Long Beach Crude
Belmont Brewing Company

 

I was served a 20 oz. Imperial pint at Belmont Brewing Company. The brew arrived with scant head, just enough to provide initial lacing. The beer was dark brown with a moderate tan colored head. The smell was faint, mostly hoppy, with malt and coffee, and chocolate sweetness barely detectable. The taste was just OK. Hoppy, malty, both notes way overpowering the chocolate that did not bring the sweetness level I expected, so I assume it was primarily a cocoa powdered ingredient. There was a bit of odd sweetness on the aftertaste. This stout is aptly named at ‘Long Beach Crude’. The mouthfeel was the best attribute of this stout. Overall, it was not to my taste. If I come to this brewpub again, I will have a gin and tonic instead.

 

 

The Long Beach Crude is good. I tried it at the brewery. It poured an opaque black with tan head that is not leaving much of a lace . The scent is roast and chocolate. The taste is heavy roast, coffee and semi sweet chocolate. The Mouthfeel is medium in body with smooth carbonation. Overall this is a solid beer.

 

Had this on draft at the BBC restaurant in Long Beach. It went very well with the fish and chips, would definitely recommend the combo.

While I couldn't drink a few of these in one sitting, it's a great change-of-pace beer, especially in the fall in California. Just seeing it poured, you have a pretty good idea of what you're getting into. It was a bit sweeter than I would have liked, but the initial sugary taste fades quickly to something a little earthier. There is a bit of bitterness as well, but thankfully not much.

Awesome thick head and somewhat sweet taste, very good from a growler.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

On tap at Belmont Brewing Company in Long Beach, CA.

Pours an opaque black with a khaki head that fades to nothing. Foamy rings of lace form on the glass on the drink down. Smell is of dark roasted malt, cocoa, and some off plastic-like aromas. Taste is of dark roasted malt, cocoa beans, coffee beans, and a slight alcohol kick on the finish. There is a mild roasty bitterness on the palate with each sip. This beer has a lower level of carbonation with a slightly crisp mouthfeel. Overall, this is a pretty good beer but it's a bit unrefined (haha, oil joke).

 

Draft service into a shaker pint glass at Belmont Brewing Co.

A: Hazy, dark brown color--due to suspended yeast--with less than one finger of diminishing light beige foam head. Moderate lacing remains on the glass.

S: Roasted barley is assertive, with faint but appealing coffee and milk chocolate. There is a quality of yeasty softness in the smell that enhances the roasty but otherwise simplistic character.

T: Begins off-dry, with refined roasted malt that is potently nutty and tastes of well-brewed coffee. A burst of acidity distracts from the developing dark roasted flavor profile, then declines in the middle as quickly as it peaked, making way once more for the persistent roasted malt. After the acidity passes, softness similar to that in the smell is detected. Trace drying charcoal adds an earthy cleanness in the finish where flavors otherwise remain roasty and malty.

M: Thin to medium viscosity, early acidity is felt on the palate as well as tasted, with low carbonation.

D/O: Despite some front-end acidity issues and a service temperature that was way too low, this beer (described as a stout by the brewer) is a pleasant malt-bomb that ends favorably enough to leave a good impression. While not mild in flavor, it yields a gentle approachability in its smell--and eventually in its flavor--that soothes the palate and drives anticipation for another sip. Although the grain bill includes no oatmeal, it drinks like an oatmeal stout--bringing back memories of that same style once brewed by the now-defunct Humboldt Brewing Company of Arcata, CA.

On-tap at the soruce itself while watching lit up oil drills at night. On to the beer:

Closer to dark muddy brown than black, which is a little dissapointing, the head retention is okay and leaves only a little bit on the glass. The nose makes me forget about what I see with lactose, brown sugar, hazelnut, and roasted coffee aromas. In the mouth, it is a sensation of coffee and cream, or so one might think. Roasted coffee, lots of lactose...it tastes closer to a sweet stout to me. Carbonation has a little pep to it, I'd prefer just a little less, but that's a minor concern to the deliciouness of this beer.

Surprising. Delicious. Oh yeah!