High Test
Newport Craft Brewing & Distilling Co.

 

12oz bottle. Served in a snifter glass. Pours a darker brown body, close enough to black, one finger mocha head, good retention, thin rings of lacing. Smell is milk chocolate, a bit of astringent roast, resin and pine, touch of black coffee, dark fruit. This smells more like a Russian Imperial in terms of aromatics and how interestingly astringent it is. Flavour is a standard toasted barley, dark chocolate, cocoa, a bit of espresso, light burnt coffee on the backend, a bit of earth and maybe a touch of resin. Mouthfeel is medium bodied, good carbonation, a bit too astringent, smoky and burnt, on the finish that kind of brings it all down some.

 

 

Sample from the brewery. Flat black in color with a nice, thick collar of tan foam that lingers. Pleasing to the eye and unquestionably a Stout. Sweet chocolate notes mingle with dark roasted coffee and cinnamon in the nose. Not unlike a mocha frappuccino, actually, with something of an earthy, tannic undertone. Full bodied and bitter with an intense level of coffee flavor that almost has an artificial quality about it. Some acidity, a burnt taste that lingers on the palate, and a reasonably high ABV make High Test more of a sipper than an easy drinker. Chalky, leathery, and bitter in the finish. Overall, a decent beer, but more harmony between the coffee character and the base Stout would make it better still.