Coven (Ghost 861)
Adroit Theory Brewing Company

L: Pours a thick, fudge-colored brew into a snifter, which forms a moderate tawny head that fades at a slower pace. Plenty of soapy lacing on the sides of the snifter, and a nice layer of warm tan retention on the top. Held to the light, this beer has a thick, impenetrable, oily black hue.

S: Plenty of coffee, roasted malts, char, smoke, and some booze. The aromas are faint at first; maybe let this beer warm up a little? Some hints of chocolate as well, but it's faint.

T: As I've come to expect from Adroit, this is bitter bitter bitter. Plenty of roasted malts, dark coffee, warm booziness, and a dashing of hops as well. Astringent finish. Detected some faint traces of dark chocolate and caramel as the beer warmed up. Smoke, leather, and char round out the flavor profile. Very smooth going down, as the hefty ABV is well concealed. I love Adroit's stouts, but a little more chocolate/caramel or another sweetener (dark fruit) would really elevate this stout to the next tier. It's tasty, but if you poured this beer side by side with some of Adroit's other iterations of the RIS, I'm not confident I could tell them apart in a blind taste test.

F: Full-bodied. Coats the mouth nicely, chewy, and lingers for a while. Some light- to moderate- carbonation.

O: See above; I will always purchase Adroit's stouts (local favorite), but I would really like to see them branch out into an AIS that balances the malty/bitter profile with more pronounced chocolate/sugar/syrup flavors, while still keeping the monster ABVs intact. That said, they've got the RIS nailed down. This beer is damn good stuff.

 

 

 

Pours a dark brown. No light penetration on this one. Just short of a finger of head. Quickly dissipating. Tight compact bubbles.

Nose is roasted malt, a touch of spice (seems like cinnamon), and a very light outline of something like coffee and dark chocolate. The nose is rather weak on this one. Not what you would expect from a 14% stout. It honestly smells like a session stout.

It tastes like one too. Mild notes of roasty malt, coffee, and chocolate. Very mild and drinkable. Even the alcohol is pretty well hidden.

Mouthfeel is fullbodied and slick. Chewy. A little heavy and oily. Mild carbonation.

Overall this one is weird. It would be great as a session stout. Light, smooth, drinkable, a nice range of flavors, not too sweet, but not too dry either. But the fact of the matter is, this bloody thing is 14%. Now I'm extremely impressed that Adroit managed to hide that much alcohol within this brew. But this brew cost 5 dollars a can, and while this would be a great 10 dollar six pack in terms of flavor, the ABV kinda makes this too top heavy. I don't think anybody would want to be handed something along the lines of a Guinness and be knocked on their ass before the thing is even finished. If this was a crushable stout, I'd rate this higher, but as it stands, it's like cognitive dissonance in a can.

Props to the artist though. Some of the best label artwork I've seen. Seriously cool stuff.

L: Poured from a tallboy can to a pint glass. Had a dark brown / almost black color and a thick, opaque consistency. There was a quarter inch of foamy, tan-colored, somewhat long-lasting head. Not much lacing to speak of.

S: A pretty good, but not great, aroma of coffee, chocolate, roasted malt, and booze.

T: Tasted of a bit of dark chocolate (could've used more), some roasted malt (present throughout; a major factor), a slight booziness (not too much, but definitely present), and a fair bit of coffee (a decent amount). A pretty good flavor, but it's lacking in power. Needed a bit more oomph in the chocolate and coffee. Still, not bad.

F: An average amount of carbonation with a smooth finish. Medium-bodied.

O: An uneven beer, but it has its charms. Worth a look.