Deschutes Obsidian Stout

Brewed by Deschutes Brewery
Style: Stout
Bend, Oregon USA

Wonderful chocolaty, roasty smell; slightly sweet aroma. Almost black with smallish head. Balanced taste with a lasting roasted/coffee-like taste. Hints of chocolate. Great medium-bodied but smooth mouthfeel. An excellent stout!

bottle 12 oz. This stout was better than I expected. well into med bodied, decent flavor with some spiciness, complexity, and dark roasted coffee. Plenty of malty creaminess with some pleasant hop flavors and bitterness. Available almost everywhere, I may even drink some again. A bit to the sweet for me, but not bad. (3 days later) bought a 6er today for $6.99. I’m upping this .2 to a 3.7, not bad at all for supermarket beer. I’ll probably be looking at this brew every time I open the reefer door from now on. 9/22/07: There is a somewhat unpleasant bitterness from the bittering hops that lingers on the palate for many minutes with a bit of a menthol characteristic that I don’t care for.

I am a stout fan, and this is a fine example of how a stout is supposed to be. Very dark color, really no ruby highlights on the edges. The taste is of roasted coffee beans and dark roasted chocolate...very good. This is an example of a Master Brewer showing his skill at the craft.

9/5/07 From the bottle. Aroma is fruity esters and citrus blended with sweet roast malt and some light alcohol notes. Appearance is dark brown with a persistent tan head. Flavor is sweet, heavily roasted malt forward, full flavored with earthy/citrus hops across the palette, followed by some fruity esters and moderate bittering. Mouthfeel is medium/full bodied, warm, with light astringency and a resiny finish. Overall, this has great complexity and might be a little rich for some, but it goes down easy for such a big brew.

I picked his bottle up at a local store and decided it was time to try it. Here is my review: Aroma: The aroma was of strong coffee and dark chocolate. No real hop aroma to be found. Appearance: The brew poured into my glass a dark cola color. No ruby highlights could be seen on the sides. The head was a medium tan color and was about a finger width. Carbonation was very low to none. Flavor: This brew tasted like coffee and roasted coffee beans. The taste has a bit of a "bite" to it, though after about two drinks, that goes away. The burnt coffee taste also shoots to the foreground and really sets this brews taste apart from others. Mouthfeel: Not harsh nor bitter. No carbonation bite. Smooth and very very dark feeling. Overall Impression: This is a damn fine example of a Master Brewer strutting his craft and knowing how to brew a craft beer. I really don’t understand how some could give it such a low review as they have done...but to each his own...this is a dman fine brew. Drink More Beer!!!

Bottle, pours a dark black with a one finger dark tan head that drifts to a whispy covering, good lacing. Pleasing aroma of roasted/burnt malts, chocolate, and fresh ground coffee. Flavor has a nice roast, and more chocolate; slightly lingering toastiness. Palate is full and creamy, medium carbonation. This is a nice stout!

Bottle. Dark, rich brown with a rich and creamy tan head. Roasted mocha aroma. Has a nice little bite to it. Great flavor with hints of roasted chocolate. Smooth and creamy but not heavy. Really enjoyable - I wish I had another one to drink today.

Black oily pour with a fluffy tan head. Rich roasty and chocolate smell mostly, with a touch of hops. As one rater noted, it was nice and roasty without any burnt smells (or tastes). Taste was beautiful on first sip. Creamy, chocolately, perfectly bittersweet roasty goodness with a nice amount of hop bitterness. Perfectly light to medium carbonation, and an solid slightly thick mouthfeel and flavor. Goes down easily and smooth, and leaves me wanting more. Definitely a great stout, and worth going out of the way for.