Wild Cat Sour Stout
Valley Brewing Company

This beer pours an inky black color, with a thin brown head. The head fades quickly, leaving a good amount of lace.

This beer has a sour aroma. It smells slightly of viniger. It also has a mild coffee aroma. Some Whiskey notes are present. This beer is extremely complex smelling.

This beer tastes like it smells. Complex. Some sour flavors, mixed in with what I would expect from an Imperial Stout. This beer is just different.

This beer leaves a fruity sour aftertaste. Carbonation is right on.

I dont think this beer would make the best session beer. It is aggressive, and higher in alcohol.

Overall: Wow, this is probably one of the most unusual beers I have ever had. I liked seeing a beer that challenges the boundrys. I had this beer at the Bistro in Hayward. It was left over from their Barrel Aged Beer Fest. Great stuff.

Sampled at the Stone Sour Fest today, this is Black Cat Oatmeal Stout aged six months in a Jim Beam Bourbon barrel with Organic Rainforest Coffee Beans that are added for the final two months

A-Almost fully black, reddish purple tint in the light, small 1/2 inch frothy tan head, decent retention, some lacing
S-Sourness, chipotle peppers, roasted espresso, brett, cherries, funkiness, burned malts, some chocolate, and grains
T-Big sour flavor right off the bat, lots of stout notes later on, vinegary finish with a big brett taste, got more roasty and sweet as it warmed, nice surprise and very complex
M-Sour, roasty, and sweet mouthfeel, medium bodie, could tell this was a think brew before going into a barrel, lots of carbonation
D-Could have drank more of this, not too heavy on the stomach, smooth, alcohol was hidden well for an above average ABV

One of the better beers of the day, the barrel used for this beer was dosed with a small amount of Lacto and Brett, first beer I have had from this brewery, nice surprise after I heard some different feedback on it, glad to see a sour stout actually work after some have failed miserably for me in the past