Pike XXXXX Stout

Brewed by Pike Pub & Brewery
Style: Stout
Seattle, Washington USA

Serve in English pint

Draft at Pke Pub & Brewery, Seattle, WA. Tan head that was mostly lasting with absolutely beautiful lacing, opaque, no visible carbonation, and a black hue. Nose was roasty, coffee, some smokey notes, malty. Flavor was roasty, coffee, lightly smokey, and lightly bitter. Mouthfeel was smooth and somewhat thin. Light-medium bodied. Needs a little more body to it to be a true stout IMO. Quaffable, easy drinking and worthy of a try.

This was quite the surprise, forgein stouts are gaining steam .. . great mouth feel .. great tar and roast aromas.. . simple yet enjoyable .. . nice lacing .. . The Snozzberries taste like Snozzberries.

Shipped to me by my wife on a trip to Portland. Sampled from a 22 oz brown bottle this beer poured thick, black and oily iwth a small foamy brown head that lingered and produced good lacing. The aroma was strong chocolate syrup, licorice, floral hops and a touch of port wine. The flavor was dry, bitter and roasty with notes of licorice, port wine and floral hops and undertones of cocoa and wood. The finish was long iwth licorice, cocoa and floral hops lingering. Thick and creamy body. Interesteing.

Bottle. Pours a deep, dark black with a beige head. Aroma is slight chocolate coffee bean. Flavor is bitter chocolate and powdered chocolate coffee bean. Nice, full mouthfeel. Very enjoyable stout.

Had just about all the qualities I look for in a stout. REAL tasty!

Tap @ brewpub. Dark brown appearance with a brown head. Roasty, espresso, somewhat nutty, dark malty nose. Creamy mouth feel. Somewhat bitter roasty, espresso flavor. Pretty tasty.

A solid pour produces a cresting, almost four-finger thick, rich, creamed chocolate brown colored head in my 25cl tulip glass. The head leaves lots of sticky lacing as it slowly recedes. The beer is just about perfectly black and doesn’t pass any light no matter how close I hold it up to my desk lamp. Sharply acidic roast notes mix with a rich cocoa aroma up front. Other aromatic notes of salty smoked peat, burnt toffee, a rich toasted grain base, a concentrated cocoa note and an almost meaty rich malt driven note that I can’t quite pinpoint (lots of Maillard browning and an umami effect), but it really boosts the richness of the aroma and provides a substantial foil to the up front burnt acidity.

Lightly sweet, but significantly rich, towards the middle the roast malt provides an acidity and dry burnt flavor that almost drowns out the malt sweetness, but in the finish the malt sweetness makes a comeback. Ultimately this beer finishes dry as a sharp, softly acid, burnt bitter roast character is what ends up lingering on the palate. Burnt, dark chocolate notes envelope the tongue for a time as the malt sweetness lingers and this beer has a certain velvet-like texture that helps boost the chocolate notes as well. This really is pretty thick and rich (especially for a beer of 6.6% abv), it is quite chewy, though the burnt, acidic, slightly acrid, roast malt definitely cuts through the richness a fair amount. Lingering in the finish is also a significant hop bitterness that couples with the roast bitterness. As the beer warms I begin to notice an almost salty, smoky character to this beer.

Despite being so roast dominated (and by this I mean the sharper, harsher notes), I am really enjoying this beer, there is enough other rich, offsetting / balancing flavors that this beer is just quite enjoyable. Just a fantastic, rich, stout that isn’t too strong; in fact it is much richer than its alcohol might suggest and this is actually quite nice.

Purchased: Liquid Solutions

Long finish, reasonable balance on a deep-roasted stout, avoiding going too far with the suggestion of tobacco or celery seed--notes I pick up a bit here. Not especially rich. (on tap at brewpub)