Mom's Elderberry Stout
Otto's Pub and Brewery

 

 

Served on nitro tap in a pint glass

Appearance – Just as most nitro stouts this one was served a beautiful black color with tons of nitro bubbles seen cascading up through the body of the brew. Upon settling over time the cascading bubbles made their way to the surface of the beer where they left a creamy looking tan colored head sitting atop the beer. The head had a good level of retention, slowly fading over time to leave some foamy lace on the sides of the glass.

Smell – The smell was rather robust for a dry irish stout. It had a moderately strong roasted malt aroma with hints of chocolate and coffee mixed within. By far the biggest smell however was a semi-sweet and sour elderberry smell producing a rather nice roasted elderberry smell overall.

Taste – The taste begins with a smooth roasted malt flavor and a lightly sweetened elderberry taste. As the taste advances the roast remains relatively constant throughout the taste, creating a base for the brew. The elderberry flavors do not remain constant however and initially began some sweetness more toward the middle of the taste. While the sweetness peaks at the middle the elderberry flavor later sours producing a rather tart flavor to linger on the tongue. A moderately strong dry cocoa and a bit of coffee join the taste more toward the end, with the combination of flavors then leaving a slightly off bitter but tart sour roasted berry flavor to linger on the tongue.

Mouthfeel- The body of the beer was smooth and creamy although a little on the slighter side with a carbonation/nitro level that was average for a dry irish stout on nitro. Both were rather average for the style and helped make it more drinkable even in light of the more sour flavors that the fruit produced at the end of the taste.

Overall – Not really on I cared for too much. The sourness from the elderberry at the end of the tongue really leaves a rather unappealing flavor on the tongue when mixed with the roasted flavors of the beer. Not one I would go to again.

 

On nitro at the brewpub - Oct 10, 2007. Pours your classic black, with settling nitrogenous head. Good half-finger of ash-tinted head above. Aroma, subdued by temperature, glass, and delivery agent...but some resemblance of coffee, wax, and light salts. Flavor moves quickly, with shots of caramel cream, kicking espresso, and a jolt of char. Body is a seemingly vapid watery abyss, lightened by the nitro texture. Palpable chalkiness. I’m not really getting any definite fruits, save for some soft tempering of the roast edge of the beer. There’s a generic fruitiness and a lick of sweetness. This comes across as one of those ridiculously drinkable very light bodied stouts. I wouldn’t be the least bit surprised if this weighed in under 4% ABV. The smack is divine, with a blending of fruit stems, pan-roasted almonds, roast nuances and a light leaf of Northern Brewer. Berry is lost on me, but the remainder of the stout itself is impressive enough...

pours a deep black with a finger and a half tan head with nice retention and moderate lacing.

Aroma of roasted malt and a hint of berries.

Taste started with the tartness of elderberry followed by the roasted malt, not a good balance between the the malt and berries.

Mouthfeel was medium body, light carbonation, creamy and slightly sour.

Overall an average Irish stout, not as dry and bitter as I prefer, sorry Mom.

Served via nitro-tap into a pint glass at the brewpub on 10/30/09.

Pours a dense black, with 2 smooth and creamy fingers of of darker looking mocha colored head. Naturally, there is a thick and rich look to the retention and lacing from being served on nitro. The aroma is more Stout-like up front, with toasty notes of chocolate and roasted gains. Going a little deeper also reveals the elderberries in all of their fruity smelling tartness. The nose gains a nice eveness as this warms, mixing with a light zing of floral hops which givs this a fresh feel.

The taste is much the same, with the elderberries coming out even more and working nicely with the Stout flavors. Sweet chocolate and dark roast lay the foundation, with the berries swooping in with a sharp fruity tanginess. A light tingle of hops runs through the profile, adding extra bitterness to the roasted character, an earthy edge to the berry flavors, and finally a dry feel in the finish. The mouthfeel is medium bodied overall but has a much lighter and creamy feel to it from the nitro. This just flows with a silky smoothness down the throat.

I've been waiting a while to see this finally back on tap (almost 2 years!) and it was worth the wait! Like I said before, the tartness of the elderberries really works well with the darker Irish Stout flavors and the whole thing just goes down like a champ from being served on nitro. I had 2 pints of this and probably could have gone for another.

This stout pours a dark, rich ink black color and is topped with a thick creamy brown/beige head, providing great lacing as the drinking goes on. The aroma is quite weak, but features chocolate roastiness and a hint of berries. It is a creamy, malty and smooth stout with a light berry flavor. I liked it quite a bit, but I was not interested in a second glass on this visit (maybe next time?)

A - Black, almost opaque but a small amount of light pierces the edges producing ruby highlights. A thick, rich khaki head that laces nicely throughout.

S - Bready and malty with a slight roastiness, not much else...where is the fruit?

T - Roasty and somewhat sour...oh there is the tatse of the elderberries. Somewhat astringent...nice.

M - Full bodied with a lovely rich and creamy feel.

D - Very nice, wonderful combination of the dry stout and sour elderberries makes it somewhat "G" like...but better!

on tap - nitro

pours as expected - cascading head and all - deep blackish purple almost

taste is great with just a hint of the fruit - give one to someone without saying fruit and they will love it and ask ' what IS that?'

finishes smooth and not a bit of astringency

what a great beer !

On tap in April 2006. Note this wasn't called "Mom's" on the menu - simply "Elderberry Stout." Since Otto's most likely only has one elderberry stout, although it may be consistant from batch to batch, I list this review here.

This beer black and entirely opaque with a thick and persistant off-white head with flecks of tan in it - very nice looking beer. Aroma is complex and chocolatey albeit extremely faint. The taste is dominated by roasted malt chocolate and espresso flavors. Elderberries are definitely present but not so much so that they are unpleasant. This has a very heavy mouthfeel and is very creamy. Not all that drinkable but pretty good overall.

I’m not one that likes spices and fruits in my beer, so I was instantly turned off when I saw “berry”. However, elderberries are not really sweet, and when I tried it last winter I was surprised very impressed. I was so happy to see it return again this winter. Unfortunately, it is now gone for the year and won’t return until around December.

This nitro-poured beer is almost black with hardly any light passing through the glass. The head is average-size, light-brown, creamy and long lasting. Good lacing. Malts are dominant, giving it a very wonderful toasted aroma, also a little like straw and a hint of fruitiness. The taste is very smooth, malty and lightly hopped, coffee and chocolate tastes make their presence known right away, light breadiness... a nice warm-feeling woodsy flavor. There’s only a very slight sweetness, and the flavor from the elderberries takes such a back seat that it’s not that noticeable. The finish was mostly clean, and average in duration with a lingering port-like taste. It has a creamy mouthfeel, and a lighter body than expected. It goes down very easy and calls to you to have another. There’s just something about the finish that intrigues me and makes me love this beer. I can’t wait for its return.