American Stout
Aslan Brewing Company

 

straightforward but excellent stout here, very dry, roasty, deep, but also real drinkable. the ferment is clean, its not overly hopped or challenging in any way, its smooth but not crazy oaty, and its layered without being real complex, to me this is a very well executed but also very simple beer, no place to hide any flaws, and there arent any. nice obsidian shine to this from the tap, an average inch of light brown head, airy and lasting, rings as it drinks. the nose and flavor line up, hefty roasted barley at the core of this, very little crystal malt sweetness in the middle for the style, stays dry even in the center, and then just some suggestions of thick black drip coffee and baking chocolate, truly bitter the whole way, but also kind of cozy, not overly aggressive to me, but robust nevertheless. this is clean in a couple of cool ways, the first is the ferment, where really the yeast is almost invisible and the residual sugar is nil. the second is in the grain profile itself, where there is no smoke or char or burnt character even though this is as deeply roasty as it is, there is somehow a purity to it. medium body, enough bubbles, there is beauty in simplicity sometimes and that is the case with this one. real well done.

Nice, basic stout that stands on it's own, without adding flavors. Just enough hops to bitter out the malt. No harsh after taste. I'd prefer a lower alcohol version so I could drink more. One of the better stouts that I have tasted.