Bare Knuckle Stout

Brewed by Anheuser-Busch InBev
Style: Dry Stout
St. Louis, Missouri USA

Serve in English pint

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Well, I'm in the same boat as almost everyone else...I had no idea this was an Anheuser-Busch product....before, during or shortly after tasting this. I went to R.F.D. in Washington on the fourth of July, and since I've had almost everything on tap they have there...this sounded interesting, so I ordered it. I thought it was from an Irish brewery that I've never heard of, because on the menu, it wasn't classified. The colour was almost pitch black with a great slightly tan head which lingered for a long time. The smell was pretty subtle, with a bit of roasted malt and some coffee, but other than that...fairly bland. The taste was good, slightly acidic, slightly watery and a bit of the more complex roastyness which is desirable in this style. The beer is definately thin compared to Guinness and a bunch of other Dry Stouts, such as Brooklyn's or Beamish's. With all that said, I still have to give credit to AB for putting out an actual worthy beer for once. After drinking this beer and another, I hopped back to the subway and read the Mid-Atlantic brewing news put out by good man Jim Dorsch. In the editorial was a snippet about this beer that I just drank...and it completely took me by surprise when I read it was from A-B. Worth trying to see how you like it...but I don't know where else you'll be able to find this!

6/29/03, draft, Kennedy Airport NYC. Three hour trip to the airport and now I've got 40 minutes to kill, please God, let there be a good beer at this TGI Fridays mini-bar. Coors light, Heinekin, Bud, crap! But wait, the bartender says there's a new stout on draft! Do I dare get my hopes up? But he doesn't know who brews it, hmmm, I'm instantly a bit suspicious - Bare Knuckle stout? Sounds like it could be a micro, but at an airport? Took a chance and ordered the 22 oz schooner. The appearance was great - I feel a flush of excitement. It's dark brown with ruby highlights in the bright light, the head is thick, creamy, tan and it diminishes slowly. I sniff once, then again. Huh, where's that rich aroma I'm expecting? It's faint, malty with hints of coffee, butterscotch and grass. The flavor is nice but so weak for a proclaimed stout - mild roasted malts, coffee and a pronounced hop bite. But the mouthfeel, ugh! It's thin, thin, thin, medium-light body and flat. Not a bad dark beer, but definitely not a stout. Shit, I get home and discover (as I suspected) that it's an AB product. I have to say it's the best AB product that I've ever tasted, but it's no stout - a slightly chubby maybe, but definitely not a stout. A pox on you AB for misleading me and likely countless others who appreciate good beer!

This is one of the worst beers I've ever had. It's dishwater with a nutty aftertaste. Second worst beer of the Anheuser-Busch bunch (above Michelob Ultra). The Rock Bottom stouts are better than this.

The best Anheuser-Busch beer I've had to date. A gem when held up to the rest of the AB lineup, worth an honorary mention in the world of stouts. The head was dense and velvety and seemed to last forever. This could be due to the NO2 tap. Roasted aroma, heavy coffee flavors are immediately noticeable. A note of nutty at the tail end of the finish that you'll miss if you blink.

before today i've never had a Budweiser product. that all changed when i went on the Budweiser brewery tour in Merrimack, NH. in the hospitality room you could try two beers, so i tried this and the heffenweisen (sp?). i have to say that it was pretty good. i'm thinking that it might have been due to it's extreme freshness. it was served on a nitrogen tap that gave it a cascade effect. it had an extremely long-lasting head. it was very dark. the flavor that hit me first was a darkish, roasted coff-ay taste. as that faded i detected a hint of nuttiness in the finish. it was actually pretty good. not the best, by any means, but amazing when compaired to the other crap that Bud "brews".

Well, this is certainly some shit. As I tried to enjoy this I could not figure out why it lacked in everything but sucking, then I was awoken to the truth that it was made by bud. Plain, boring, no flavor, bad, an attempt to rival guinness, but it is not even up to their standards.

Had on tap at Callahan's on April 2, 2003
Walked into Callahan's today, not really expecting anything new on the beer board, much less a stout. So I see Bare Knuckle up there and think, sweet - a new beer - order myself one and after it finally settled, I was left with what appears to be your standard stout with a small, tan head and a dark black appearance. The stout has a nice coffee flavor, but not much else. It goes down smooth, but that's because it's quite light with very little flavor or body. I had no idea this was an Anheuser Busch brew and after finding out, it just made sense. I've had good stouts - Alesmith's Speedway Stout, Stone's Imperial Russion Stout, etc. - this is not a good stout. It's weak, watery, and the flavors are as bland as you can get in a stout.

Ignorant of the brewer when I tasted this, so no one can accuse me of bias against A-B. The head lingers beneath the surface of the solid black body for a good long while before settling inteo a medium tan head. Leaves tremendous concentric lace. Aroma is fairly faint, but what there is of it is sweet and mildly roasty. Taste is medium sweet, roasty up top, finishing much the same with a short-lived bitterness in the swallow. It's a bit watery, very smooth with pretty much no carbonation.

UPDATED: JAN 27, 2004 This plain sucks..I ordered it and asked who made it..and the waitress said..i need to check..so i'm drinking it..thinking this is the crappiest stout i have ever drank in my entire life..and she comes back and says...Anheuser-Busch..and I think to myself..of course...this beer is like guiness but even worse..no damn flavor at all..the aroma was sweaty day old socks..the mouthfeel was crappy and salty..the only thing this beer has going for it is the nitro'd appearance..but all in all, this was quite gross!

It's comforting to know that I had a new beer, thought it really wasn't good at all and then found out it's an attempt by Anheiser-Busch to produce a stout. So it sucked before I knew they made it, which is nice. Quite pretty, dark, with a big mocha head that lasted. Nose slightly sweet. Flavor is strange, oddly lemony, somewhat roasty. Palate is simply awful, watery and lacking carbonation.