Brewhouse Rarities: English Breakfast Stout
Flying Dog Brewery

 

 

Flying Dog Brewery "English Breakfast Stout"
12 fl. oz. brown glass bottle, "FOR OPTIMAL FRESHNESS ENJOY BY: 02.28.19"
$2.79 @ Total Wine & More, Cherry Hill, NJ

Notes via stream of consciousness: So what is this? It had better not have baked beans, a fried tomato, eggs, bacon, sausage, and blood pudding in it! Ahh haaa! That's right on the label! - but no, this is apparently a beer made to go with your fry up. The unusual thing, however, is that it's brewed with English tea added, and it's 7.2% abv as well. OK, let's see how she looks... as expected with a full head of tan atop an opaque black body. I'm already smelling roasted malts but let me take a closer look... there's some chocolate, maybe a bit of caramel, and a light roastiness maybe like creamy coffee. On to the flavor then... well it looks like the description I gave for the aroma covers it pretty well. The roastiness is a little fuller, and there is a very slight bit of fruitiness, and then some earthiness towards the end that may be from hops or may be from the tea. Anyway you cut it I feel like the tea was a waste. It's not strong enough to come through in a stout, and I'd guess that tasted blind hardly anyone would call it out as a descriptor. Tea would have been much better suited to a pale ale, but hey, it's something different, right? In the mouth it's medium to medium-light in body and gently crisp. Looking back the head retention and lacing were just average. It's certainly not a bad beer, I can't fault it in any way, but there's nothing fascinating or compelling about it.
Review# 6,516

 

 

DATE: January 26, 2019... OCCASION: just watched Penn State lose their ninth straight--ugh... GLASSWARE: Samuel Smith pint... sizzles as it pours, with a thick, hearty single-fingered off-brown head... its body is jet black as stouts usually are... chocolate, peat, light herbal hints, ...creamy, reasonably textured, quite smooth, medium-bodied, and welcoming the next sip... a light buzzing sits on the teeth, and its finish is likewise elongated... a modicum of toffee mixes with sweet cocoa nubs, tootsie roll, twizzler, cilantro, parsley, and vegetable to form an intriguing, softened stout... the sweetness is altogether different from the usual from a milk or sweet stout... this is different enough to make it noteworthy, but not one whose attributes make it one worth seeking out... I like the variety Flying Dog offers, though, especially around the holidays...

appearance: basically pitch black with a nice dense tan head. head reduces to a nice foamy ring and leaves decent lacing (although i am reusing the glass so it definitely could be better). when held up to light, directly against it, you can see the faintest of ruby highlighting.

smell: primarily smokey and chocolatey with a very very light hint of resinous hops.

taste: hints of dark chocolate, smokiness, slightly roasty. bready undertones persist from the beginning through the finish. a slight taste of alcohol as it goes down accompanied by a little bit of hoppiness. aftertaste has lots of herbal notes and some evident tea flavor. very well balanced.

feel: dry, medium bodied, and it has carbonation that dances very nicely within the mouth but still has a note of subtlety to it.

overall: a very solid stout, it's a shame that it's a one-time brew. i would almost go as far as to call it a porter more than a stout, but the lines are a little blurred and i think it has enough roast and is thick enough to be called a stout. it's slightly thinner than i prefer but the flavor more than makes up for it.

Welcome back to Happy New This Year & Beer Are Flying Outta Here On Sunday, Dog (Week 723)! I am so glad that you could join me for this madness.

From the Bottle: "From our Brewmaster Ben Clark: The English's style has become the measuring stick for what breakfast should be. Anytime I can start a day with sausage, bacon, baked beans, tomatoes, fried bread and eggs, I'm in. The only thing missing is a beer to complement it all, and that was the dream for this concept. Rich and robust, with a bit of bitterness from English Breakfast tea, and another excuse to drink beer before noon."

I began drinking well before Noon today, but the wrap-up may be looming. I began by Pop!ping the cap & giving it a slow, gentle, C-Line pour which responded by forming just under two fingers of dense, foamy, rocky, deep-tan/light-brown head with good retention, leaving nice lacing in its wake. Color was simply Black/Opaque (SRM = 44), allowing ZERO light penetration. Nose had a nice chocolaty/coffee roastiness, very much in keeping with the style. Mouthfeel was medium, but it seemed on the thin side for the style. The taste was great with a slight bitterness like a combination of baker's chocolate & lightly roasted coffee. This would be superior with the full-on English Breakfast that their brewer mentioned in his comments. Finish was semi-dry, but why would you want it to be drier? It was right in the bullseye for the style! Dang, but this was good! I would absolutely have this again.

Poured from the bottle into a Flying Dog tulip sure why not. Enjoy by Feb 23rd 2019.

Solid opaque body, nearly black with a creamy perfectly tan colored hand. Stands about a finger with a nice slowly thin puck and collar, whispy on the top with a perfect formed creamy ring.

Tea like aromas and a touch of mild char hit the nose. Oolong black herbal slightly with hints of light coffee and cream. Has actually a little touch of dark cocoa powder as well. Flavors on the nose are a bit subtle though, not obvious, but make for good exploring.

Palate seems to take a different road. Very light bodied but also far wet a bit even for a basic stout mouthfeel. Slightly grainy in flavor but with a very almost tannic tartness somewhat on the mid palate of bitter tea, and some interesting florals. Finish is a little better, more touches of light char and coffee roast. Subsequent sips actually provide more flavor and less bitterness, almost a rosehip like quality going on.

The beer is a bit odd, but drinkable. Somewhat memorable, but a unique one that's not pushing me into greater need.

Poured from 12oz bottle into glass. Best by date is stamped as '02.28.19'.
Black colored body, with a tiny edge of backlit brown highlights. Quite persistent tan, creamy head. Leaves a few spots of lacing, but most of the sheets slide back down into the body.
Light aroma of roasted malts with smells of coffee and lighter chocolate, with a hint of tea.
Taste brings out the coffee and chocolate, and the slight bitterness from the tea. Has a medium level of sweetness, which is joined toward the end by the bittering tea.
Medium to full mouth feel. Good carbonation.
This likely would be a good match to drink with a traditional English or Irish breakfast. The beer is not that heavy feeling and would not bog down the enjoyment of the many breakfast tastes. Rather a unique approach to a breakfast stout.

From the 12 oz bottle in a snifter. This solid stout pours a rugged
blackish brown with a nice head of light tan foam that settles to a
thick ring, thin light layer, and shows some rather nice lacing. Nose
of light coffee, chocolate malt, smoke, and char. Flavors exceed the
nose with mild coffee, bittersweet chocolate, deep roast, char, touches
of smoke, mild herbal notes, and a taste that I could not put my finger on
till I read the bottle----tea which is present but lost in the muddle.
Solid and straightforward mouth feel that is perfect for the style;
medium full body, medium light carbonation, and a lightly
dry finish that is enhanced by the tea notes.

Overall, a SOLID stout from a great brewery!

Cheers!

Enjoy by 2/28/19. 12oz bottle poured into a tulip. Pours almost black with a fluffy dark khaki head that falls leaving great retention and nice lacing. The aromas are malt forward. Some cocoa along with some mild hints of coffee in the background. The flavors basically follow the nose. More cocoa leading the way. Some smoke in the mix. Some roasted characteristics. The coffee notes are there, but pretty subtle. Mild hints of vanilla. Moderate bitterness and sweetness. I guess you can say that this one is bittersweet. Malts do their thing. Alcohol goes unnoticed. Mouthfeel is medium-bodied with moderate to active carbonation. It's sharp, fluffy, smooth and easy to drink.

This is a decent stout. The coffee is there, but doesn't dominate. Everything is balanced and straight forward. It's not anything super crazy, but it's not bad.