Brewhouse Rarities: Sweet & Smoky Stout
Flying Dog Brewery

 

hop bitterness: 45 IBU, Specialty Malts: Biscuit, Oats, Chocolate, Roasted Apple and Cherrywood Smoked Malt, hops:Northern Brewer, yeast: Scottish Ale'

A solid beer. Has a Briskety bourbon semi sweet smoke flavor. A hint of apple cherry wood, molasses and chocolate. It almost kinda has a little bit of a barbecue flavor. I have no problem drinking this one again. tested from 12 oz bottles

Poured into narrow stange: color is solid black with brown edges, head is tan with fine bubbles, presents 1/2 inch thick and lingers well with a solid top and some spotty lacing

Smell is lightly sweet with roast and lactose like flavor, then the smoke comes through with a pleasant balance to the sweetness.

Taste follows the aroma with sweet forward flavor blending into a smokey finish; smokey flavor is pleasant and balanced to complement the slightly sweet flavor.

Mouthfeel is moderately carbonated, lingering sweet and lightly smokey flavor.

Overall a good lightly smokey, slightly sweet stout.

L - massive hazelnut head atop a translucent amber-black body.

S - caramel malt, campfire smoke, syrup. Quite a good nose.

T - very smoky to start. Artificial smoke. A little peppery heat. Really not sweet at all, despite the name. Chocolate and roast. Low bitterness. Low sweetness. Low booziness.

F - very light body for a stout, with high carb.

O - better than expected. More a rauchbier than a stout though.

This site has been on Sunday since 2000 (EDT), it is now just past 0300 & I don't feel like waiting for somebody to start NBS (Week 694) when I have my New Flying Dog Beer Sunday (Week 694) ready to roll! It took me most of the week, but I am within three (3) CANs of being caught up on my Tavour CANs. In the process of rolling through them, I noticed that I had a number of Flying Dog bottles that were worthy of a brewery horizontal today. This is the second of (potentially) eight (8).

From the bottle: "Crushable. It's the word that gets thrown around most frequently at our annual Brewhouse Rarity Pitch Session, where anyone can pitch a beer to our Brewmaster. It's not often attributed to bold stouts though. But that's exactly what Andrew, one of our resident tour guides, envisioned. A graceful blend of sweet and oatmeal stout profiles, with a touch of smoky complexity, which will surprise in its drinkability."

A "crushable" Stout at 7.1% ABV?!? Bwahaahah! Fine. I began with a Pop! of the cap & a slow, gentle pour to get the lay of the land. The two previous had some lees & although I cannot see any, I am not taking any chances. It went well so once a sufficient amount had been decanted, an in-glass swirl was deemed to be in order. This raised two-plus fingers of dense, foamy, rocky, light-tan head with decent retention. Color was Dark Brown to Very Dark Brown (SRM = > 27, < 34) with NE-quality clarity & mahogany highlights. Gorgeous! Nos had a sweetness like brown sugar or molasses/treacle & a light smokiness like burning alder wood. Right off the bat, I have a wee bugaboo - they should have save this for the Fall, like mid-to-late October. It seems a little out of place on an already hot, humid, muggy late-Spring day. But, hey, when have the seasons ever spoken to me in terms of my beer drinking? Mine is but a suggestion, not a stop sign. Mouthfeel was thin-to-medium, not watery, but lacking the depth that is to be expected in this style. The taste had a very nice, sweet smokiness to it & I was reminded of my visit, with The Chauffeur, to Uncle Billy's Brew & Que in Austin, TX in July 2008 (https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/16088/?view=ratings&ba=woodychandler#review). Their barbequed meats were the best that I had tasted & this beer was evocative of the smell that permeated the joint. Bear in mind that I am a fan of smoked beers, so this was right up my alley, but it may not be yer cuppa, just like I generally eschew Hefeweizens. It is also in keeping with the "innovative" nature inherent in the style. Flying Dog called it a Stout, but it could just as easily have been a Rauchbier, except as an Ale, IMHO. I should also mention that "Sweet" in this instance is a bit of a misnomer. It was sweet in the way that (especially) molasses/treacle is sweet, which is to say, not all that much. It definitely was not sugary, which would have been off-putting for me. Instead, it had a smoky sweetness that they might think about trying to recreate in a B-B-Q sauce. Finish was in that twilight zone between semi-sweet & semi-dry & I am not willing to take a stand either way. Suffice it to say that this was a really good one-off & worth seeking out if you like this sort of thing.

A brace of draught pints at the Brass Tap here in Baltimore. FWIW - I'm NOT normally a fan of "smoked" beers.

Looks and smells promising - dark brown cola color with khaki head. Caramel and smoke smell. Taste lives up to the label: sweet and smoky. Overall seems like too much of a good thing -- awesome for a few sips but hard to go through a whole bottle.

 

Snagged at the Vintage Estate into a pint glass.
A - Fairly dark beer has a bit of tint with a 1/2 inch of mocha head.
S - Mildly smokey touch of chocolate and some cocoa nibs.
T - Has a very weird aftertaste start flavor is fair with plenty of smoke and a touch of ash and sweet meat flavor. Finish is semi bitter and dry with the second sip a bit better but I am not loving it.
M - Smooth body somewhat slick never watery.

Overall an interesting beer but not one I would get again.

This beer pours a simple black with a small head. The aroma features strong roasty notes, acidic coffee, cocoa powder, and a touch of licorice. The flavor is fairly sweet upfront, with fudge, cocoa powder, vanilla, roast, almost burnt malts, and again a hint of licorice on the end, as well as some cinnamon. The mouthfeel is quite light , with mild carbonation. Overall this is decent, but I do not really get the smoky half of the description. It is a bit once dimensional. Drinkable certainly, but not my favorite.

 

 

Enjoy the sweet and smoky taste of an ashtray.

 

12 ounce bottle into tulip glass, best before 6/30/2018. Pours crystal clear very dark brown color with a 1 finger dense light khaki head with great retention, that reduces to a thin cap that lingers. Nice spotty soapy lacing clings on the glass, with a fair amount of streaming carbonation. Aromas of big wood/peat smoke, milk chocolate, cocoa, caramel, brown sugar, nuttiness, and toasted dark/brown bread; with lighter notes of coffee, charcoal, dark fruit, herbal, pepper, and roast/toast/smoky earthiness. Very nice aromas with good balance and complexity of dark/roast/smoke/bready malts and light earthy hop notes; with great strength. Taste of big wood/peat smoke, milk chocolate, cocoa, caramel, brown sugar, nuttiness, and toasted dark/brown bread; with lighter notes of coffee, charcoal, dark fruit, herbal, pepper, and roast/toast/smoky earthiness. Light-moderate herbal/spicy hop and roast/char bitterness on the finish. Lingering notes of wood/peat smoke, milk chocolate, cocoa, caramel, brown sugar, nuttiness, toasted dark/brown bread, coffee, charcoal, herbal, pepper, and roast/toast/smoky earthiness on the finish for a while. Very nice complexity, robustness, and balance of dark/roast/smoke/bready malts and light earthy hop flavors; with a great roast/hop bitter/sweet balance; and zero acrid/astringent flavors after the finish. Lightly increasing dryness from hop/char bitterness. Medium carbonation and body; with a very smooth, moderately creamy/bready/grainy, and lightly sticky/chalky mouthfeel that is nice. Minimal warming alcohol for 7.1%. Overall this is a very nice smoked stout. All around nice complexity, robustness, and balance of dark/roast/smoke/bready malts and light earthy hop flavors; very smooth and easy to drink with the mellowly bitter/drying finish. This is definitely smoky, but not overdone. About 75% to rauchbier levels. Great balance between smoke and stout malt complexity; with solid earthy hop presence. A very enjoyable offering, and well made offering.

 

 

Flying Dog Brewery "Brewhouse Rarities Sweet & Smoky Stout"
12 fl. oz. brown glass bottle, "... ENJOY BY: 06.30.18" and sampled on 03.20.18
$2.79 @ Total Wine & More, Cherry Hill, NJ

Notes via stream of consciousness: So what makes it sweet & smoky? I guess we'll find out as the bottle label didn't give me any answers. It's a very dark mahogany brown in color but appears black in the full glass. Clear ruby and orange highlights glimmer at the base of the glass. A creamy tan head tops it. In the nose it's a little smoky over dark malts. My first impression was something like Hickory... probably apple, but I'm sure it's not Beechwood. On to the flavor... similar... much more smoky, and with plenty of caramel. Coffee-like. The smokiness and some bitterness linger in the finish at the back of the mouth and I'm not sure i like that. I think it might be a bit too smoky, at least with whatever wood they're using. In the mouth it's medium-light in body and gently crisp then smooth. The label did mention oatmeal stout so I get that, it fits, but I'm not sure it was the best choice for that wood, and that amount of smokiness. There's just not enough stout to back it up. On a positive note, it is kind of interesting and the smoke itself is nice, just a little bit out of balance. Looking back, the head has dropped to a wide collar but only minimal spots of lacing are left behind. I just used this glass and got better lacing so I'll assume it's not the glass. Overall I'm a little disappointed but I think that's because I had such high hopes for it. It's an OK smoked stout and I'd consider buying it again but I'm not going to seek it out. If you really enjoy smoked beers as I do you might want to give it a try, otherwise I'd suggest you give it a pass.

Bottle dated 06-24-18 into pint glass. Pours a clear, deep mahogany color with a light tan head. Initial impression is a smoky, slightly sweet, malty stout with subtle coffee notes. It's mostly smoky and not so much sweet. Mouthfeel is thin for a stout. Alcohol is not overwhelmingly evident, but it's not very well hidden either. Finish is smoky and dry. All in all, an interesting take on a stout, but not something that would encourage revisiting.