Campfire Stout
High Water Brewing

I am ecstatic to see this in a better format than the now-universally-derided bomber/22 oz bottle, as it has now become available as a four-pack of 16 oz "pounder" cans in my distribution area... I couldn't be happier, to be honest! This was a surprise hit beer for me when I randomly tried it last year, and I went back to grab a couple more bottles when I could. I hope this sticks around, as it's probably one of the best flavored stouts I've had in the past couple years. Supreme stuff!

Pours a very dark brown color that seems to border black once it builds up in my glass. A rich, dense, and frothy head of light-mocha/khaki-esque foam tops off the proceedings with aplomb, while decent legs and some splotchy lace take up the rear guard. Hazy surface covered with a thin veneer of that same foam mentioned above. Overall, a good stout pour that maybe looks a bit more like a porter when viewed through a slightly-different lens... but, that doesn't really matter, now, does it?

The first thing you'll notice in the nose is likely to be a big helping of adjuncts, but the great thing is that nothing overpowers the base beer when all's said and done! This beer was brewed with graham crackers, molasses, and natural flavors (which I assume involve at least marshmallow flavor via the addition of Fluff or something, but which could also extend to chocolate if they didn't milk the chocolate malt for all it's worth), which all come across quite handily upon first sniff. I think I notice the vanilla-like note from the marshmallow-type adjunct flavor before anything else, but the graham element here is on par with both Dinosmores and Graham Cracker/S'mores BA Framinghammer by Jack's Abby, which is saying something as those two beers are immense in their dedication to the graham element. The dense, biscuity malt profile here is played up to an immense extent.

On the tongue, this is super flavorful, if a bit thin. Honesty, this beer's only misgiving is that the feel is a little too watery and could be a bit beefier, but considering its low-ish ABV with all of those adjuncts involved, I'm willing to throw HW a bone and give it a good-enough score anyway. Tastes like a s'mores with forward elements of chocolate and marshmallow creme backed by a smack of earthy hops and a bit of grainy graham-cracker sweetness. Just a little bit of roastiness with a moderate creamy finish. This is so good and drinkable. One of the few stouts I've had that works perfectly for the summer and remains drinkable and even sessionable in warmer weather. Recommended!!

 

"Natural flavor added"

 

From a can at Sarah's house. Not much on the nose and not much carbonation. I drank it all, but it was a little thin for my taste. Some nice toasty notes and some light maple

 

As part of my "sociological survey" of micro-brewing, I was wondering why High Water closed. And while weak finances and higher operating costs and problems consolidating with other micros all played a role, High Water stopped because the owner's health declined and there were no buyers. It was a reminder to me that the rapidly expanding craft market pre-Covid now has a lot of fragile companies in a slightly shrinking market.

So what to make of their flagship? One lesson is a flagship that people typically drink only three moths a year is not enough to support a brewery. (Campfire has three times as many BA ratings as High Water's #2.) Lesson: diversify your flagships to meet costs all year long.

Campfire Stout Looks inviting, then quickly doesn't as its foam fades. For Smells, I'd actually like more smoke. Tastes are balanced and certainly improve as it gets toward room temperature. In particular, a dry finish emerges. Only slightly above average in a smooth style, Campfire has too many bubbles. Let us all learn to avoid High Water's fate.

 

 

Look: Pours a very dark brown with a lighter colored brown head that quickly recedes.
Smell: Delicious aroma of toasted marshmallows.
Taste: Chocolate and molasses flavors are quite strong, but not too overpowering. I personally would prefer if this beer wasn’t so sweet but again, it’s still drinkable.
Feel: This is where this brew went sideways. My initial can came out very thin, and my second one, though noticeably better (I drank the second one at a little cooler temperature than the first) still had a very thin in mouth feel.
Overall: This beer is fairly decent but it could be improved some. I would recommend it to pastry stout aficionados.

Bomber from Big Al's. Near black pour, minimal head. Aroma and taste feature the marshmallow and graham, chocolate assumed through the mixture of flavors. Sweet, smooth, medium weight. Really tastes like a smore.

 

A true delight, definitely outstanding but I wouldn't call it a 5/5. A lot of people that I introduce it to call it sweet if they don't like it, the marshmallow and graham cracker pairs beautifully with a porters flavor profile.

Poured from a 16 oz can starting at about 45 degrees and warming to about 65 degrees.

Look: deep dark brown, almost black. Thick mocha head with significant lacing.

Feel: thin and watery with more carbonation than I’d like. Feels more like a porter than a stout.

Smell: initially when cold the aroma was dominated by malt and chocolate. As it warmed a sweet vanilla marshmallow became apparent. No graham cracker.

Taste: initially very little flavor other than malt and something I can only describe as charred or toasted bread. As it warmed the sweet molasses and vanilla marshmallow became more apparent. No real sign of graham cracker.

Overall: it definitely improved as it warmed, but it never reached the heights I hoped for. I probably won’t seek this out again.

 

Beer is black in appearance, with a rocky tan head. Nose suggests graham crackers. Lightly-carbonated. This beer is sweeter than I'd like; still, it's worth trying.

can into glass
Very light brown, moderate head. Dark as beer can look. Sweet, chocolate and spiced caramel tinged, subdued, dark roasted grains, make up the aroma. Thin bodied and a primary flavor of heavily toasted wood with a very slight , spiced caramel note, that is somewhat restrained and finishes with a thin, toasted wood character.

 

Pours a very black color like coca cola, produces a thick head that isn't very retensive.

Smells of dark chocolate and bourbon.

Taste of graham cracker and marshmallow right up front in the mid or realize the bourbon smell was just chocolate. Fades into a very mild bitter finish, clean.

This is my first stout when pouring it kind of intimidated me a little bit but after drinking it's definitely a great beer.

Pours out smooth and dark, like a liquid chocolate. Smells of a s'more stout for sure! Smooth, creamy and satiny mouth fill. Initial taste is of the stout to me and then moves on to the marshmallow then chocolate and finally at the very end? Graham cracker. Perfect for those darker days when rain is upon you and you've got a fire going someplace. Mmmmm .. definitely chuggable but why would you want to? This is a very drinkable beer, but one you'd want to saviour. Best stout that I've had so far!