Tamper
Industrial Arts Brewing Company - Beacon

 

First off, I'm a fan of this place, they make exceptional IPA's, and I'm not even a fan of IPA. So when I saw they had made a stout, more my style, I had to drive up and check it out. It had just been released, so perhaps a week old. Speaking plainly, I'll say it had a pronounced "enteric" smell. Right: s***. Doing a little research it looks like this smell may come from various indole compounds, or a compound called skatole. It also seems that certain "wild" fermented beers may also have this smell, which I do not consider pleasant. In fact, I drank the entire glass in disbelief, as in "Am I really tasting what I think I'm tastingl?" Yes, I did, and there's no other way to describe it. A month or so later I tried the beer again, and the smell and taste was still discernible but far less pronounced. Like other reviewers I found the coffee flavor subtle and interesting, and the color of the beer was very dark and pleasing. But please note IA: most people drinking beer are not going to enjoy this taste, at all.

 

I had this on draught at the brewery. 12 oz. pour served in a pint glass. It pours a rich mahogany color with dark ruby hues when held to the light and a thin, creamy, dark khaki head and lacing. The nose features burnt coffee with light but discernible oatmeal. When sipped the first taste is burnt coffee grounds and char. As the glass warms, you can taste oatmeal and nuts but the oatmeal is understated compared to the coffee. For a stout the mouth feel is rather thin but it's very easy to drink with an ABV of only 5.5% Overall, I enjoyed Tamper; it's not quite at the level of the leaders of the style but Industrial Arts did a nice job with it. It was a great change of pace after drinking Torque Wrench.