The taste is similar to the aroma, but there's also the addition of some roasted malt and some herbalness. Mouthfeel/body is medium, it's creamy and coating, and also well carbonated. I liked this more and more the longer I drank it, maybe I can still find a bottle or 2 sitting around somewhere. Definitely worth trying if you've never had it before.

12oz bottle cellared for one year, and served in a tulip. Nose from the bottle is red wine, Flanders-Red-esque balsalmic, with a touch of Belgian yeast and funk on the backend. Pours a light cola and gathers in the glass as a deep brown/black with a rapidly rising, densely foamy 2-3 finger head. The head recedes to leave substantial lacing. Nose from the glass is fairly equal to that from the bottle, with big promises of a Flanders-Red-like Belgian take. The palate is striking. Complex, with a lot of different stylistic elements going on here. Flanders funk and Belgian balsalmic open the beer, but with a thinner mouthfeel that gives a lighter air than the richer Rodenbach Grand Cru (for example). The beer continues into a light, Belgian-farmhouse-like mid-palate, with an aftertaste reminiscent of a dryer Pinot Noir. An exceptionally deep and complex beer. The mouthfeel (particularly as it emphasizes the less exciting middle of the seemingly tripartite palate) is really the only element here leaving something to be desired. While not a perfect finished product, it's a bold, exciting merging of styles. Absolutely worth seeking out.

(Oh. And no. There is nothing stout-like about this beer. Save perhaps the color.)

This one pours an inky dark brown/nearly black, with a small head, and a bit of lacing.

Doesn't smell all that stout like here- it's full of red wine and tannic aromas, some lactic sourness, and huge Brett aromas.

I'm not sure I could have identified this as a stout if served it blind. The yeast character and red wine barrels dominate the conversation for sure, with a huge amount of red wine, a little bit of oak, a tiny bit of vanilla, punchy sourness, and a big spicey and yeasty Brett character. It's pretty tasty- but again, not picking up anything that screams "stout."

This has a vinous and slick mouthfeel, not all that creamy- unfortunately. There's a normal level of carbonation.

This was tasty, but it's more just a nice dark saison than anything resembling a stout. That did not detract from my enjoyment of it, though.

 

 

 

 

Poured from the bottle into a tulip glass.

Slow pour brings a real nice chestnut brown out of the bottle and filling with dark walnut to mahogany body colors. The body is filled with lots of fine carbonation in solid streams, rising to a simpe creamy and sudsy thin puck. Head creation is a little foamy but manages barely a finger but always being repopulated along the edges. Looks like a big espresso in a way, very nice.

Going for stout compared to funky brett character on the nose. Deep grains and light dryness with a mix of dark chocolate flavors and airy powder like cocoa. Some mild brett like character which brings out a toasty malt dark bread crust note as well. Chocolate dominate angle, with a bit of creamy note that gives to angles also of vanilla.

I guess stout saison it is on the palate. Light crisp and large effervescene with a punch of good brett and sharp mineral and rocky flavors on the first sip. Mineral earth and saison crisp Perrier water with a mix of brett at first, followed quickly with excellent chocolate notes. Milky, slightly sweet flavors, touching almost cake like quality. After taste is mineral joy, hints of dry champagne but with more malty soft tones to temper the prickly and fun carbonation. Not much estery fruity quality on this one, as the malts of chocolate flavors primarily take over. Stays away from being just chocolate carbonated soda also as there is a good stout depth to it.

A really neat creation Belgian stout saison it is, with a touch of very stomach pit warmth as well. Always dig Stillwater, they make some pretty interesting stuff.

 

 

Corked bottle, poured into a snifter.

Appearance: Rusty reddish black with 2 or 3 fingers worth of brown foam. Looks very sexy.

Smell: Roasty, earthy coffee; a bit of oak; with spice and yeast rounding everything out.

Taste: Reminds me of a farmhouse ale, with lots of yeast and spice, with even a slight bit of funk. But it also has the intense charred wood and espresso notes of a stout. A little bit of dried fruit and alcohol sweetness too.

Feel: Very aggressively carbonated for a stout, and the body is closer to a Belgian pale or Saison than a Stout, though it kinda works for me. Very creamy and drinkable, with a long finish.

Overall. Interesting collaboration. Mixes a lot of the great aspects of a farmhouse ale and an Imperial Stout. Would definitely drink again.