Shakeside Stout
Crux Fermentation Project

Poured from a 16 ounce can into a tulip glass.

Look- Black, medium tan frothy head, opaque, visible particulate near edges, above average head retention and lacing.

Smell- Rye, coffee, cocoa, between weak and medium strength of scent.

Taste- Rye, cocoa, extremely weak strength of flavor.

Feel- Medium body, average carbonation, highly creamy, low bitterness, silky.

Overall- Look was black with visible particulate and above average head retention and lacing. Bouquet was predominantly rye with a between weak and medium strength. Flavors were a pleasant mix of rye and cocoa, but were extremely weak and watery. Feel was a silky medium body with a high amount of creaminess. The lactose in this beer was evident by the silkiness. Overall this beer would have been more enjoyable if the flavor had been amped up.

Lovely session weight stout. A kiss of sweetness, without too much body. Cocoa and roast with a little acidity in the finish asking with a solid bitterness.

Can from TJs

Almost black with a brown head with good retention and lacing, this looks great. The nose is soft, with a blend of light rye, a little chocolate and coffee and a moderate roast note. No hops,mild cream and little sugar. The palate opens mildly sweet and mildly roasty, with rye being the most dominant note. There's roast, cocoa, a little coffee present. Light chicory bitterness. Light in body, drying, roasty, mildly bitter and spicy finish, this is lightly carbonated, leading to a creamy feel. Decent stuff.

Look: Pitch black on the pour and in the glass with an intense and lively tan head that pillows up and holds, slowly receding and leaving sticky lacing on the glass
Aroma: Dark chocolate, coffee, roast, a little sweet milk note, freshly baked bread, and some earthiness
Taste: Chocolate and roast dominate up front with a surprising and kind of odd but not displeasing almost vegetal note that appears and disappears quickly. Milk sweetness enters the fold along with some earthiness and finishes with dark chocolate, coffee, and a bold finish
Mouthfeel: Full but lighter than I would think, medium-high carbonation, and a little dryness on the finish
Overall: This is solid. Outside of the unexpected note which I later read on the can must be from the rye addition, this is a good milk stout with a decent body, and nice chocolate, roast, and earthy flavors and aromas. The body could use a little more fullness, but it isn’t too detracting from the overall beer and honestly, I was never expecting rye in a milk stout, which threw me off and I’m still on the fence about it working here.

 

 

Nice stout. Like others have said, there’s an almost thin mouthfeel to it, and the flavor is subtle and light. Perhaps it’s the rye. But it’s not bad. The roastiness of it provides balance. Almost smells malty with a little soy.

Nice dark brown color with a decent head. A mild roasted smell. For me, a strong roasted flavor that was overpowering, very little of the sweetness I enjoy. Mouth feel was a bit thin. The rye(?) flavor became stronger as the beer warmed. Not a combination I enjoyed but it was a drinkable beer.

Clear very dark brown with three fingers of tan head. Swathes of lace appear as the levels drop.
Smell is cocoa .
Taste is cocoa and toasted malt
Mouthfeel is light to medium with ample carbonation. The finish is lightly dry and somewhat sweet.
Overall a tasty stout that was canned on 12-18-2020.

Pours a deep garnet body that's nice... but a bit thin appearing. Big two fingers of foam that takes its time in collapsing and leaves sticky lacing across the glass.

Nose offers elements of milky chocolate and roasty malts. A little nutty. As it warms the roastiness increseas. There is some creaminess to the finish.

Flavour largely follows suit. Nutty and roasty, with a little ribbon of milk chocolate lurking around the deep third. It's a little watery, honestly. I have to remind myself that dry stouts are typically thinner and more of a session stout than the big imperials that we've become so used to, so this could actually be appropriate to what they're brewing to. They do list it as kind of a hybrid milk stout/dry style stout after all. Just go in understanding that and you should be fine. If you're thinking it's going to be a big chewy hibernator, or even a slick oily sweet milk stout you might be disappointed, though.
Some of the dry spice from the rye shows up as it warms as well.

Body is relatively thin and the rye bitterness builds as I work through the glass. Spritzy carbonation and a mostly dry finish with just a nudge of lactose sugar. I actually appreciate that there is not more of the lactose here, as that can get overbearing quick with the heavy hand of the modern zeitgeist.

Ultimately I think this is fine if you remember to approach it as like a dry irish stout that has a little bit of a nudge to it, moreso than thinking of it as a milk stout that is on the dryer side.

 

malty milk stout - creamy in taste