Great Lakes Blackout Stout

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

Serve in Snifter

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Deep brown, just above solid black. Big time roasted coffee aroma. Creamy. Medium bodied, not very bold. Kinda thin in the palate and one-dimensional. That 1-D bring roasted coffee, so it's still very good.

Bottle, pour is pitch black, notes of espresso, bittersweet chocolate, roasted malts, aroma is floral and fruity, taste was robust with smoked chocolate and coffee, some malt.

An interesting beer, but not one I find occasion to drink too frequently-- it’s kind of like asking someone to punch you as hard as they can, but in a stout kind of way. The aroma is interesting but marred in my opinion by heavy alcohol notes. (It is a very strong beer-- they say it’s named after a power outage, but the name seems otherwise appropriate as well.) It looks very average, and has a mouth feel that is surprisingly carbonated for its pronounced stoutiness-- you would expect something creamier, but it’s very bubbly. Overall, like I say, hugely interesting. . . but just not that drinkable-- very heavy, very strong, and just try to find something to follow this taste bud assault.

Bottle pours black with thin tan head. Aroma coffee, dark fruits, roast. Taste follows aroma with roast and coffee. There is a good deal of bitterness but it never crosses the threshold of becoming unpleasant. Finish prolonged bitter roast. Palate thick and slightly sticky. Good but not great stout.

Serving: 12 oz. bottle from Wegmans Leesburg. It pours damn near pitch black with a short lived tan head. The nose is robust with a little tobacco, roasted malt, flint, and black coffee. The flavor is rich with lots of roasted malt, slight burnt notes, an unusual sweetness, earth, flint, and ash. The bitterness seems to be a mix of earthy hops and roasted malt. Medium to full body with average carbonation leading to a medium to long, bitter finish. A very solid stout.

Pours black with a nice tan foam. Dies down to a thin film with a little lacing. Aroma is expresso, dark chocolates, and some toasted malt. Medium body with good carbonation. Coffee, chocolate, and black malt bitterness finishes with more malt sweetness and chocolate. Hops are not present.

Originally reviewed: 12/23/11. I missed the bottles of this when it was at my local shop, so I was excited to see them put it on tap a couple weeks later. Came out in a Duvel chalice. The nose is very rich and roasty with lots of smoke, burnt toast, cardboard. Dark black pour. Thick tan head. The lace coats the glass beautifully. Where the smoke took top tier in the aroma, it simmers down in the flavor, thankfully. Milk chocolate, roasted coffee, ghost-like smoke on the finish. Woodsy character in this one as well. Can’t place it. Very rich beer. I liked it.

This bottle has an enjoy by date of 08/02/09 making it at least 2 years old! Pours a pitch black opaque body, head is 1 inch and milk chocolate in color. Head retention and lacing are good. Smell is of chalky, chocolate malt balls. Sweet molasses and chocolate syrup are also prevalent. Hops arent present, an aroma of alcohol is very faint. First taste is tons of roasted, charred malts, and some prune. A typical flavor found in most RIS, but this beer has more to offer than that. Dark chocolate and slightly bitter coffee round out the beer. When fresh, hops are apparent in this beer but after acouple years they are almost non existent. Alcohol is present but pretty subtle. Aftertaste is slightly metallic and of oxidation. Mouthfeel is medium bodied and lightly carbonated. Head added some smoothness to the beer. Finish is slightly bitter with some sourness/ soy sauce Overall this beer was good, but a bit past its prime. I’ve had this beer fresh and wasnt a big fan, thought the hops and alcohol were more apparent than to my liking. Tried a year old version of this stout and absolutely loved it, had some taming of the alcohol and bitterness but still packed alot of flavor. After two years, unfortunately I believe the flavors have become a little stale and muted. With that being said, will still always be on the lookout for this beer and hoping that one day it will be distributed to Colorado.

12oz. to chalice, yielding dark cocoa color with modest contrasting tan froth. Dispersal awakens corresponding aroma with coffee roast becoming more prominent. Nice toasted sweet grain with vanilla hints mingle and touch of heat rounds out medium oily body. Closes clean and off dry. Tasty Imp.

On tap served in goblet at MacGregor's Grill & Taproom in Rochester/Henrietta, NY. Opaque brown black with thin creamy film of a head when it arrived. Good lacing. Aroma of roasted coffee and chocolate. Roasted grain and some dark fruit. Taste is much the same with a bit of dark molasses. Chocolate flavor not as strong as in the aroma. More sweet than dry. Full mouthfeel with light carbonation. A big stout. Heavy on the roasted malts, otherwise less than an imperial. A gentle giant, but not a complex one. ---Rated via Beer Buddy for iPhone

Pours a dark black, good sized tan head. Nose is burnt roasted chocolate, rich coffee, some dark fruit, and oily hops. Taste is rich chocolate combine with roasted coffee, currants, and a good bit of hop bitterness in the roasty finish.