Airing Of Grievances
Black Flag Brewing Company

 

Poured from a can into a pint glass. Pours pitch black with a small light brown head. Smells of sweet gingerbread cookies with very slight coffee. Tastes of spicy gingerbread and slight mint and coffee. Beer is light bodied and very easy drinking for its potency, good carbonation. Overall, a good beer.

On tap at Das Bierhalle in Parkville, MD. Lots of flavor, and not too imposing for a 8.3 stout. Keep up the good work, drink local.

Okay, so I have some grievances with this beer. First off is the weak aroma - only touches of gingerbread abound, and the sweeter qualities needed to balance the spicy and roasty notes just aren't there. It's not flawed, just bland. Same with the flavor profile. It opens up well enough with touches of ginger, leading to a roasty middle. It finishes with a butterscotch-y note. The stout base is just too utilitarian and too bitter to meld well with the spicy notes, and the end result fails to impress in any way. At least it's easy and light on the palate. No...come to think about it, it's TOO easy and TOO light on the palate. I'd even suggest it feels insubstantial and weak. There really isn't anything horrid about this, it's just aggressively mediocre. Despite being drinkable, there's really no reason for me to pick this up again.

2.74/5: The lacking nature of this gingerbread stout is the only grievance to air