Alameda Black Bear XX Stout

Brewed by Alameda Brewing Co.
Style: Foreign Stout
Portland, Oregon USA

Serve in English pint, Snifter, Tulip

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Chocolatey with crystal malt notes in both aroma and taste. Black in color with a tan head.

Black pour with a tan head. Aroma is lightly sweet, roasted malt, coffee, a little bit of milk chocolate. Good flavor. Palate is smooth creamy and lingers pleasantly. Nice beer.

Black-brown with virtually no head. Aroma has some fresh baking honey, almond, flour aroma, with hints of roast. A little sweet in the nose, chocolate milky, nice. Pretty mild. Wow, the body is incredibly light for a 7% stout, (light bodied), flavor is vacant, but balanced and nice, like a mountainous field in the alps. Light honey-sweet maltiness, with a light touch of roasted grain, hint of light coffee. Light hop bitterness. I was expecting something a bit more bombastic.

650ml bomber pours black in color with a 3 finger light tan head that retains well and leaves a few spots of lacing on the glass. Aroma is roated malts and chocolate with hints of coffee. Taste is roasted malt bitterness with some chocolate malt sweetness and mild fruits with a floral hop bitterness. Medium body and lively carbonation. Overall, this is a nice easy drinking stout that goes down smooth.

Bomber dated 11.22.11. Pours black with a disappointingly thin layer of fizzy tan bubbles. Faint notes of chocolate malt and burnt caramel in the aroma. The flavor is mostly roasted malt and bittersweet chocolate with some cola, citrus and coffee in there as well. The body is extremely dry and over-carbonated while the finish is burnt, chalky and bitter. Not sure if this is a bad batch or what but it definitely tastes off. Will have to try the tap version to compare.

I have had this beer on both CO2 and Nitro at the brewery on NE Fremont Street in Portland.The brewery was very specific that there were two different versions on tap. I liked in it on Nitro more than CO2. The Nitro made it super creamy and smooth while the other felt lighter and lost some of its creaminess. Lots of vanilla, chocolate and molasses in both. Good finish, definitely worth drinking.

This is a good stout. I liked the roast, the chocolate, the dry / sweet flavors and aroma. I even detected some notes of floral. However, the problem with this beer is, I felt like I drank it 1000x times before. There was nothing that made me say wow. With that said, it was still a good stout, although a little thin in the body.

Pour out of bottle, thanks a bunch Steve! Pour is dark brown almost black with off white head almost tan head, aroma has notes of roast, coffee, some slight chocolate, hints of dark fruit and spice notes, slight fruity notes. Taste is an interesting mix of caramel, roast, coffee and chocolate, hints of fruity esters, finishes fairly dry. Not bad.

Bottle. Black color with fleeting tan head. Deep roast malt, semi-sweet chocolate, mild floral aromas. medium bodied with almost no co2. Dry chocolate, deep roast, pale malt, floral hop flavors--lack of carbonation hurts--not too bad though

Bottle shared with Steve and co. Thanks Steve! Black appearance with a dark brown head. Fairly rich chocolate malty, roasty, coffee aroma. Chocolate, Belgian yeasty, light caramel, mild earthy flavor. Not one that I enjoy but I tend to shy away from Foreign Stouts.