Sauerkirsche Stout
Evil Twin Brewing

A- This one pours with the coloration of used motor oil...it has a slightly black cherry juice tinge around the upper ring of the liquid and has the consistency of chocolate syrup while it pours and the head is very modest but comes out of the bottle a coffee/mocha color. From the bubbles rising the carbonation appears to be very fine and as for the lacing, it is almost non existent, and coats the side of the glass with an oily film....interesting!

S- Boozy tart cherry aromas initially along with bitter chocolate, cocoa, black coffee and after a few whiffs, I can detect sweeter, mellower smells of molassess, chocolate/black malt char, and burnt caramel/toffee bitterness. Perhaps even a hint of fired wood barrel.....overall this is rich on the nose.

T- Heavy dark chocolate throughout, with booze infused tart cherry goodness. It is quite bittering, with pure cocoa lingering in all aspects of the taste, black coffee and the fruitiness is simply delicious! A real treat on the palate!

M/O- This is honestly the thickest beer I've had the pleasure to review to date.....full, full body! The carbonation is velvety smooth and I feel like I'm enjoying a full on heavy cocoa black forest cake....made the traditional way! Most definitely a sipping beer, however, I find it highly drinkable, and at 10% alcohol/vol, it is superbly well hidden! A must try and will seek out again!

Serving Type: 330 mL Bottle

L- Pours an opaque black with a slight ruby tint around the edges. Essentially no head on this beer; a few tan spots in the centre of the glass that fade quickly.

S- Distinct lactobacillus tartness, dark chocolate, and a slight hint of cherry.

T- The sour and roasted malt flavours interplay really nicely here to form almost a single flavour. The finish is distinctly high cacoa dark chocolate with a very slight hint of cherry. So slight that it's only really apparent when you "aerate" the beer in your mouth, at least it's that way for me.

F- Low, essentially non-existent carbonation and medium body.

O- I think I let myself down a little bit here because I was thinking I was going to experience some solid cherry flavour. There is a little hint of cherry but it definitely isn't a main feature or even really a secondary flavour; it just kind of peaks around the corner every once in awhile. Other than the lack of a cherry, I feel like this beer could definitely benefit from a bit more carbonation. I understand that Imperial stouts aren't supposed to be fizzy, but at least moderate-low carbonation would have benefitted this beer. In it's current state, it's practically flat, and as a result the body seems a little "lifeless".

Aside from my nagging points, this is a pretty good beer. The way the tartness plays with the roasted flavours is really quite unique and delicious. Give it a try, if not just to say you've had a "sour stout".

 

 

 

This was a big stout-- big on flavor, big on alcohol, big on apppearance.
Jet black and opaque. NIce tan head, good retention.
Sourness and cherry flavor? Not so much. Hints of it, though, which was fine by me.
Overall, a nice surprise.

 

Black with only a hint of tan head that quickly dissipates.

Aroma of chocolate, cherries and booze.

Not a lot of flavour considering its strength, but it's nice. Chocolate, cherry, rye bread, dark rum, hints of licorice, molasses and coffee. Restrained bitterness let's some sweetness through. Not at all sour, but a light acidity.

Mouthfeel is a bit thin and drying, but it's very easy drinking for its strength.

Day 22 on the 2016 Craft Beer Advent Calendar.

Saw it advertised as a Sour Cherry (Sauerkirsche) beer and was interested. I’d never been a big fan of these but the last one I had renewed my interest so I was excited to use this to help determine if the last one was just a one-off. Sadly this is a poor take on a KirscheBeir and just left me with lowered expectations towards a brewer that seems to get good marks normally.

Poured with little to no head and was a very dark reddish brown, almost black until examined into a good light.

Got more cherry smell out of the bottle than once poured in the glass but once there a dark chocolatey malt came through before the sour cherry, which was still present.

bread maltiness comes out well ahead of the (not so sour) cherry with some hops at the end.

Medium feel thats smooth but lacking in the carbonation area, may be on purpose but shouldn’t be.

330ml bottle, day 22 of the 2016 Craft BeerAdvent calendar - hmmmm, made at a different than usual contract brewery in Spain. Ok.

This beer pours a very complete black void, with not even the barest of basal edges, and one rather skinny finger of wispy and bubbly brown head, which leaves some cannonball splash aftermath lace around the glass as things slowly sink away.

It smells of rich dark chocolate, lightly tart bing cherries, gritty and grainy caramel malt, some free-range ashiness, cafe-au-lait, black licorice, and a tame earthy, weedy, and gently perfumed floral hop bitterness. The taste is bready and doughy caramel malt, bittersweet cocoa powder, a kind of wan cherry, blackberry, and raspberry fruitiness, sort of soured cream, day-old coffee, a twinge of wet char, and more understated leafy, earthy, and dead floral hoppiness.

The carbonation is pretty weak in its flaccid frothiness, the body a solid medium-heavy weight, and mostly smooth, but for a hint of cherry vodka emerging as things warm up a tad. It finishes well off-dry, the hefty caramel/chocolate/milky notes not seeing much of a rejoinder from any lingering cherry sassiness.

Overall, this is a serviceable big-boy stout, no question about that, but it lacks the punch of the proclaimed (it's in the name) sour cherry component. There's some fruitiness, but not the sort that one might have been expecting. Oh well, the 20-proof wowee sauce complement is quite thoroughly integrated, and at least there is not a lick of 'diacytle' anywhere to be found here.