Beyond A Shadow of A Stout
Hogback Mountain Brewing

On tap at Hatchet Tap and Table in Richmond, VT.

This one pours a very dark black color, with a small head, and lots of lacing.

This smells like licorice, milk chocolate, and roasted malt.

This is a simple but very pleasant English stout, with a thin finish, but lots of great chocolate, roast, and licorice flavors up front.

This is extremely drinkable, creamy, with a light and smooth finish.

This was a wildcard pick, as I haven’t heard of this brewery. It was a good choice! I’d try more from this brewery.

 

 

Can says best by December 31st, 2019. Damn, for a 4.8 ABV, this must be extremely fresh!
This was poured into an English pint glass.
The appearance was a pretty thick dark brown close to black color topped by a thin cap of dark eggshell white foamy head. This swiftly glided off to leave nice strings of lace.
The aroma served up a nice meshing of sweet coffee beans and grounds with some ash and roast. Dark toast entered in with some dark chocolate and a subtle roasty nutty character. Even further underneath was some dark fruits and then milk chocolate and caramel malts.
The flavor leaned towards the sweet side initially but allowed a nice developing balance of earthy ash and roast with some bitterness. Aftertaste is full of sweet ash, caramel malts, roasty and toasty character.
The mouthfeel was about medium bodied with a fair sessionability about it. Some dryness came across but it wasn't enough to be distracting. Carbonation felt good. ABV seemed appropriate. Finish seemed a bit lacking, dare I say watery, that's debate-able.
Overall; appearance, aroma and flavor are what makes this beer what it is. However, I must admit the feel seemed a bit sticky, not cloying but just sticky. Considering only the feel should be adjusted, I would still come back to this.