Great Lakes Blackout Stout

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

12oz. bottle from Premier Gourmet. The beer poured a dark black and had a soft tan head. The stout’s aroma is dominated by roasted malts with just a hint of vanilla. The beer has a very smooth texture and the taste is very chocolatey with some charred espresso in the background. Goes down incredibly easy.

12 ounce bottle form bgburdman. Pours chocolatey brown and forms and inky black mass in the snifter. An aggressive pour resulted in barely enough fizzy light brown head to even comment about. Fairly complex aroma. The typical roast, char, and dark chocolate are present. I can also find some burnt tobacco, smokey character. Tastes sort of like my morning mochaccino, with a touch of milk. There some smokey flavors as well. They come off more on the BBQ side. Mostly balanced over the palate. Pretty good beer.

No head on this very dark brown pour. A sweet oak flavor among the bourbon flavor.

(bottle - 12 oz) Dark black pour with a thick tan head. Aroma is very dark and roasty with some chocolate and lots of burnt coffee malts. Flavor begins with a ton of roasted malts, a middle of chocolate and some light hops and a very bitter and malty finish. Chewy and thick bodied. One hell of a stout.

Surprising stout. Light body and not very thick. Good lacing. Unexpected flavor due to thickness. Very good. Linger for a long time.

Rerate: 3-6-09
I’ve now had this several times since the first time. I should say it’s never been as good as the first time I had it, and overall it’s quite a finicky imperial stout, in the sense that it can be quite unpleasant if my tastebuds are even a little off, or if it’s spent too long cellaring, while other times it can be quite good. Does not age well in my experience, easily becomes too oxidized. When on form though, relative to other imperial stouts, this is quite a bit more bitter from the roast while still maintaining a somewhat creamy feeling. Very slight sweetness as of a dry dark chocolate. Dry palate seems as though barrel-influenced. To summarize, drink fresh, and it’s good, but no longer the awesomeness that I remember. This score really should be lower, but I can’t bring myself to do that since I know how awesome it can be.
8 4 8 4 16 4.0

Orig. rating: 2-25-07
Incredible roasty nutty aroma with hints of dark fruits. Typical impy stout appearance, near black with thin tan head. A lot going on in the flavor, very roasty, milk chocolate, brandy, prunes, and very noticeable salty/sweet licorice. Terrifically balanced and a little underrated I think.
9 4 9 4 18, 4.4

The aroma is of roasted coffee. The head is creamy and light brown in color, it is mostly diminishing with excellent lacing. The body is black. The initial flavor is sweet and tangy, with hints of coffee, a little dark chocolate. the bitter doesn’t hit until the end of a long finish. The body is medium, the texture creamy and the carbonation aslight lively.

Draft at Capone’s (Norristown, PA) They had an impressive lineup of kegs for "Beer Connoisseur Night" and this was my favorite. Deep Black, with a light brown head. Sweet malty aroma, with some chocolate and coffee. Big roasted malt up front, with some bitterness towards the finish. Medium to full bodied. Delicious!