Bare Knuckle Stout

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

Draught at Taste of Durham. Opaque black color with creamy nitro head that had some lasting power and laced the glass. Weak roasty nose and flavor. At the end there was a definite hint of paint or some kind of solvent. Not what you want to taste. Body was a wee bit thin to say the least.

tap. this is really a pretty half decent beer. hard t believe, but it is a drinkable AB product. Dark black pour. Aromas are toasty and roasty. Flavors are much the same. More carbonation than a Guinness. Not bad, not amazing.

Tap at Sea World Orlando. LIght chocolate malt aroma. Dark brown with moderate head. Light chocolate, coffee and malt flavor . Very light. Overall tastes pretty good - a good gateway beer for Bud drinkers.

On tap at Buffalo Wild Wings. Pours a synthetic pyrolized black with a whispy white head of no renown. White head on a stout? Frankenbier? Subtle roasted malt aroma, but don’t expect the taste to support it. Thin and watery without the malt sugar original gravity to support even the lowly stout profile. Oh, the horror...

On Nitro Tap. I have had 12 different beers today and this is the first one I have yet to rate. Pours the typical Nitro Stout. Rising brown head black body and sheets of lacing. Aroma of vanilla, Chocolate, roast, and leather. Overall the aroma is pretty weak and you have to search for those elements. Taste is vanilla, roast, chocolate, leather and plastic... Very drinkable. Slight burnt hairdryer taste as it warms. Smooth nitro tap mouthfeel as expected.

Not bad. A thin stout with minor aroma of burnt popcorn. Dry aftertaste. Medium body.Not nearly as good as Guinness or Beamish.

Sample at Boston’s Bistro in Dayton. I guess if I were a beer drinker who thought Guinness was too "out there" I might feel safer trying this. Pours black with a thick but short-lived beige head. Aroma of toasted malt. Thin-bodied by the Dry Stout measure with malt and espresso flavors. The finish is dry and short with a roasty aftertaste. It’s not saying much (or maybe it is) but this is an OK A-B brew.

Walking by Duke's Sports Bar, NYC, on the way home, I remembered that my good man Spiesy had just found the elusive Bare Knuckle Stout here, and decided to see if I could scam a free taste of this brew from the bartender. A LOT like Guinness thought thinner. Quite bitter, but the bitterness shows up in the aftertaste. Nitro'd, so there's a wonderful creamy head. Roasty and burnt. Surprising that Anheuser-Busch could pull this off. It's a touch like a bitter porter. I enjoyed it.