Mad River Steelhead Extra Stout

Brewed by Mad River Brewery
Style: Stout
Blue Lake, California USA

Bottle from VBS off 52 in W.Lafayette, shared with Brother Eric. Pours a shiny pitch black with creamy tan head. Nose brings brown sugar, molasses and dark fruit, very appealing. Flavor packs dark malt, bitterness, smooth/creaminess, very roasty and slightly nutty with hints of chocolate. I didn’t have high expectations for this, but this one turned out very complex and more than met any expectations I was harboring.

Serving: 12 oz. bottle. This jet black monster pours thick with a dense but active brown head. Good head retention. The nose is powerful with notes of walnuts, roasted malt, molasses, flint, and earth. Earthy and sweet. The flavor is mellow with nice roasted notes, flint, dark caramel, a bit of raisin,a slight vinous note, and a touch of bitter chocolate. This stout is really nice. The mouthfeel is rich, but not cloyingly so. It is a tad chalky and has a bit of dryness on the palate. This is a great example of a stout that isn’t over roasted, burnt or bogged down with coffee. Definitely give this brew a try!

pours jet black with no head. nose is great, sweet, chocolate, raisins. this is a fantastic beer, got it as a gift. it has a chewiness to it but it is also a little rought around the edges. somewhat malty with a good deal of bitterness at the end. maybe a little overcarbonated but unbelievable.

12oz bottle. Looks properly stoutish (black) and opaque with a medium cocoa froth head that had decent retention. The aroma strikes me as very malty, almost running when whole spectrum from breadcrust, through caramel and toasty chocolate malt, to roasty black malt and a touch of cherry fruitiness. The flavor is sweet with lots of milky chocolate, toasty grain, caramel, and some ashy-bitter roasted malt countering the rest. Just a touch of hop character, but very malt heavy in balance. Medium-full body with an almost chewy texture and slight chalkiness. Almost maxing out on robustness for a regular stout, and a pretty tasty one as well, with my only reservations being a little uncomfortable ashiness in the flavor and slight chalky astringency in the mouthfeel. Both don’t really take much away though, and i would gladly give this one another go.

12oz bottle from BevMo. Pours a deep brown / black, fairly viscous with a frothy tan head. Some black cherry in the nose as well as cocoa dust, coffee grounds and faint hops. Flavor starts with dried dark fruits, followed by bittersweet chocolate and coffee.

Wonderfully decadent, lacking the harshness of some extra stouts. A rich, toasty flavor. Only flaw is a lackluster aroma. One of the best beers of this style.

Poured motor-oil black into a pint glass with a 2 finger head. A very hearty beer, the malts give it a robust chocolaty flavor! The chocolate was a bit overwhelming at first but as i make my way into the beer I’m finding i like it more and more.

POrs deep black with a very fine head. Notes of light coffee and licorice on the nose. Flavors of dry malts that show coffee and cocoa. It drinks rather smooth. The finish is long a dry showing off the same notes of the palate.