Great Lakes Blackout Stout

Brewed by Great Lakes Brewing Company
Style: Imperial Stout
Cleveland, Ohio USA

Rating this beer makes me realize how few beers I have rated relative to the beers I have consumed. I must have had this brew 100 times before this. Oh well, he she goes. Pour is pitch black with a small tannish head. Aroma is cold coffee and chocolate...pretty standard stuff, but good. Flavor is where it’s at with this one. Nice, sweet chocolate flavor dominates with roasted malt and a bit of hop bite. Re Rate from 09 vintage. Fuller palate with more chocolate and coffee. Great stout.

Dark chocolate with razor-thin bright tan head. I honestly was a bit surprised by the head’s color; it almost seemed it should be sitting atop a lighter brew. Fairly drinkable imperial, it isn’t quite as viscous as others in this category but the ABV will undoubtedly throw you under the bus. Dry roasted coffee and dark chocolate covered cherries. A solid stout.

On tap at Map Room, Chicago. This RIS just comes in a little thin and weak compared to others of this style. Really nothing stood out to me-- other than I was I was drinking a bigger RIS. Good example of a beer that’s ever-rated because of its style.

pours a rich, dark black with a creamy espresso head. good lacing. fruity notes, sweet cherries, vanilla, dont get the coffee others describe. alcohol notes, more hops than i like in an imperial stout. airy palate that tingles the inside of your cheeks. good, not greaat. on tap @ the map room

Great color and aroma. Has a sharp and deep first taste that makes it very enjoyable. One of my favorite Stouts, I stock up in the late winter.

This was a real tasty stout, but it poured a little thinner and lighter in color than I was expecting. Alcohol is at a good place, and this leans towards the drier roasted side of the category rather than smooth.

This one poured black, with brown head out of a 12oz bottle. Fairly disappointed with this beer since I drank the BA version first. Next time I will drink this one first. The beer just seems empty without the oak flavors in it. An over-powering coffee flavor in this stout for some reason. The alcohol is hidden, but in the wrong way. It’s hidden behind a giant wall of coffee beans. This one has a pleasant mouthfeel though, lightly carbonated and not dry at all. Very wet finish to this beer and just way to much coffee. I will re-rate this beer, but will drink the BA version second and see what happens.

Pours pitch black with a little off-white head dissapting to a lace. Smells of dark molasses, roasted malt and dark chocolate. Nice mouthfeel, would like a little thicker. Good roasted flavor with chocolate flavor throughout. Medium carbonation and far amount of hoppy bitterness to offset the alcohol which you don’t feel until it’s in your stomach. What a nicely balanced beer.