Knuckle Dragger
The Alchemist

 

 

 

Medium body, somewhat short of a syrupy pour. Black liquid with a deep tan head that sticks around and leaves some lace. This is a sweet stout, but the Belgian yeast brings a subtle and surprising fruitiness to the chocolate and roast that you'd expect. Nonetheless, a mild milk stout with a simple, direct flavor profile.

 

No canning date (released on 3/23/21, so presumably canned within a few days of that date); consumed on 7/21/21

Pours an inky, dense, jet-black body capped with multiple fingers of rich, fluffy mocha foam; good head retention leaves ¾ of a finger of creamy cap and an equally lux, large collar dragging temporary webs of soapy lacing down the walls of the glass.

Aromas of black bread meet freshly roasted malts to open, with touches of char and a distinctly Belgian yeast profile, slight fruity and floral, melding with black licorice; wisps of cream develop against vague cacao on the back end.

Taste opens with black bread paired with accents of flaky roasted malts; slight black licorice and sweet raisin ease steadily into the profile over the mid-palate, followed by milk chocolate and robust coffee grounds along with a nutty cacao powder finish.

Mouthfeel offers a medium-full body and subtle, moderate carbonation; a bittersweet char grazes the palate just beneath a persisting slickness prominent through the mid-palate before a gritty prickle phases over the back end; pillowy roast textures a lightness on the tongue, imparting a sly dryness on the swallow.

Quality execution of an exceedingly plain display, with brief instances of a basic yet illustrative malt profile; a stout with all the focus and consistency I'd expect from Alchemist, though with little of the depth.

 

 

 

This one pours a fairly dark black color, with a huge fluffy head, and lots of lacing.

This smells like spice, lactose, chocolate milk, and roast.

The carbonation on this is very prickly, and pretty distracting. I think the Belgian yeast just got a little out of control here. The base milk stout seems pretty decent anyway, with some creamy underneath the spiky, milk chocolate, a hint of lactose, and a little bit of roast.

This is a slow drinker due to the carbonation level - it almost feels sparkling, which is just wrong for a stout.

I wanted to like this more, as they can clearly sometimes do stouts well (Luscious).

Canned April 2021. Pours black with a huge, thick brown head that has great retention. On the nose, roasted malts, dark chocolate, and a hint of the Belgian yeast. On the palate, it's a boozy chocolate milk. On the finish, bitter chocolate with dark fruit notes. Drinks much easier than an almost 10% abv stout should. Very full bodied with a creamy mouthfeel aided by the low carbonation and lactose. Besides being a near perfect beer, the can is outstanding!

 

 

 

 

 

 

16 oz. can.
Released on Saturday the 5th of October, 2019.
Following can's directions:
"There is a layer of yeast on the bottom of the can, leave it behind when pouring."

Moderate pour yields a 3/4 inch tan head over a black body with some sticky lacing.
Nose of roasted malts, dark chocolate, bitter chocolate, and a bit of Belgian yeast. Taste mirrors nose closely with additional flavors of milk chocolate and dark fruit. Finish is all dark chocolate cookie! Wow, what a milk stout and at 8.3% abv? Damn, be careful out there! Feel is velvet pillows filling your mouth with malty, chocolaty goodness! Cheers to Mr. K. for a beautiful beer!!!

Edit: Latest batch released on 03/19/21is 9.8% abv.

This big fat monster clocking in at 8.0% and 15 IBUs was a truly opaque black color with two fingers of head. The retention was outstanding and the lacing impressive too. The aroma smelled strongly of chocolate along with coffee, cardamom, roasted malt and a hint of vanilla. The flavors were big, robust and gratifying. I tasted chocolate, coffee, dark fruit, caramel, spices, vanilla and lactose sweetness. A Belgian milk stout? Amazing. And the alcohol was so well concealed I could easily see myself getting tanked on this. And loving every minute. The mouthfeel was creamy, the body full and the carbonation light. A rich creamy brew as enjoyable as a milkshake!