Eddy Out Stout
Nantahala Brewing Company

 

I picked up a growler of this beer at N&N, a convenience store in Franklin, NC. The sign said they had over 50 microbrews, so I had to go in. I found a few beers from Nantahala Brewing, so I picked up the stout. Notes are below.

Appearance is true to what I expect of an American Stout. It is coal black with minor ruby-brown highlights on the edges. The beer pours with a mocha-colored head, and it retains that head for quite some time. It is inviting.

The beer's dark malt make-up is evident in the smell. It has a roasted smell that has a mild backing of the hops. I am guessing some type of old-world hop variety because it doesn't have the citrus/pine/etc. of the usual American beers.

I was very impressed with the taste. You can't talk about the taste without including the mouthfeel. The chocolate and malt are just barely balanced by the hops. In fact, I think that most of the bitterness is coming from the dark malts. I like it, though. I'm not sure what makes the beer so smooth, since it doesn't tout "oatmeal" or "milk" or some other name that would tell why it is smoother than expected. This is a really good drinking beer, and I even tried it with Belgian chocolate. It is good, and I will be having another.

Appearance: Served up a dark brown, near black body with a lasting layer of beige suds.

Smell: Aroma of roasted malts with supporting notes of oven-toasted nuts, baker's chocolate, simple coffee, and a dark fruits.

Taste: Roasty malts given a dose of nut meal, powdered coffee, and a very (very) light touch of chocolate. Middling sweetness. Prune skin fruitiness. Earthy, roasty bitterness, mild and complimentary. Slight chicory and unsweetened chocolate on the finish.

Mouthfeel: Medium-bodied. Medium carbonation. Fairly smooth mouthfeel.

Drinkability: A pleasant, solid, albeit basic stout.

Had this both on draft at Across the Trax next to the brewery & took a growler back to our rented cabin.

This beer poured a nice strong black color with a rich, thick tan colored head on it. Lots of lacing left behind with each drink. Very pretty stout.

Aroma was malty/roasty without much going on for hop aroma. Just a nice coffee/unsweetened chocolate character that you want out of a stout.

Flavor was similar. This beer tasted to me like Guinness Export used to taste 25 years ago -- rich and roasted. Smooth but full of character & flavor. A really nice bit of sweetness in here, too to balance with a bit of bitterness & the roasted flavors wich I thought were a bit more chocolatey that coffee like. Close to the perfect session stout. There's got to be either flaked oats or flaked barley in here giving it that nice full mouthfeel. Very easy to drink beer. Of the four Nantahala beers I tried, it was my second favorite. These guys are making really nice drinkable, balanced beers. Keep it up!

Another new brewer in western NC go figure! Thrilled to have a chance to try their lineup.

Pours a dark brown, near black color with a nice head of light brown that quickly faded and left it bare to sight. Aroma was roasted malts, nice touches of lightly bitter coffee and dark chcocolate. As I take a sip the body was a touch thin for me. Not the full, robust feel you would like to see come off a stout, but it was still decent and did not detract from the overall flavor. Roasted and smoked malts taking center stage right away and are quickly followed by a rush of chocolate and rich coffee flavor, thinned out in the finish and left me looking for more though.

Overall a solid little stout, needs a little more to it, but for the first try I was not displeased.