Locktender Imperial Stout
The BottleHouse Brewing Company

I order this more than the BBA version. The bite and bitterness from this one is more preferable to me where the barrel aging smooths it all out just a little too much for my tastes.

Black with a bubbly, light tan froth that settles to an uneven, bubbly blanket leaving some creamy lace.

Smell is heavily roasted malt with chocolate, cocoa dusted coffee and a sweet, almost maple-like smell at the end. There's also a hint of red fruit.

Taste is milk chocolate, coffee and cocoa paired with tangy, hoppy piney bitterness and nuttiness that's all in far better balance than an overly hopped Porter like Alchemist's Pappy's. Again I get a hint of red fruit.

Body is medium and crisp but with a dusty, quite dry finish.

 

I think the last reviewer didnt realize the bottles of this stout were barrel aged. No metallic flavors from my bottle. I traded a bottle of old rasputin for one of these beauties. Great stout heavy hops that have faded from aging. Chocolate, malty and warming. I think they release 60 bottles of locktender a year. A great beer to cellar.

Thanks to CaptCleveland for this bottle, 22 oz. of brooding bottle split with my wife as we mourn watching the last episode of Justified on DVD. One of the best shows ever.

The pour is appropriate black, the head lively. This smells just like I like my stouts: chocolate, hops, sweet malts. I can actually smell the pine; this almost crosses into black IPA territory. Hey, what’s the difference?

Locktender is like being hit with a sock full of hops, then having the sock get stuck in your nostrils. The pine is attached to my face, overrunning everything else, & there’s a (seemingly) related metallic note that mars the experience. Mid-palate is limited malts, roast, bitter chocolate powder. Unsalted chestnuts comes on strong in the finish as it warms, along with a liver-crimp of alcohol. For all that easy to drink, & that’s the hop influence.

The metal filings really bring this down (my wife tastes it, too), as that’s the aftertaste that sticks to the roof of my mouth. Pretty good beer that would really shine if it weren’t for the copper piping.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I'm kind of new to Bottlehouse even though I have been around the area a lot since around the time they opened. Today, I made a few revelations about how great the stuff they cook there is. This is some of the most awesome brew made in the area.

Locketender is a beautiful lacey black thing. It has a faint, roasty aroma, with a bit of finishing hops showing through too.

The taste is a wonderful dark blend, well balanced. It is roasty and hoppy and bitter. There isn't a hint of the booziness that it should show at 10%. No warning, but it shows up eventually.

I am going to drink a whole bomber of this, but I will take my time. I am very impressed with bottlehouse.

Poured from a 22oz bottle into a snifter
A: Pitch black color with a one-finger mocha colored head that lingers
S: Very full nose with dark malts, burnt sugar and plenty of pine from the hops
T: Loaded with malts, both roasted & toasted. A bit nutty, some definite cocoa, burnt sugar and a bitter finish. Very complex
M: Full-bodied, bitter, hides the alcohol well
O: Definitely a winner. Rich and complex

22oz bomber purchased at the Bottlehouse brewery today. Per the bottle front, "a hardcore, hopped to the gates of hell stout". The back text notes that "Locktender is a concept driven band from Cleveland that focuses on artists and their works interpreted through music, lyrics, art and now beer!"

10oz pour into snifter. Opaque, black elixir, two finger mocha head dissipates to a nice 3mm rim as the tasting commences. Thick lacing coats the vessel.

Wonderful aroma of resinous, hoppy pine, chocolate, coffee, and burnt malt.

A nice mellow bitterness hits the tongue that is quickly met by dark chocolate, subtle malt sweetness, coffee and mild char.

Medium to full body, silky, alcohol well hidden.

This brew really hits the high notes with the hop driven flavor balanced by dark chocolate accents. Smooth throughout, the alcohol subdued, this is a top tier non-BA stout. Congrats to Dave and the boys at the Bottlehouse.