Rouster Stout
Common Crown Brewing Co.

 

355ml can - so named after a rouster, or roustabout, i.e. a general labourer.

This beer pours a very dark brown colour, with prominent mahogany highlights, and two fingers of puffy, finely foamy, and somewhat fizzy tan head, which leaves a bit of bubbling cauldron lace around the glass as it slowly and surely sinks away.

It smells of roasted caramel malt, bittersweet cocoa powder, faint cafe-au-lait, some free-range ashiness, a hint of black stone fruit, and some plain earthy, musty, and floral noble hops. The taste is bready and doughy caramel malt, day-old coffee, vanilla cream, medium chocolate, damp char, ethereal black licorice, and more well understated earthy, leafy, and floral green hoppiness.

The carbonation is fairly restrained in its lackadaisical frothiness, the body a decent middleweight, and mostly smooth, with perhaps a touch of roast not playing ball at this particular juncture. It finishes off-dry, the malt and chocolate essences lingering with the most gusto.

Overall - this is certainly a serviceable enough version of the style, nice and toasty and full of flavour. A solid choice for another day in the deep freeze here in Alberta, as thoughts of hibernation abound.