The PastryArchy Edition #19: Chocolate Raspberry Stout (Naked Fish)
DuClaw Brewing Co.

16oz can. Black pour, skin of beige head. Raspberry strong in the aroma and taste. Sweet chocolaty notes too. Light roasty malts provide a soft bitterness.

 

 

A- Alright....this pours with fairly aggressive carbonation, which helps prop up the initial 3 fingers of dense creamy foam head, and as I said, it stays propped up, settling down to a solid 1.5 fingers....very nice! The coloration of the beer is dark brown, almost cherry cola hued, with the head being light caramel in shade. The lacing appears to be strong, with thick waves of foam clinging to the glass...overall a stellar looking stout!

S- Black forest cake! Heavy chocolate, heavy raspberry liqueur (which could be mistaken for cherry),....almost like a kirsch. More subtle aromas of dark roast coffee bean, yeast, vanilla extract, alongside dark toasty malts and a dry finish that is Earthy, with some subtle hop bitterness.

T- I find the flavors dont quite follow the aromas, but there are more subtle nuances of raspberry, chocolate, coffee, and unsweetened cocoa. There is more of a burnt toast/malt flavor on the end that is quite astringent, followed by leafy bitterness. Throughout, there are notes of vanilla, yeast and alcoholic tinges. Not quite what I was looking for here based on the smell.

M/O- Solid medium mouthfeel and the carbonation is leaning towards the heavy side of things, however, it is very smooth. I think I like this more as it warms, therefore, I find that this has a reasonably high drinkability factor. While I do find the flavor a bit of a letdown, I still like this one, and would grab it again....maybe I'd appreciate it even more if I don't have to really give a lot of thought into what I am having here.....a decent dessert stout

 

DuClaw Brewing 'The PastryArchy Stout' Edition#19 Chocolate Raspberry (Naked Fish) @ 7.6% , served from a 473 ml can
A-pour is black from the can to glass with a small tan head leaving a fine spotty lace along the tulip
S-chocolate dominates , raspberries in the background
T-sweet stout , chocolate & raspberries thru-out , slight bitter swallow
MF-mild carbonation , feels full bodied
Ov-big name , not a big beer
prost LampertLand

A thanks to the creator of the canquest, woodychandler, for this beer. Poured from a 16 oz. can. Has a black color with a 1 inch head. Smell is of raspberries, light coffee. Taste is raspberries up front, light chocolate and coffee in the background. Feels medium/full bodied in the mouth and overall is a solid beer.

I want to score this one well overall because it’s just fun and pleasant. If you try ONE. I would never buy a case of it, obviously. But it’s solid in the way that I enjoy Blueberry Maple Stout or even Neapolitan Milk Stout, both by Saugatuck, at first. Unlike those, more than one is decidedly less pleasant.
I think at least some of the rating should be how a beer reflects the style. When I pick out a beer to try, the first focus for me is the style. Obviously anything xPA or IPx is dismissed with a slight regret that I don’t own a flamethrower. Then, passing the, “rook the mindless rube IPA trend follower types,” expensive and most prominent area of many bottle shops, I happen upon the beer section. American Imperial Stout, eh? So are we to conclude that the American Imperial Stout (to the very questionable extent it’s a style at all) is a dark ale with whatever adjunct is lying around and coffee? Because that’s what I find. Whether or not coffee is in the name or mentioned at all, chances are very good that, if it’s labeled AIS, there’s coffee. Added, adjunct coffee. Not roasted malt coffee flavor but some hack put literal coffee in my beer.
I have gotten used to it as I expect we all have. But if I am looking for coffee and alcohol, eight times out of ten, it’s actually coffee with a shot of Jameson and Bailey’s , not laziness and beer.
ALL of that said…
Look: this is truly opaque. There’s some brown when pouring into a Moosehead radler glass but it’s midnight in the glass. I have never understood describing foam but, hey, there’s foam. A lot at first, then a thin layer on top. Congratulations - you’re drinking beer, a$$hole!
Smell: contrary to most, the raspberry is up front and not at all unpleasant. It’s necessarily concentrated or, more likely, artificial because, well, have you had fresh raspberries? There’s coffee too. Shocking. Maybe chocolate? I recoil when the inevitable coffee comes. But before that it’s nice.
Taste: after more than one the alcohol and coffee are most forward and that’s regrettable. First glass , however, the artificial but not miserable raspberry and chocolate come first. THEN the coffee and toasted malt. A touch of booze but it’s light. 7.6, I think?
Finish: harsh. There’s alcohol here. Too much for 7.6 when I am talking about boozy warmth. I dig rye so this is ridiculous. Also heavy carbonation. Needs more alcohol but in far more capable hands.
Overall: I started writing this review after one beer and a few sips. By now, I have finished the second and like it far less. I am going to exit before it crashes to a 2/5 in my view. Probably avoid unless you are on a mission to try every stout ever.

Canned 8/20/21

So soon after the last Pastryarchy can, we’re back with another one. This one is a release of what is apparently one of their classic beers, Naked Fish, a raspberry chocolate Stout. I’ve had a few of these before, and sometimes they can be overbearing, so I’m wondering how DuClaw’s will stack up

Pours an opaque deep brown with 2 fingers of tan head that slowly fades to a thin cap and leaves nicelacing

There’s actually a surprising amount of chocolate in the aroma which keeps the raspberry from feeling medicinal. I’m picking up on aromas of creamy milk chocolate, medium roast coffee, raspberry candy filling, cherry cordial, and light vanilla

It misses the mark a bit in taste, but it’s still pretty good, just a little too subdued up front. On the front end of the sip I’m tasting tart cherry, milk chocolate, drip coffee, and light raspberry. The swallow brings notes of raspberry filling, sweet milk chocolate, light caramel, medium roast coffee, and toast

A medium full body pairs with gentle carbonation, resulting in a a velvety beer. Finishes mostly dry with a nice drying roast

This beer seems to have more bad reviews than good, and it’s weird because I don’t see any glaring faults. It’s pretty damn good for what it is, at least in my opinion

 

 

 

Poured hard from a tall can into a snifter glass, forming a couple fingers of brown head. Head faded to a film of lacing on a deep brown body. Smell is roasty stout and raspberries. Taste is definitely roasty stout, plenty of raspberry, with a little bit of chocolate. Medium bodied with mild carbonation, a little bit oily. Overall good, but not the best raspberry stout.

 

 

 

 

There appears to be a date at the bottom of the can but something happened while printing and it is squished together to the point where it can't be read.

Appearance: It is a black-bodied beer with a very large brown-colored head. The bubbles in the head vary in size from dense and creamy to large and dome-like leaving craters of various sizes throughout. It has excellent head retention and it leaves outstanding sheets of lacing that stick to the glass like thick frothy cobwebs. It is picture perfect.

Aroma: It smells of chocolate cherries at first, then notes of chocolate liqueur and cherry ganache cream filling. The beer smells like a confectioner's shop.

Taste: Up front there is this medicinal berry flavor like tasting Flintstones Vitamins. It's very strange tasting once it hits the tongue. Towards the middle of the mouth a cherry flavor starts to emerge alongside the powdery berry flavor. There is some cocoa powder in the middle of the mouth. Grape aspirin towards the back of the mouth and in the aftertaste. Lingering grape aspirin flavor. While drinking the beer sometimes a dark roasted grain flavor comes in and surpasses the odd medicinal flavors which tastes very nice.

Mouthfeel: It has a medium-full body which is nice. Carbonation is good. Roasted bitterness which is semi-mild. As a whole the mouthfeel does a lot to redeem the beer and elevates it quite a bit. The roasted quality of this beer is top-notch.

Overall: This is a very odd beer because under its skin and deep in its bones there is something that could be a world-class competitor beer when it comes to a stout. The medicinal berry flavor really kills this otherwise fantastic beer and simply doesn't make any sense. It's like somebody took an amazing stout and tossed in a couple of Flintstones Vitamins. Whatever was done to this beer, it works out well in the aroma. Although the label says that this is a "CHOCOLATE RASPBERRY STOUT" it takes on more of a cherry aroma and a grape flavor which is strange. I will continue to keep DuClaw on the radar because some day it feels like they are going to nail it. This beer comes close but because of the odd berry flavor, it isn't it. I would buy a case of this beer without the berry flavor. I doubt I would buy it again although it was worth enduring the odd berry flavor to taste the fantastic base-beer. I only recommend it to those who might feel a little more adventurous.

16 ounce can poured into a tulip.
Canned 8/20/21

L: Pours clear and dark brown, near black and opaque in the glass, two finger head is persistent and leaves lace, foam is tan and rocky, leaves a thin brown film on the glass
S: Nose is moderate in strength, roasted malts, dessert-like chocolate and raspberry aroma, hint of coffee
T: Malt forward with a low sweetness, roasted malt, semi-sweet dark chocolate and raspberry, mildly bitter finish with bakers chocolate and notes of clean bittering hops
F: Medium weight and carbonation, smooth and creamy but thin for an Imperial Stout
O: Pretty good. I wish it were a little more full, though the subtle but persistent chocolate raspberry dessert aroma and flavor is, in my opinion, well done and spot on.

Nitpicky review but far too common these days. Labeled as a chocolate raspberry stout; get home and read the back and it also includes coffee. Coffee smell on the nose, coffee flavor dominates both while drinking and in the finish. As a coffee chocolate raspberry stout it’s wonderful, but I didn’t want that and didn’t think I was getting that. Why hide the strongest flavor in the little paragraph on the back? I suppose I should be grateful they even included that, since too often I don’t find out until I’ve looked it up on the breweries website.

It’s not too hard to properly label a beer. If coffee is in it then coffee is the main flavor, doesn’t matter what else is in it. This is liking labeling apple juice as pineapple juice because it has 5% pineapple.