Err To Excess
Breakside Brewery - SE Taproom

 

 

Breakside is the number one mentioned at other Portland breweries when asked "who should I visit after here?".
This my second favorite bottled.

 

 

Breakside Brewery 'Err To Excess' @ 10.10% , served from a 330 ml bottle
A-pour is black from bottle to glass with a dark tan head leaving a streaky lace along the tulip
S-coffee , dark fruit , chocolate
T-sweet , big , tasty
MF-ok carbonation , full bodied
Ov-good beer
prost LampertLand

 

Poured into a 16 oz Flying Goose Snulip glass, not sure when it was bottled. Pours a very attractive slick black with a 2 plus finger light brown head that leaves some thin webs of lace behind.

Smell starts with cognac, dates, leather, tobacco, dark chocolate, dry strong coffee, and vanilla bean, very complex.

Taste follows boozy and dark fruit up front, then in the background dark, chocolate, coffee, tobacco, some leather, and vanilla.

Mouthfeel is medium but small for the style, nice carbonation but mild, a tad dry for sure, and for me goes down easy enough, but drinks bigger than 10.1%.

Overall a very nice beer, wish it was a tad chewer, but still complex enough to keep my complete attention all the way.

 

 

 

Breakside have put together a very nice little dessert stout here, rich in flavor yet light on the tongue. It’s nice to look at, a touch on the rustic side of black with a dark ivory head that leaves nice lacing on the glass (a Mikkeller 20cl stem). The nose is very promising, featuring the whiskey, bittersweet cocoa nibs, toasty caramel and pecans. The taste follows this nicely, layering in notes of dark chocolate, coffee and brandied fruits. But I find the feel to be a touch too light. All these robust flavors deserve a little more body and weight behind them to complete the feeling of commanding presence that the best dessert stouts have. Still a very tasty beverage and very nice to find in a 12oz.

Nice desert Stout that really improved with temperature. Not much salt or caramel flavor but a good amount of bourbon and dark sugars. Pleasant aftertaste.

Pastry/dessert stout in a 12oz bottle? Sign me up. No longer able to dome a 750ml on my own, or patient enough to wait until I have a cadre of pals over whom want to indulge, I rarely buy big, sweet stouts these days. Gifted to me by a buddy in the PNW, but would've pick up a bottle on my own had I seen it.

Fudgy, sugary, boozy, viscous, chocolaty and roasty. Thick, almost syrupy, with an overarching sweetness that hangs above each and every sip. Heavy on the palate, warm with alcohol heat, sticky with sweetness.

Barrel character squeaks out beneath the noise of all the additive flavors, although I don't pick up any noticeable saltiness.

Even at 12 oz, it was more than I could handle. Perfect 4-6oz pour for me. Dessert beer personified.

Dark brown appearance with an off white head that disipates quickly. Aroma is a slightly sweet malt with a touch of dark fruit that is very pleasant. Taste is also a slightly sweet malt with a touch of dark fruit that is a little thin but otherwise very nice.

Poured into a mini-snifter, the appearance was a semi-thick dark brown color with a ever so slight cap of white head. That barely hung around and ended up leaving some slight concave lace that slid with the sips.
The aroma had an absolutely wonderful blend of sweet caramel, milk chocolate, hazelnuts, light salt and a touch of woody spice.
The flavor yields to the sweet side initially but pushes in a sly salty character. Superb aftertaste of caramel saltiness to milk chocolate.
The mouthfeel was between light and medium bodied. Oddly enough, for an imperial stout, the body seems to be a bit under. Man, I could gulp sessions of this beer due to the lower body. Not sure if this was intentional but the more I sipped the more I accepted the lower body. Carbonation felt fine. ABV didn't feel as promised. Caramel salty and milk chocolate sort of finish.
Overall, aromas and flavors were spot on but if you can tolerate an imperial stout with a lower body, perhaps this is for you. If Beer Advocate had imperial porter as a category, this beer would fit.