Deschutes Obsidian Stout

Brewed by Deschutes Brewery
Style: Stout
Bend, Oregon USA

Best before 2/10/2006 bottle sampled with OldGrowth on 1/1/2006. Transluscent, deep coal brown, moderate tan head with good retention, though it is not overly fluffy or full. Licorice, barley, and a touch of coffee begin to emanate from the glass, but are lost amid a dry, bitter, dulling black-patent malt-like note. Seems to weaken the aroma. No hops or yeast present either. Fortunately, the flavor seems nothing like the aroma (oddly enough), bringing creamy coffee to the table, with light caramel and playful acidity from the roast. Medium body overall, with a silky texture. Chocolatey and creamy, with all of your stout flavors, yet not overdone. Very low hop apparency, no fruitiness. Easy drinking, yet by no means simple and obsolete. It brings a richness of flavor, with no alcohol apparency, that few stouts of this gravity are able to match these days. Hell, there just arent many of these being made any more. Refreshing and drinkable without comprimising flavor is a fantastic trait (if I may interject my opinion) that more beers need to have. Barley flakes, light choco-coffee notes and low to moderate carbonation which is relatively unnoticed. If I could just get a little more out of the aroma. . . .

Best Before Date December 2006, Sampled January 2006
Pours a deep black color and is topped by a three-finger thick, light brown colored head that slowly recedes in a large bubbled mass. The aroma is dominated by roasted notes; I get notes of deeply roasted espresso, acidic notes of cold black coffee, and some sweet dark chocolate aromatics up front. The aroma is quite nice.

The taste is sharp, with a burnt acidity to it up front. This is balanced by a soft creamy mouthfeel that starts in the middle and carries through almost to the end. The finish is dominated by roasted notes quite similar to the finish of an espresso; acidity and roasted / burnt notes. For all of the roast character it is quite smooth, it is lack that burnt-husk astringency that can be found in some stouts. Having said that, the roasted acidity here is a bit too much; there needs to be a bit more something (sweet malt would do it) to balance it out. Perhaps a bit of age would do the trick as well; I have a feeling this might mellow out over 6 months or so.

<font size=-4>Purchased: <a href=http://www.ratebeer.com/Places/ShowPlace.asp? Liquors, Tucson, AZ<font size=-1>

Bottle, from trade with acertain. Ok nose, Coffee, licourice, chocolate, little fruitiness, cherry/grape. Good head, brownish black color with nice lacing the whole way. Bitter flavors, roasty. Pretty much like aroma, but so much more intense. Medium body, lite creamy smooth mouthfeel, bitter dry finish. Surprised by how much difference I got between the aroma and the flavor. Great flavor, really enjoyed this one. Thanks acertain.

This bottled brew poured a large sized head of thick frothy medium sized mostly lasting brown colored bubbles good thick lacing. The body contained no visible carbonation, was opaque and black in color. Its aroma was unnoted. Its mouth feel is semi-flat smooth and malty. Its flavor contained mild chocolate mild coffee mild roasted malt notes. All-in-all very nice brew.

Pours black with tan head. Taste of coffee and chocolate. Seems thin for a stout not as thick as others, but still tasty. Has chocolate aftertaste.

12oz bottle via trade with Indiana_Red! - Thanks Ken! Pours black with a nice foamy tan head that fades pretty quick. Aroma is roasted malts a touch of coffee and just a bit of chocolate. Flavor is mostly roasted coffee, some smoke and a bit of chocolate. A little thinner in the body for a stout but quite drinkable and smooth. A little bit of bitterness and dryness on the finish. Seems to lack flavor for a stout overall. Just seems watered down..

Aroma is roasty and fairly smoky. Black with a slightly bubbly thumb thick mocha head. Fore is all roasted coffee beans with moderate chocolate sweetness in the middle. Finish is bitter coffee and a hint of chewing tobacco.

Bottle shared with tupalev -- courtesy of tupalev. Pours a very dark brown, almost black, with a nice size light-brown head. Wonderful aroma and flavour of espresso, chocolate, roasted malt, smoke and hops. The flavour is dry and very well balanced. Body’s a tad thin for a Stout, it’s more like a Porter but it works for it. This is a really good Stout.