Estes Park Samson Stout

Brewed by Estes Park Brewery
Style: Stout
Estes Park, Colorado USA

Serve in English pint, Shaker, Snifter

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On tap at the brewpub, 4/13/06: Pitch black with a big but quickly falling head. Nice big roasty coffee aroma. Easy to drink -- a bit smoky -- but a tad on the thin side.

12oz bottle. Poured a dark black, with red edges, and a large sized light brown head. Aromas of oatmeal, smoke, and chocolate. Very nice aroma. Tastes of chocolate, roasted malts, and oatmeal. Very light bitter coffee finish. Body a tad on the thin side. Some lacing left on the glass.

on tap-Color is black. Aroma is licorice. Taste is a light woody-roasty flavor.

Poured from a bottle, this one pours to a thin but fully lasting tan head. Spotty lacing. Dark brown but still transluscent body. The aroma is FULL of oatmeal. Cocoa and light smoke and coffee. I’m quite happy with the aroma. Perhaps other people who are complaining about the aroma are getting bad bottles? The flavor has chocolate and coffee and roasted quick oats. I too sampled this with a side of elk meat... nah, just kidding I just have a sick sense of humor like mjames. :) Sorry to hear that the local elk was poached. I didn’t know that poached elk meat was good. Shouldn’t it be grilled or something. Bah, there I go again, this time with a play on words. Anyway, the flavor is pretty decent and roasty. Like roasted elk would be. Muhahahahah, I can’t stop with these jokes. But seriously, this beer’s quite palatable. Nice and tender and juicy like a nicely prepared elk steak. Medium bodied. Overall, worth a try. Besides, you can make wisecracks while rating it. Hopefully I don’t offend anyone who knew Samson.

12 oz. bottle into tulip glass. Purchased at some grocery store in Brookfield, WI sometime in 2004. I wrote the phrase "nothing special" in my tasting notes three times, once each under Appearance (the only descriptor in that category), Taste, and Overall. That pretty much sums it up; it’s neither remarkably good nor remarkably bad, nor remarkable for being unremarkable. Utterly blase. Roasty, vaguely skunky aroma with a trace of sulfur. Appearance is nothing special. Taste is nothing special with some sweet plum flavor. Ditto for palate (I forgot that one). Overall: you get the picture.

Viscous looking dark brown pour, quickly fading head. Little aroma, a little roast and slight sourness. Good roasty flavor with a creamy mouthfeel.

Oddly, my hands are still shaking from cooking over 100 pounds of rice tonight, as I raise the glass to my nose and try not to spill. Expressive stout nose with hints of roasted malts (cocoa, chocolate, coffee, roast), along with a hint of raisins. Blackened magma in color, just about opaque with a small and quickly diminishing light mocha colored head. Complex roasted malt flavor, with lots of malt bitterness and dry coffee and cocoa flavors. A hint of light fruits and a tinge of hop flavor ride the finish. Initially watery, but becomes slightly creamy after it warms. Definatley calmed my nerves.

Tap. Pours black with a thin foamy tan head. Dark chocolate and coffee aromas with a sweet caramel malt nose. Coffee and hoppy roasted malt flavors. Dark medium bodied and smooth palate.

bottle-pours pitch black with a nice tan hgead and great lacing to start. unfortunately, the lacing didn’t last very long after the beer reached a certain temperature. oily pour as well. Big chocolate rasin aroma with subtle notes of espresso and smoke. This aroma reminds me of Smuttynose Robust porter for some reason. long dark choclate flavors with some nice rasin notes as well. some resiny hops come in the finish. a good stout!

Should I not be pairing this beer with elk meat? Is that wrong somehow? Low carbonation, medium to light texture, sweet and somewhat dry cocoa and smoke flavor. Lightly dry finish, a little gritty.