Pike XXXXX Stout

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

Serve in English pint

Sampled from 50 deg to 55 deg F.
Pours a deep dark brown color with a dark tan head. The aroma went from intense smokey to a nice raosted coffee bean, bittersweet chocolate, hops bitterness character. The flave was at first intense smokey and woody, and then became more chocolate in character...some hops bite...definite roasted coffee bean tone. The feel was, as the bottle says, velvety, silky smooth. Interesting stout. Very good.

Draught pints at Redbones, 11/7/06 and 12/10/06
Deep, deep raven-black beer is opaque through the middle, but upon settling, and against the light, shows garnet-auburn tints on the edges, with some clarity at the sides. Creamy, beige/light-tan head sits atop the beer, not very much of it, but quite well-retained, providing moderate lacing.
Very interesting bittersweet nose has a cohesive mix of cola, prunes, raisins, brandy, dates, maraschino cherries and moderate roast. It smells fluffy....with vanilla cream notes lingering long on the finish and medium sweet cherry notes really adding a great strength of aroma. Not sure what’s creating the cherry vanilla-like nose, but it’s tastefully done. Some light milk chocolate and very light bakers chocolate give additional balance, while a light, fruity hoppiness emerges with warming. Probably the responsible party for the cherry notes, and sure enough, some light citrus notes emerge as well, over time. But aromatic and juicy are the hops, only lightly done and not bitter in the least. Promising is the aroma.
A combination of chewy, almost caramel-molasses-like consistency, well-placed jabs of dry roast and then a softly sweet cherry vanilla flavor certainly pleases. Very well balanced, though tending somewhat sweet, the initial chocolate-caramel-vanilla flavors evolve in to a vast sea of dark fruits. Raisins, prunes, dates, cherries...A faint bit of tartness, be it dark malt or lacto induced helps nip the sweetness and the finish ends with a toned-down roastiness, that incorporates more light chocolate and a touch of leafy, juicy hops. This beer is all about warming. Though it’s good cool, the complexities that emerge as it breathes/warms are just plain impressive. All the interesting, unique flavors of a foreign stout, even something like De Dolle’s, but with plenty more chocolate, light hops and vanilla creaminess bringing back in to the American realm. None of the sugary sweetness of a foreign stout and more complexity than your usual oatmeal or standard brewpub stout. No alcohol noted in aroma or flavor. Fairly engaging carbonation is low to moderate, fitting the bill aptly.

On tap at the brewery. Black mud. Brown head. Dark roast aroma. Thick black coffee stout. Very black. Very good.

Almost black pour. Smoke,roast and chocolate aroma. Flavor is very roasty with coffer,chocoate and smoke.

On tap at Pike brewery. Pours dark brown hue with a tanned, thick head and much lacing. Aroma is of espresso, roasted, malt and some dark fruit. Medium, smooth body. Coffee, dark fruit, toasted malt and earthy hops fill the mouth. Quite complex, well done stout.

A dark black beer with a nice foamy 1 finger tan head. Aroma of roasted burnt malt, & coffee. Taste was roasty, dark chocolate, bitter coffee, & slightly creamy. It said extra stout on the bottle. What is an extra stout? Halfway between a sout & Imp. Stout. By the looks & taste of it, it does taste like it is halfway between both a stout & Imp. Stout.

22 oz. bottle- Pours almost pitch black with a tan head that settles to a rim around the glass, the aroma has chocolate malt and some caramel or sweet sugar. The flavor is robust roasted coffee, some smoke and chocolate, then a mild bitterness lingers after the swallow. I don’t know why but I didn’t think this was going to be that great, just a run of the mill stout, but this is a very complex and flavorful stout. Creamy mouthfeel, this almost tastes like a sweet stout, like it has lactose sugars or something added, good beer.

I had this on tap at the Pike Brewery while on vacation in Seattle. Very chocolatey and nutty, black frothy head, full bodied, very good. Nuff said!