Bar Harbor Cadillac Mountain Stout

A side by side blind tasting of the 22oz bottles brewed at the original estate brewery vs. the 12oz version contract brewed at Gearys. 22oz: Dark brown, with a creamy, dense head of beige that lasts throughout the glass wtih some decent lacework. Aromatics filled with dark chocolate, cocoa, roasted malts and plenty of caramel. A slight fruit note follows through and the nose finishes with a mildly sweet note. The mouthfeel is creamy and smooth. Velvety and luscious. Nougat, dark chocolate, mild espresso, and caramel lead off the pallet. Fudgy and a bit chewy. Mildly sweet with some dark fruit way underneath. Finishes with lingering chocolate, roast, and nougat. Incredible smooth and drinkable. Somewhat rich and very balanced. 12oz: Pours dark brown, identical in color to the bomber, but the head pours shorter and quickly dissapates. Barely a trace of lacework. Aromatics are a blend of bitter chocolate, caramel, brownie bits, acrid malt and butterscotch. The nose is much drier, coarser, and slightly minerally, as well as hugely overun by the Ringwood yeast. The mouthfeel is crisper, dryer, and slightly spritzy. Missing the smooth, velvet feel of the bomber. Dark roasted malts, bitter chocolate, caramel, and roast coffee lead off the pallet. Quite dry and slightly acrid. Butterscotch steps forward and detracts from the drinkability. Finishes with some coarsesness, quite dry and roasty. The two versions side by side have many glaring differences. The smooth, slightly sweet, and rounded sophistication of the original version is gone, and in place is the buttery Ringwood yeast, coarser carbonation, and dryer character. The rating I’m giving this one is on the original version, with hopes that the new version being brewed at the brewpub will be up to grade.

22oz bottle, purchased at the brewery. Labeled "brew 15". Poured very deep brown, capped with a small brown head. Rich espresso aroma, with dark chocolate , some caramel malt, and mild herbal notes. Flavor of dark chocolate cocoa, and caramel, with some espresso bitterness. Silky smooth mouthfeel. Long roasted chocolate malt finish. Nice Stout. I had some of this atop Cadillac Mountain while watching the sunrise - it made a nice substitute for morning coffee.

My ace in the hole as far as Bar Harbor Brewing Company goes. This beer didn’t beat all the other stouts due to luck. I bought three cases of this and they were gone before I knew it.

@Richmond/Williamsburg Gathering-22 oz bottle-pours a light tan ring for a head and black with brown color. Aroma is a bit mild dark malt-dry chocolate, dark fruit-raisin/plum. Taste is soft dark malt-dry chocolate, dark fruit-raisin/plum, slight bite. A bit thin on finish. Thanks Immy for sharing.

Bottle and draught @ brewery. Bllack pour with a faint coffee nose. Nice hybrid sweet and imperial stout. Nice well crafted miedieum badied stout that it easily drinkable. Earthy flavor come sout better in the bottle conditioned version.

Richmond Summer Gathering. Black with a light brown head. Choco-coffee nose and flavor. Medium body. We sampled this right after the Pisgah Vortex II, and, although similar profiles in nose and flavor, this one couldn’t stand up to the Vortex. I think we agreed that, in retrospect, we should have reverse them. Still, a pleasant enough stout.

Bottle at the Williamsburg Gathering courtesy on Immy. Dark brown to near black pour. Nose is dark, roasted malts, soft coffee, dark chocolate and light dark fruity notes. Taste is more dark chocolate, dark fruits, soft, bitter coffee, and dark, roasted malts. The body on this was rather creamy and velvety. Very smooth. Medium overall. Ends with more dark roasted malts, dark chocolate, coffee and fading dark fruit notes.

22oz bottle, Thanks to Immy at Richmond Summer Gathering @ Williamsburg. Pours pitch black in color with brown head. Aroma chocolate, fruity and sweet malt. Taste of malt, fruity and coffee with dry finish.