English-Style Stout
Vision Quest Brewery

Poured from a 16oz undated can into my spiegelau stout glass.

On the pour a brown fine 2 finger head forms then over a few minutes recedes to a rocky one finger head leaving lacing. The body is essentially black as I couldn't find a light bright enough to actually see through the beer. Good lacing and head retention.

Aroma is mostly dark chocolate malts with a nice dose of sweet figgy ale esters. Some bitter hops do come through on the nose making this smell a bit americanized but still with English qualities

Aroma follows the aroma quite closely but brings more bitterness than sweetness giving a bit of dryness to the fflavor. Hops are present but not overbearing and purely there in bitterness, could be English hops, or just an older American bittering variety. Some roasted malt bitterness is also present and mixes with the hops quite nicely. The figgy esters and chocolatey notes are present throughout and once the bitterness fades makes for a nice malty desserty finish.

The feel is easy drinking and almost refreshing similar to an Irish stout, but despite the relatively thin consistency for the style, there is a nice mouth coating malt character that makes this quite warming at the same time. Good year round I'd say and surprising smooth for being a beer with a lot of flavor.

Overall this is a good take on an English stout. I'm not sure if this is a one off, as it isn't actually mentioned on the brewer's website (I think) but this is a nice and traditional stout that showcases malts but reminds you that it's hopped as well.