Black Dog Stout
Bodacious Berries, Fruits And Brews / Big Barn Brewery

 

Poured from a 12 ounce can without a date into a snifter.

Look- Black, medium brown frothy head, opaque, above average head retention and lacing.

Smell- Cocoa, toasted oats.

Taste- Cocoa, toasted oats, coffee.

Feel- Between medium and full body, low bitterness, below average carbonation, silky, very mildly mouth coating.

Overall- Great look with a bouquet slightly dominated by toasted oats and pleasant flavors.

Poured into a Fremont small snifter. Pours a very dark mahogany brown, opaque black in the glass with a fine, half finger dark khaki head with great retention and nice lacing. Aroma of dark toasted malt with light char, cocoa and light vanilla. Flavor is dark toasted malt with light char, milk chocolate, vanilla, a touch of lactose and drip coffee. Finishes with lightly charred toasted malt and Americano coffee. Medium bodied with light to moderate creaminess and nice mouth feel. Apparently this has been tweeked; it is listed on the bottle and website as 9.3%, which puts it solidly in imperial stout territory. Great, integrated malt,coffee and chocolate character. A little underwhelmingly light and mellow at first, but the excellent balance of flavors, which stay robust throughout the taste made this grow on me quickly. The profile is a little like a cream stout with a distinct, slightly sweet lactose note that probably adds to the overall balance. This is a quite nice stout, well done. Lots of great stouts available; I'll get this one again for sure.

 

Very dark
Appearance with slight tan head. Aroma is a nice chocolate which is a little weak. Taste is also a weak chocolate and caramel that is a little thin.

Pours a dark brown with a creamy dark tan head of average size and retention. Leaves minimal lacing as the head drops to a stable thin ring. Aroma is subdued but predominantly dark roasted malt. The taste has a surprising sweetness of caramel and chocolate. Initial mild sweetness gives way to a slightly bitter dark roast finish that leaves a pleasant coffee aftertaste. Mouthfeel is creamy smooth. Very enjoyable.

 

22oz bottle purchased at Total Wine in Spokane Valley, Washington, for $4.79. No freshness date. I believe this brewery has been bottling for about a year now. This is my first Big Barn/Bodacious Berries beer.

Poured into an Ice Harbor Sternwheeler Stout glass, this was a very dark brown color, taking on lighter brown highlights at the edges when held up to light. Minimal, beige-tan head despite relatively rough pour. What head there was quickly receded to a very minimal, bubbly skiff atop the beer. Spotty, streaky lace.

The aroma was of roasty malts, with bits of chocolate and coffee.

Moderately bitter, roasted malt flavor hit the tastebuds first. There’s a little chocolaty sweetness along for the ride. The fadeout was a little dry, leaving a slightly coffeeish aftertaste.

The body was somewhere between medium and full. The mouthfeel was rather watery for a stout at the higher end of non-Imperial.

A decent stout from a local brewery. I’d probably drink it for the right price at a local watering hole. I think I’d shell out the slightly extra amount of money for Iron Goat’s Goatmeal when it comes to bottles, however, at least based on this undated one. Maybe it’s been sitting around TW for months and months, and isn’t representing well. I’ll try it on draught if possible at the brewery this summer and might be revisiting the score if moved to do so.