Smoked Belgian Stout
Flying Dog Brewery

 

 

Enjoyed from the 12 oz bottle in a snifter. This nice stout pours an impressive black with brown highlights and a firm light brown head of foam that subsides to a thick rick, subtle thin pool, and decent lacing. Nose of smoke, subtle coffee, subtle cocoa, and earthy goodness. Flavors follow and lightly exceed the nose with lightly sweet fudge, moderate campfire smoke, and toffee on all sides with a subtle coffee and light dark fruit flavor that rests on the back with a touch of cream. Lightly dry finish, creamy, and moderate to light carbonation. An excellent stout indeed.

Cheers

 

33cl bottle. Pours a very dark brown, with a fine-grained espresso head with decent retention. Visible carbonation. Smells of licorice, smoke, caramel, roasted malts and fudge. The taste is bitter-sweet and smoke heavy, with notes of dark chocolate, bitter cherries, licorice, caramel fudge, espresso and smoked sausage. Medium body, not too thick, with a soft carbonation and a smokey, bitter aftertaste.

 

 

12oz bottle poured into a tulip. Pours black with a dark khaki head that fades leaving great retention and decent lacing. The aromas are nice. Lots of cocoa malts and chocolate notes. The smoked notes are subtle, but there. The flavors are very nice. Lots of rich dark chocolate. Lots of roasted malts. Subtle hints of anise in the mix. The Belgian notes seem to go unnoticed. Alcohol goes unnoticed. Mouthfeel is great. It's full-bodied with moderate carbonation. It's creamy and velvety without being too thick. This one is smooth and dangerously drinkable. Fun to drink.

This is a great Imperial Stout. The smoke and Belgian notes don't seem to shine, but it's still a great stout nonetheless. Very enjoyable. Well done, I really like it. Recommended.

Meh. Beautiful, thick, and chewy, but lackluster in flavour. I had big hopes being both a stout and rauchbier fan boy but this isn't impressive on either front.

 

 

 

(12 oz bottle, code 112A16, left out for 30-40 min before pouring into a teku)

L: extremely dark, red-tinged brown liquid... puts up a rather dark-hued, almost olive-green-gray foam that can't hold for shit... no lace

S: ash tray, old wood, dry leather... a hint of dark, bitter chocolate in the back... meat caramelization (a la jerky), but only vaguely, if at all... socks worn for 3 days... the booze is way in the back, barely a whisper... some nice little nuances, but even fairly warmed up, not very potent

T: a bright, almost vinous alcohol washed out in the background... the foreground has a pleasant biting grassy bitterness with a polished haze of roasted and smoked grain... certainly malty at its core, but perhaps a bit more flat and dry than desired... softly acidic ash is what's most dominantly left lingering

F: ooh, boy - one of the more luscious, silky, fuller-bodied stouts in recent memory... quick thick, yet pillowy-soft, not as viscous in the finish as you'd think... mild sweet heat lingers throughout... wonderfully dry in the end - not much left on the palate between sips

O: one of the more personally intriguing style mashups I've come across lately - had to get a bottle... they pretty much hit all the necessary points, but I kinda feel it's a bit unbalanced in favor of the bitter and burnt... do hope they revisit this one later

 

3.3/5: Despite the fizzy feel and weak nose, its taste offers a good hybrid between peat, chocolate, and roast (this ain't for everyone, though!)

Dark, chocolatey pour with a minimal but persistent thin head. For some reason I got little aroma of any kind off this one. Taste, however, was very nice - definitely started with classic stout flavors, almost a roasted oatmeal stout vibe. Sour cherry undertones, certainly not overwhelming. Decent mouthfeel: like the aroma, seemed light considering the fullness of the flavor, and a bit too fizzy, which appears to be endemic to Flying Dog beers.

 

Look: Dark (brown/black) finger of beige foam

Smell: Vinous; Chalkboard dust

Taste: A vinous and boozy sweet backbone that gives way to a tart
finish.

Feel: Astringent;

Overall: Very interesting beer; different. Not sure I'm getting the smoke per se.
Boozy for sure.

Poured from the bottle into a Flying Dog goblet/tulip glass.

Dark walnut brown body with a thick coating like presence, a touch of chestnut brown edges also under the head. Fairly dark head, almost mocha brown but closer to tan, with a real creamy appearance and a simple one finger presence. Settles to a thin collar.

Slight smoke aroma, and an interesting sense of milk chocolate like flavors on the nose. Good sense of wafer like candy as well, but the smoke angle seems to dissolve and disappear after awhile. Does smell though very solid and good with no faults or off putting aromas.

Palate dissolves with a slightly wet feeling. First sip is quite wet but flavors still manages to transfer through. Mid palate washes in bitter dark chocolate notes with a mild phenol. There's a bit of metallic twinge to this but it's not horribly noticeable or off putting the experience. Slight bit of clove and light phenol touches, and porter like roasty goodness on the finish, with a touch of ash.

Doesn't seem to come off quite Belgian very much or smokey, but it's a good solid memorable stout.