Dark Side Stout
Switchback Brewing Company


- From:
- Switchback Brewing Company
- Vermont, United States
- Style:
- American Stout
- ABV:
- 5.8%
- Score:
- +5 ratings needed
- Avg:
- 4.12 | pDev: 5.1%
- Ratings:
- | reviews: 4
- Status:
- Active
- Rated:
- May 13, 2025
- Added:
- Mar 31, 2024
- Wants:
- 0
- Gots:
- 0
An Export Stout with a light sweetness shifting to dark roasty notes of chocolate and coffee.
Recent ratings and reviews.
Reviewed by jgido759 from New Jersey
4.02/5 rDev -2.4%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4
4.02/5 rDev -2.4%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4
Poured from a 16oz can into a nonic pint glass. Color is dark brown, almost black, with a 2-finger light brown head that dissipates to a thinner lingering head. Aroma is dark roasted with hints of chocolate. Taste follows nose with a dark roasted flavor with a slight chocolate sweetness. A bit of bitterness arrives as it warms. Mouthful is a little thin but lingers on the tongue. Overall, a great tasting stout that I would drink again and again.
May 13, 2025Reviewed by zotzot from Vermont
3.75/5 rDev -9%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
3.75/5 rDev -9%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
Part of a flight.
Pours a medium mahogany with a fair head.
Smells of dark roast.
Somewhat thin mouth feel.
Nice taste of roasted malts with cocoa, coffee.
Feb 21, 2025Pours a medium mahogany with a fair head.
Smells of dark roast.
Somewhat thin mouth feel.
Nice taste of roasted malts with cocoa, coffee.
Reviewed by KP7 from Massachusetts
4.26/5 rDev +3.4%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4.25
4.26/5 rDev +3.4%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4.25
Pours pitch black; completely opaque. A two-finger, frothy brown head forms with little coaxing and it lingers for a few minutes before dissipating to a coating.
The aroma is fairly one-sided, foreshadowing the taste. A hint of chocolate plays over a vast pool of roast: blackened bread, roast grains, black coffee, char. The chocolate comes out more as it warms.
A few seconds of semi-sweet chocolate, cocoa, and molasses at the front of the sip makes you think your nose had it wrong, but then the main show arrives. The entire rest of the sip is roast, intensifying as it goes. There is dark bread moving into burnt bread, then coffee and roasted grains. On the finish, dark roast coffee and char come to the fore and linger throughout the aftertaste. There's an underlying malt sweetness, which coalesces into a molasses base as things warm up, that keeps this from being bitter and allows the roast to shine. Only on the aftertaste does bitterness build.
Fairly light-bodied with moderate carb. The finish is dry with an almost sticky aftertaste.
Overall, this is a great export stout. It has everything I like about the style in spades and the transition from "bright" sweet to "dark" roast flavors is a great touch in an eclipse beer. If this had a smoother feel it would be exceptional.
Jun 08, 2024The aroma is fairly one-sided, foreshadowing the taste. A hint of chocolate plays over a vast pool of roast: blackened bread, roast grains, black coffee, char. The chocolate comes out more as it warms.
A few seconds of semi-sweet chocolate, cocoa, and molasses at the front of the sip makes you think your nose had it wrong, but then the main show arrives. The entire rest of the sip is roast, intensifying as it goes. There is dark bread moving into burnt bread, then coffee and roasted grains. On the finish, dark roast coffee and char come to the fore and linger throughout the aftertaste. There's an underlying malt sweetness, which coalesces into a molasses base as things warm up, that keeps this from being bitter and allows the roast to shine. Only on the aftertaste does bitterness build.
Fairly light-bodied with moderate carb. The finish is dry with an almost sticky aftertaste.
Overall, this is a great export stout. It has everything I like about the style in spades and the transition from "bright" sweet to "dark" roast flavors is a great touch in an eclipse beer. If this had a smoother feel it would be exceptional.
Reviewed by bobv from Vermont
4.3/5 rDev +4.4%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4.25
4.3/5 rDev +4.4%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4.25
16 ounce can
PKG ON: 03/13/24
Moderate pour yields a 1.75 inch tan head over a black body with sticky and slightly clumpy lacing.
Nose of roasted malt, chocolate malt, and coffee.
Taste is bitter chocolate with extreme roastiness. Towards the middle through the dry finish, dark roast coffee comes forward with a vengeance. Roasty, toasty stout right here folks; some might not like this intense roast, but I do!
Feel is less full than I would have liked but coming in at less than 6% abv., it's all good.
Overall, go find this limited release Eclipse Beer and get your roast on!!
Cheers!!!
Mar 31, 2024PKG ON: 03/13/24
Moderate pour yields a 1.75 inch tan head over a black body with sticky and slightly clumpy lacing.
Nose of roasted malt, chocolate malt, and coffee.
Taste is bitter chocolate with extreme roastiness. Towards the middle through the dry finish, dark roast coffee comes forward with a vengeance. Roasty, toasty stout right here folks; some might not like this intense roast, but I do!
Feel is less full than I would have liked but coming in at less than 6% abv., it's all good.
Overall, go find this limited release Eclipse Beer and get your roast on!!
Cheers!!!
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