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 orbitalr0x  ( Marseilles, Illinois ) |
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I was happy to find this at my local the other day. Deep dark charcoal night pour into my tulip glass with a nice dark tan bubbly head. No light is getting through here..bring your candles. Big molasses, bitter coffee, sweet cocoa, dark fruits and some piney hops. The nose is very bold and rich...inviting.
First sip brings a big, bold burnt chocolate maltiness mixed with coffee, rich molasses, hints of vanilla and a nice bitter piney hoppiess. Wow. A cornucopia of flavors explode across the palate....this is just a damn fine imperial stout. There's a nice interplay between the sweet and bitter flavors as well.
Superbly lush, full bodied, creamy and thick. This is how I like my stouts!! It's a joy to drink this brew, especially after a hard days work. The alcohol is well hidden and I could easily see having a few of these. Another great brew from Great Lakes...highly recommended to all fans of imperial stouts.
[ serving type: bottle ]
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user review id: 207517 / 02-05-2005 01:57:00
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| appearance: | 4.5 |
| smell: | 4.5 |
| taste: | 4.5 |
| mouthfeel: | 5 |
| drinkability: | 4.5 |
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JLShepard ( Cleveland, Ohio ) |
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Aroma: A pleasantly sweet coffee aroma is the first thing that catches your nose. It is followed up by a fairly strong smell of alcohol.
Appearance: Black as black can be, this is a very dark beer, which allows no light to pass through. It pours with a nice, half-inch deep head. Unfortunately, the head dissipates quickly, leaving a few islands of bubbles and a crown of bubbles around the top.
Taste: Chocolate and coffee flavors start this beer off, though they are quickly replaced by the strong taste of alcohol with a faint metallic edge to it. It fades into a pleasant hop finish.
Mouthfeel: Very smooth the whole way down, though with the failing of being a bit too thin.
Overall, a nice example of the style, though I'm not a fan of Imperial Stouts, as the alcohol taste is usually too strong for my liking. It is, however, a beautiful beer to look at, and reminisce about the power outage this beer commemorates.
[ serving type: bottle ]
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user review id: 207241 / 02-03-2005 17:57:01
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| appearance: | 4.5 |
| smell: | 3 |
| taste: | 2.5 |
| mouthfeel: | 3 |
| drinkability: | 3 |
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foXXtail ( Cleveland, Ohio ) |
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Brewed to commemorate the great Northeast Power outage of August 2003, this beer celebrates good old fashioned neighborhood porch parties.
The Blackout Stout, as the name suggests, pours as inky purple black as I remember the sky being that night - even holding the beer up directly to the light allows none to pass through. Mounded on top of the midnight-hewed brew is a generous dollop of tan head. The head fades slowly, and still provides full coverage at the bottom of the glass. The nose is earthy - with lots of chocolate and espresso scents, all headed up by a strong vodka smell. There is no mistaking the high alcohol kick of this brew.
The taste is quite strong. Alcohol hits first, backed up by a slight grassiness. Right behind the surge of vodka flavor is strong chocolate and burnt espresso. The strong grassy hop flavor brings up the back. Also prevalent in the taste is a metallic flavor, like copper, and a strange caramel maltiness. The beer provides perfect carbonation for the style, but is far too thin.
A terrific brew that doesn't "eat like a meal."
[ serving type: bottle ]
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user review id: 206459 / 01-31-2005 04:20:39
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| appearance: | 4.5 |
| smell: | 4 |
| taste: | 4.5 |
| mouthfeel: | 3.5 |
| drinkability: | 4 |
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xlperro  ( San Diego, California ) |
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Very dark in body but not opaque and sporting a small tan head that disapates after a few drinks, this carries a strong vinous alcohol aroma with traces of sugary kahlua coffee notes. Sharp tastes across the palate with a strong bitterness. Burnt coffee, alcohol spice, raisins, licorice. Not all that heavy in the body for a large beer. Evaporative alcohol esters are noted during the drink when it gets warm. Another good showing from Great Lakes.
[ serving type: bottle ]
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user review id: 203798 / 01-19-2005 08:33:15
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| appearance: | 4 |
| smell: | 4 |
| taste: | 4.5 |
| mouthfeel: | 4 |
| drinkability: | 4 |
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cmaruschak ( Columbus, Ohio ) |
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Looks like I get to be the first to review the 2005 Blackout Stout. I was able to try this at Great Lakes Brewing's release party last night. I missed having a chance at getting some of last year's fresh. I decided that wasn't going to happen this year.
This was served from the tap into a Great Lakes Imperial pint glass. This was definitely worth the trip to Cleveland! This beer reminded me of some of the characteristics [sweet undertone in particular] of Thirsty Dog's Siberian Night RIS.
Appearance - a dark pour with some dark ruby edging. A coffee ice cream colored head. The head lingered for awhile before settling to a ring of foam. Some nice lacing was visible throughout.
Smell - the aroma wasn't overly pronounced but was still inviting. It offered a hint of the alcohol, some of the roasted character and a hint of dark chocolate.
Taste - offered great flavor for an imperial stout. There was an edge of bitterness coupled with a nice roasted characteristic. This combined with a sweet undertone [dark chocolate?]. The alcohol is present, but it plays a supporting role and doesn't overwhelm like in some other RIS I've tried. Some of the roasted character and bitterness lingers and keeps the mouth primed for the next sip.
Mouthfeel - this had a smooth character and more of a medium feel. This was the only area that was off just a bit. I think this needed to be just a little thicker in the feel to round this out.
Drinkability - Even with the higher ABV, I could see having a couple of these in a session. This was a very drinkable beer. It is ready to drink now, but I can definitely see this aging well like last year's did.
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2004 Blackout Stout - Year old sample [Tap]
After a full year, this beer changed into more of a sweet/oatmeal stout on steriods. The alcohol really settled and there is a great, sweet character. I'm not sure how long this will stay at this level, but I really enjoyed being able to try some of this at Great Lakes.
[ serving type: on-tap ]
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user review id: 203600 / 01-18-2005 14:29:34
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| appearance: | 4.5 |
| smell: | 4.5 |
| taste: | 5 |
| mouthfeel: | 3.5 |
| drinkability: | 5 |
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tavernjef ( St. Paul, Minnesota ) |
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Black out light is what this does, nothing penetrates its oily blackish body. Grows a very thin cocoa brown cap thats foamy thick and thins out slowly leaving a slight skim and a good collar. Lace is thin and subsides some glaring oily spots but mostly a small curtain sticking close to the collaring is what continues to keep.
Aroma is of fresh coffee with tiny bits of chocolate and maintains a roasty deepness.
Taste is roasty, semi-heavy in the front, heavier as it goes with chocolate depositing hints as the roasty black malts and coffee sooth their way across the palate. Darker fruit notes of raisin and plum supersede some empty areas where the roast and coffee miss. Some darker toffee too. Its got a good hold from front to back thats quite nice to undertake. Finishes complex with a slight drying mix of piney burnt hop flavor, more roast, some dark fruit notes, and slight coffee. Overall, quite soothing and smooth with just a nudge of alcoholic warmth after each sip and/or gulp.
Feel is favorable in smoothness, not quite as thick as I wanted, but clean, slightly oily/creamy, roasty, and well bodied in about a medium/heavy porter sense. Great finisher with a heavy set return and warmth.
Drinkable and dangerously so. Gone from my glass quickly with this stuff. So smooth and inviting with nice rich flavors that aren't, either, to heavy or to shy, its nearly perfect in that regards. It gains a heavier hold as it wavers off after each sip. A good quality to have; has that nice heavy return of chocolate and roast thats killer to just cinder in your throat. A fine Imperial stout.
Many large border-crossing thanks to cokes for the samples!
[ serving type: bottle ]
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user review id: 197362 / 12-24-2004 03:20:55
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| appearance: | 4 |
| smell: | 4 |
| taste: | 4.5 |
| mouthfeel: | 4.5 |
| drinkability: | 5 |
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Jason  ( East Boston, Massachusetts ) |
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Presentation: 12 oz brown long neck bottle with a freshness date on the label. I am sure this beer will do well many months after the freshness date has expired.
Appearance: Thickly cropped tan head forms with a trail of spider web like lace. Midnight black color lets no light through.
Smell: Hints of charcoal and black currants with a faint smokiness in the back.
Taste & Mouth Feel: Creamy dark chocolate flavor is dominant with burnt grain and dark roasted coffee within. Hops are a bit dim with some oily residue and bitterness in the back end.
Drinkability & Notes: Not bad, not bad at all … had to pair this with some chocolate and it did very well with the dark chocolate.
[ serving type: bottle ]
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user review id: 190111 / 11-23-2004 03:07:42
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| appearance: | 4 |
| smell: | 3.5 |
| taste: | 4 |
| mouthfeel: | 4.5 |
| drinkability: | 4 |
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clvand0  ( Lexington, Kentucky ) |
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A friend brought this to a club meeting for us to sample. Came in a 12 ounce bottle Pours a dark color with a tall off-white head that sticks around for a while and leaves nice lacing on the glass. The aroma is of dark malts and lots of coffee. A little bit of sweetness too. The flavor is thick and malty. Lots of coffee. Great mouthfeel and drinkability.
[ serving type: bottle ]
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user review id: 186817 / 11-09-2004 20:27:27
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| appearance: | 4.5 |
| smell: | 4 |
| taste: | 4 |
| mouthfeel: | 4.5 |
| drinkability: | 4 |
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garymuchow ( Minnesota ) |
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Many thanks to WVBeergeek for this great beer.
Aroma shows wonderful complexity. Deep rich fruity quality that surrounds roast, coffee, dark malt. This aroma is outstanding.
Black with 1/4 to 1/2 inch head that's dark and steady. Very attractive.
Flavor matches aroma, but carries with it more of the roast. Slight burnt coffee character. Slight fruitiness (but less than the aroma). Sweetness that's intense, but not excessive and lets the roast dominate. Don't detect much alcohol in flavor, but feel it later.
Wonderfully and appropriately rich, but maybe not quite as full as others in this category. Carbonation adds to the softness.
This beer blew me away immediately. Easily one of the more immediately accessible beers for this style. Might not have as intense character as others in this style, but overall an extremely pleasurable beer.
[ serving type: bottle ]
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user review id: 184736 / 10-31-2004 15:06:25
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| appearance: | 4.5 |
| smell: | 5 |
| taste: | 4 |
| mouthfeel: | 4 |
| drinkability: | 4.5 |
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BuckeyeNation ( Des Moines, Iowa ) |
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Glossy anthracite with a faint glimmer of light at the margins. Capped by a firmsticky, resolute head of cocoa brown. Thick, chunky gobs of lace affix themselves to the glass and will, no doubt, have to be removed with hot water. Great Lakes makes lace-monsters and this is no exception.
Smells of chocolate syrup-laced black coffee with supporting roles being played by hops and smoke. Faint echoes of dark brown sugar, but no molasses spiciness that I could appreciate. Lovely, powerful aroma, I just hope the coffee is scaled back in the flavor.
Wow, this is powerful stuff. My first sip exploded over my tongue, coated my mouth and sent a frisson of pleasure straight into my brain. First of all, though I didn't doubt it for a second, this has the most substantial mouthfeel of any Great Lakes beer in existence (a brewery known and celebrated for that characteristic). Easily as full and rich as Storm King without the (mild) chalkiness. Doesn't quite top the pure silk of Perkuno's Hammer, but it's damn close.
As Imperial stouts go, Blackout isn't overly complex. It's just a hugely delicious, coffee/chocolate flavor bomb that is pure poetry in the mouth. Hops, smoke and anise give it character and added personality, but don't really detract from the mission at hand. If possible, the taste knob hits '11' ("This is Spinal Tap" anyone?) with warming; becomes more spicy as well. Hard to imagine a more robust/flavorful, yet drinkable beer in it's category. 9% ABV? You'd never know it.
Blackout Stout is great beer from one of the truly great breweries in North America. It has instantly become one of my favorites and it is my fervent hope that GL makes it year-round. I'd also like to see it distributed to this state, but I'm not holding my breath. I will be stocking up on my trips back to Ohio though, that much is certain. Highly recommended. A huge 'thank you' to Dogbrick for the opportunity.
[ serving type: bottle ]
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user review id: 178044 / 09-30-2004 15:40:35
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| appearance: | 5 |
| smell: | 4.5 |
| taste: | 4.5 |
| mouthfeel: | 5 |
| drinkability: | 4.5 |
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