Pike XXXXX Stout

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

Serve in English pint

Bottle from 2004. Pours with a thin orange colored head. Lots of bubbles stuck to the side of the glass in an otherwise black beer. Aroma is peachy with walnuts, sherry and some anise. The taste is a deep roasted coffee with notes of anise. It also has just a hint of a port wine. The roasted goodness lingers on the palate in a pleasant way. The mouthfeel is silky smooth with a hint of carbonation. A very well done stout that makes me rethink my enjoyment of the big Imperials. Thanks a lot to HeRftYDrF for first suggesting and then sending this in a trade.

Picked up a single 22-oz bomber at Bottleworks in Seattle, Washington. Pours an opaque dark brown brew with a decent tan head that has good retention and lacing. Aroma of dark black malt, some coffee, smoked wood, dark chocolate and a touch of tobacco. Taste is full bodied, very lightly carbonated with flavors of dark chocolate, roasted malt and coffee. Finish is smooth, creamy with a decent coffee and chocolate aftertaste. One of the best over the top stouts.

Courtesy of tpd975. Pours deep darkness with nice mocha head. The aroma is licorice, mild burnt molasses, hints of coffee, chocolate, burnt malts and just a bit of toffee. The taste starts roasty and chocolate and then becomes a bit astringent with roasted malts drying things out. A modest level of sweet dark fruity esters persists in the background. It ends roasty with a hint of chocolate. Very nice.

650ml bottle airborne from Seattle - big thanks to Stefan and Elisabeth for providing this great stout for a beer session in Tromsø. Pitch black body under a brownish, lacing-head. Smell of roasted coffee beans overlaid by moderately sweet malts. Powerful and well balanced taste of dark chocolate, anise, burnt coffee and hops – all added a vanilla touch. Bittersweet ending. Medium to full bodied. IBU 65 [Tromsø, 29.01.2009].

bottle, black pour with very thin brown head, nose is malty fruit, flavors of cocoa, coffee and mostly prunes and raisins, finish is strong and lingering, good stout

Draft. Blackish beer with a thin cocoa-colored head. Malty/roasty aroma. Malty/roasty flavor with some coffee and a bit of residual sweetness. Some bitterness present at end. Full bodied and very smooth.

Draught at brewpub. Pours pitch black with a bit of lacing and a small swiftly dissipating head. Nose is some coffee but not as aromatic as it could be. Decent mouthfeel. Good toasty and black chocolate notes. Smooth and drinkable but falls short of wow for me.

UPDATED: JAN 24, 2010 In short: A superior chocolaty stout with a wide range of supporting flavours. Tasty and refreshing.
How: Bottle 22oz, age unknown but consumed with a week after receiving it from after4ever. Thanks a lot Tom.
The look: Black body with a short-lived tan head
In long: Upfront I found a lot of roastiness and quite a bit of chocolate. There’s a creamy taste/texture, almost lactic, reminding me of chocolate ice cream. Black liquorice joins in with some dark fruits and a very light roasted coffee beans taste. Although the taste has very little coffee, the after-taste had a lot of sweetened black-coffee and chocolate cake. Medium-strong bitterness. I felt a little warming alcohol presence which is surprising for a below 7% stout. Although very tasty, almost aggressive, there’s something about this beer that makes it refreshing even if these are not the usual “refreshing” flavours. I liked it a lot. The annoying thing is that I couldn’t enter my rating from work as usual because I got a “Porn Block” from the firewall because of the XXX in the name. Not only do the network admins see me on ratebeer all day long, now they think I’m a drunk and a pervert. That’s just great.