Great Lakes Blackout Stout

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

350 ml bottle mail order from Archerliquor. Blak with fizzy tan head. Aroma of chocolate, alcohol, and a pungent earthy spice that I can’t quite place. Chocolate covered fruit taste with a slight bitterness.

Bottle courtesy of Jdoolin : Poured a deep black color stout with a nice foamy head with great retention and lacing. Aroma of chocolate and coffee malt is well balance with a medium hoppy finish. Taste is really well balance between chocolate malt, some dry roasted malt and a medium bitter finish. Body was quite full with some adequate carbonation. Overall, I thought this was well done and alcohol was not perceptible. I might have lack some complexity but it was still quite enjoyable.

Pours a dark black color with a chocolate brown head, but weak lacing. Aroma of strong chocolate, some coffee, some dark fruits, not a lot of roastedness. Flavor was of dry cocoa beans, vinous notes, and some coffee. Interesting, ends bitter, but completely lacking hops. Significant carbonation but not a thick mouthfeel. I’d age this before going back, a little undeveloped.

Liquid Sunshine VII Tasting – Kirkland, WA
Aroma: Big dark malt with coffee and chocolate aromas.
Appearance: Dark Black in color, clear with a thin head.
Flavor: Big flavor this was a strong stout had a great chocolate and velvet flavoring.
Palate: Nice Finish, with a Good Mouthfeel.
Overall: A very nice Impy Stout.

Poours with a black body topped by a thin to medium thick head with some lacing. It’s slighlty sweet and malty with a good amount of roasted coffee and chocolate notes, as well as, a slight fruitiness. Full bodied, tingly on the tongue and warming.

Pours an extremely dark mahogany body that passes for black in all but the brightest of rooms. A large, foamy tan head settles slowly to a 1mm film, leaving behind a varied stratification of patchy lacing. The aroma shows huge anise notes up front, with seemingly every form of chocolate represented. Licorice and subtle hints of soy sauce follow, as does smooth oatmeal and a hint of coffee liquor. The flavor is equally complex. Sweet, syrupy dark chocolate comes to the forefront, followed by waves of whipped chocolate truffles, heavy cream, smoky anise, and strong, earthy hops. Very deep and roasty, with plenty of dark, savory fruits. The palate is just shy of full bodied, with a great deal of the body coming from the high sugar content. Very smooth and velvety, but slightly cloying and sticky and the same time. Finishes ultra long, roasty and bitter. Awesome brew. Very similar to Victory Storm King. I can’t wait to try the barrel aged version.

12oz bottle from 05, i believe about 18months old now. pours a pitch black black with tan head. aroma seems to have faded since fresh with mild sweet chocolate notes. flavor is very balanced for an impy, hops take a back seat with age, but chocolate and coffee notes seem to have faded instead of come more forward. i liked this at 12 months but it seems to only go downhill from there. will rerate a fresh bottle.6/4/6/3/14=3.3..

7/27/07, fresher bottle, pours black with khaki head. nose very roasty and coffee with milk aroma. flavor is roasty, coffee, slightly soured, grainy, some dark fruits. lacks a real chocolate presence. carb is almost fizzy, body a tad thin. tasty but over rated and really a run of the mill impy.3.6.

3/9/08, on tap at the maproom, its been awhile since i’ve had this and i’ve never had it on tap so why not. i re-discovered why this is a run of the mill imperial stout, okay, perhaps above average comparatively, but really nothing special. the nose offered nothing of interested, flavor rather roasty with mild chocolate and dark fruit notes. i think this is one of those beers that was always pretty good but nowadays struggles against stiffer competition. 6/4/7/4/14=3.5.

Bottle; from Walnut Liquorette in Walnut, CA. Poured a dark brown, with slightly creamy, light brown head. Aroma was very good, of chocolate, vanilla, roasted malt, coffee and licorice. Alcohol well hidden. Substantial roasted malt/coffee flavor. Hints of chocolate, vanilla, licorice. Complex and subtle flavors. Medium to full bodied; average to below average palate for the style. Really liked this one.