A Secret Only We Know
Belleflower Brewing Company

 

No can date
Pours a fizzy semi creamy 1.5 finger tan head with moderate retention, little lacing, very dark brown almost black color

Nose brings creamy milk chocolate, malted milk ball, with some sweet candy, cocoa dust, a touch of baking spices and roasted malt

Taste brings more cocoa, milk chocolate, creamy, with some baking spices and hint of anise, some bitterness from roast and spicy hop notes, mild coffee roast, coffee milk, drier finish, lingering med bitterness spicy hops and a bit of roast

Mouth is med bod, creamy milky, med small bubble carb

Overall pretty good spicy hop bitterness of an American stout

 

It looks kind of like a craft Guinness. It's black in appearance but also carries hints of red and brown. I can see a little bit into the cup but it's nowhere close to translucent.

Cereal and brown grains come through in the smell. What lingers reminds me of malt ball canndy.

It's taste has notes of brand flakes, molasses, sweet toffee, raisins, slight milk chocolate, with a slight seltzer like taste also in the mix. It tastes very enjoyable.

The mouth feel is the star of the show, it's light, silky, and smooth but still carries a complex flavor. The feel is what stood out to me the most after the first sip.

This is a very good stout especially considering it's ABV of 5.5%. I hope bellflower makes more adjunct free stouts as this one is well crafted.

The pour is gorgeous- rootbeer colored with ruby red highlights and a ginormous foamy khaki- colored head. Head falls to a wide ring with mad cling.

The initial smell is chocolate and more chocolate - more towards the baker's chocolate or maybe dark chocolate. There is a mild coffee aroma and a wee bit of brown sugar. There's a little charred malty smell as well. Fairly typical but quite chocolate-heavy.

The taste is much less chocolate driven. It's still there, but the beer is more malt-forward. Dark bread and roasty. The char is a little jarring on the first sip, but calms itself pretty well. Atypical of the American take, I'm not finding a ton of hop flavor - vague spiciness, maybe a hint of resin, and a decent bitterness level that's helped by the char. Very mild and very fresh coffee note as well. There is just a little brown sugar flavor on the back of the swallow. After several sips there is a pleasant licorice flavor in the aftertaste and just a bit of pepper.

The feel is pretty light which I think makes sense with the lower ABV. A little sweet residual flavor and fairly dry.

Overall this is a good beer - it's flavorful and ultimately drinkable at 5.8%. It could easily be a year-round stout since it is lighter and less intense than most in this style.