Elysian Dragonstooth Stout

22oz bottle from Bottle Barn, no date. Clear deep brown--black in the glass--with a tan 1 finger head, fair retention. Roasted malts, dark chocolate, and light soy up front with some soft oats behind. There is also a little toasted caramel. The flavor has stronger oats, though there is still plenty of roasted malts, salted nuts, chocolate and caramel notes. The finish has bitterness around a 3, and only slightly ashy. Smooth medium-full body with light prickly carbonation. Very good stout.

Another Elysian beer, capping the dark end of their brewing spectrum, and deviating slightly from the Greek mythology theme. A nice, early morning coffee house aroma comes through first, followed by a snap of black licorice (or perhaps the gentler scent of fennel) and the always bewildering but nostalgic scent of white brand grape soda. This sort of smell almost always makes the beer cloyingly sweet, even to the nose, but here it is buried and stifled underneath the much thicker blanket of coffee scents. A welcome smothering. The flavor matches the aroma’s dichotomy of sweet and bitter, postured with a spine of licorice, and appendages of coffee and cough medicine. By this description it is a gruesome creature indeed, and better left to taxonomists to parse. There are many, many better stouts if you have that dark, malty itch to scratch, and I wouldn’t soon choose the Dragonstooth to do it with.

Bottle sampled at SF International Beer Fest. One of my favorites of the night. Nearly black in color with a light brown head. Aroma of coffee and chocolate. Flavor is roast, coffee, chocolate, and slight fruity notes. Very well rounded. Smooth, fairly full palate. A great one.

650mL bomber, KW group tasting, thanks to Mat! Pours a nice viscous brown with a small mocha cap. Pretty standard Stoutish aroma, chocolate, toffee, salt? and mocha. Nice. Flavour matches up well, with a bit of a lighter mouth-feel but still quite nice. Goes down quite easily and I actually like it’s simplicity. Really not much to say about it other than I thought it was very tasty and not a disappointment. A nice style that I definitely don’t get to try enough examples of. Thanks again for letting me try this.

Bottle Split with Pwn3d, AndyDep. Pours a dark body with small light brown head. Aroma is light coffee, Taste is really balanced... mostly coffee flavor.

Bottle from canals in mt.holly. Split with DeputyAndy and JRedmond. I’m a big fan of the style. This is no exception. Pours near black with a tan head. Flavor is roasty and malty. Good mouthfeel with slight citrus. Tasty offering.

From a 22 oz bottle this poured a very dark garnet color with a big long lasting tan head and impressive lacing rings. Nose of roast malts with some light chocolate and ripe fruit. Very creamy and smooth mouthfeel. Flavor is of roasted malts and has some nice bitterness in the finish. A really easy drinking and enjoyable stout.

Excellent Stout! Once again, Elysian surprises me with something. Aroma is roasty, smoky malts. Lots of chocolate notes in this one. Pours black with a gorgeous brown head. Flavor is smokey and dry. Lots of bitterness in this one, but lots of sweetness as well. As noted, there is almost a citrus finish.