Ruckus
Melvin Brewing

Melvin Ruckus, 10.8% ABV. Pours dark brown with a slight brown head that left no lacing. Nose is light roast malt and some coffee. Taste is roast malt, chocolate, something tangy, slightly sweet, with a slight bitterness. A lot going on here for flavor. Excellent mouthfeel, overall outstanding.

Draft at Thai Me Up. A bit underwhelming, mild roast grains and chocolate in the aroma. Taste too, gentle sweetness, roast grains, a bit of alcohol heat comes in late. Average for the style.

 

 

On draught at Gaslight Social Club for 2X4 Day.

Pours black, small and quickly disappearing head of foam, tiniest bit of lacing.

Smells boozy, notes of roasted malt, coffee, dark chocolate, some anise, more booze, vanilla.

Taste is roasted malt, coffee, sweet malt, dark chocolate, vanilla, only a hint of anise. Big bad and bold flavours going on here. Not for the timid!

Almost if not full bodied.

Truly close to world class.

A stark, searing black body with reddish edges is topped with a thin, creamy tan ring.

Right away you can tell this one is strong, with a bit of a sting on the tongue, but the flavors and feel are both round and slick, coating and still delivered well. I get notes of amaretto, Tootsie Roll, mixed nuts, chocolate and coffee.

 

 

Good starting head (twice poured by the bartender). Latticed lace on the glass after each sip. The color is deep dark brown. No light passes through the edge of the glass.

More like a mild brandy (barley wine) to the nose than a dry stout. There's some semisweet chocolate in the background. No notable burnt patent malt or coffee smells.

The taste shows a big alcohol presence. I get little burnt flavor but this might be because of the sweetness. I think this is closer, like the smell, to a darker barley wine. The finish is similar to a sherry leaving a short, but warming, aftertaste.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

On tap at the brewpub in Wyoming. Opaque black - brown body with a very good beige head.
Sweet aroma with toffeeand hints of vanilla. The flavor follows. Sticky and sweet. Slightly boozy with a smooth full body.

its really nice to see a brewery so known for their hoppy beer also be able to nail down a beer like this so well. furthermore, its also rad to see them stick to basics on this, when the obvious trends and hype are for vanilla maple coffee berry barrel pepper cocoa nib stouts, and we see less and less straight up imperials without these additives in the market right now. this does a shockingly good job of hiding its alcohol, just a little warming tingle in the finish. loads of dark chocolate notes to this, bitter in the right places, not too heavy on the roasted barley. maybe some oats or even wheat in the mash, its round and almost fluffy, expansive in the mouth, bigger but with a softness indicative of these grains, a nice touch. cocoa and subtle coffee in the middle, bready grainy and a touch sweet moving towards the finish, cohesive, sturdy, and enormously well crafted. a slow sipper for me, but i like it at least as much as the barrel aged version, which was great, but the simplicity of this is what makes it. great stout.