Bare Knuckle Stout

Not bad at all. Nice roasty coffee and chocolate flavor. I wouldn’t have guessed this was an AB beer. Very smooth and drinkable.

Looks great, has a nihil aroma, perhaps some licorice and just a hint of roasted malt. The flavor profile is less than pathetic, dry and somewhat smokey, with some roasted chocolate flavors that are very light and subdued. Overall very watery and bogged down and dry.

$7 draught in a plastic cup at Nationwide Arena. Pours dark brown with a cascading creamy offwhite head that stayed pretty well. Appearance was definitely the strong suit for this brew. Aroma was pretty non existant maybe a little smoke and some roasted malts. Flavor is light as well. Some roasted malt, almost a burnt smokey flavor and not much else there. Creamy but watery palate. I think if I’d have known this was AB I would have kept walking but it was better than bud light in a bottle...

i’m not too fond of this beer. it leaves a bad aftertaste in my mouth. the apperance of it is decent. but i have had many a better beer.

I have read the previous comments on this beer, but not before I gave it a shot for myself. I find myself agreeing with much of what was said already. This seems to be an attempt to compete with Guinness, and they still have a ways to go. I must admit, however, that I am impressed to see AB finally make an effort towards pleasing the stout fans. I found this beer to be closer to Murphys than Guinness, as it lacked that post-swallow bite that Guinness has, but Murphys lacks. It wasn’t that bad of a beer, but certainly lacks the complexities that may be found within the Guinnesses and Murphys of the world. To sum up, I can actually see myself drinking this beer again, and recommending that my stout-loving compadre try it as well.

I understand that AB is trying to dip into the market Guiness has a stranglehold on at the moment, but if this is what they are loading up their hopes and dreams with then someone should be fired there. If the appearance is the best thing about your beer (and it was only average IMO), which in this case it is, then something’s wrong in Mizzou. Aroma was something artificial about it like they used some sort of cheap extract. It did have a roasty aroma but it was tainted somehow. Mouthfeel was thin and watery. Flavors were just plain boring. I’m glad I didn’t pay for a full pint of this because I would have been sorely upset.

Beer Knuckle Stout pours from nitro to a dense black color with a thick and creamy white head. When held to the light you can see some ruby hues peaking through the bottom of the glass. The nose on this beer is nice with some slight grassy hop aroma, and mild roasted coffee aromas. The palate, like Beamish is lean for an Irish stout, but has some good dark malt, and coffee flavors that glide over the tongue. Bare Knuckle finishes with more mild coffee flavors up front, then ends with a dry, slightly roasty, and bitter. A nice effort from A-B, but I don’t think Guinness or Murphy’s has too much to worry about.

Got free samples of this at Busch Gardens in Tampa. A great dry stout. Too bad the nerds at A-B will never bottle this stuff, because I would buy it.