Absence Of Light - Fat Elvis
4 Hands Brewing Co.

 

I love supporting local breweries, and this one - which came from just across the Mississippi in St. Louis - is an interesting novelty brew. It’s not really very stout-y, despite its milk stout lineage, though it did look nice when I poured it. The banana aroma is very apparent at the start and in its taste, though any chocolate or peanut butter flavors are definitely secondary. Certainly not too boozy nor too sweet, and the strange banana-ish taste lingers after you’ve finished it up. Basically, it is as advertised.

This beer pours an utterly black color with a dense head of thickly packed off-white bubbles. The aroma has a strong banana scent, with maybe a bit of chocolate underneath. It's hard to discern much beyond the banana smell. The taste is sweet, and this is where the peanut butter comes through. Fairly full in body and certainly on the sweet side. A bit of roasted notes, but this is all about the banana, chocolate, and peanut butter flavors. Interesting, but not something I'd seek out again.

 

 

Let’s face it, there is a whole lot of banana going on, so either like it or hate it. The peanut butter is dry roasted peanuts and sits underneath the banana. I kind of liked it as a novelty, but wouldn’t have more than one.

Deep, almost black, brown with a off-white head that leaves lots of lace. Smells like milk chocolate with a bit of peanut butter. The flavor is a nice chocolate peanut butter banana sandwich. Not runtsy fake banana either. Medium-full bodied. Very tasty.

Not a good stout, I don't like it at all. The feel is incredibly thin, and all I can taste/smell is banana. I like bananas, but there's way too much here. It says there's peanut butter. Where? I just taste banana...

The banana flavor is overwhelming. I normally love 4Hands' stouts, but I couldn't finish this one. The banana flavor downs out the others, and is just too much. I tried a 2nd can a couple weeks later, same result.

Pours Chestnut with one finger of Mocha colored head. Pretty good head retention & lacing

S: Peanuts, marshmallow, artificial banana smells

T: Pretty much follows the nose, pretty darn dry, some cocoa notes up front. A touch of iron & roastyness as this beer warms up, still some faux peanut & banana flavor, but kind of dissipates. Finishes dry & a little nutty with some fake aforementioned "flavors"

MF: Medium body, moderate carbonation

None of these "peanut" Abscence of Lights have really worked for me. Not bad, just not that good

 

Black in color with minimal light penetration. There’s a quarter inch of beige on top. Moderate lacing. The aroma is of banana runtz and milk chocolate. I’m tasting banana runtz, milk chocolate, and peanut butter. The mouth is dry and smooth.

16oz can. Poured out an opaque, jet-black color with a small, light brown head of foam. It left sudsy rings of lace on the glass. It smelled strongly of banana, light peanut butter notes and some chocolate. The banana flavor starts otu very strong but mellows as it warms. Nice creamy PB taste with rich chocolate.