Pike XXXXX Stout

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

Serve in English pint

65 IBU, 1073 OG
The color is absolute black, with a brownish creamy head on medium size. It has a mild aroma of bread and roasted malt. The body has a good strength, quite round mouthfeel, with a good flavor of roasted malt and dark caramel, the bitterness is a crescendo till the end, very nice; there is a trace of liquorice; long final. Very good, almost Imperial.

Very dark brown color with a full tight bubbled dark tan head. Head lasts and lasts, with a thick web of lacing. Dark caramel and a herbal hops twist. Lightly roasted grains in the background. Grassy to wintergreen hop scents. Somewhat light in the nose, a mild stout to strong brown aroma. Smooth and with a mild silkiness. A touch biting in the finish distracts slightly. Light dark chocolate in the start. Light grapefruit and lemon zest come in as the sweetness in brought into check with a touch of acidity that leads to a moderate dark chocolate bitterness. Linger is long and day with a chocolate nibby bar and mild coffee bitterness. A stout’s stout. It’s all in there somewhere. Nothing amiss, nothing extravagant; just a solid stout.

Thanks to jimbowood for sending this treat my way. Pours very dark brown, close to black, with a good sized dark orange head. The aroma has dark roasted malt with smooth heavy cream, milk chocolate, light licorice and slight veggie. Medium / thick body that is smooth and lush with minor carbonation. The flavor starts with roasted malt that is lightly harsh in a good way. There is also some coffee, hop bitterness, some spice and light cream. Thankfully there is no veggie traits on the taste. The finish has spicy and lightly wood hops added to the mix. A very nice stout.

A decent roasty stout with a nice smokey coffee flavor. Very full-bodied, with a dry finish. I like.

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

UPDATED: JUL 12, 2010 Pike Brewing Company--Pike XXXXX Stout--1997 22 oz. Bottle. 6.50% ABV. (4.0 / 5.0) Pike Brewing Company--Pike XXXXX Stout --1998 12 oz. Bottle. 6.50%. (4.0 / 5.0) Excellent! Pike Brewing Company--Pike XXXXX Stout--1999 12 oz. Bottle. 6.50% ABV. (4.75 / 5.0) Spotted at The Ballard Market 10/10/99. Rich chocolate head with Espresso aroma. Hazy deep dark black color. Creamy chocolate coffee front. Sweet dry creamy chocolate espresso body. Hot hop profile. Sampled 11/1/1999. Pike Brewing Company--Pike XXXXX Stout--Limited Release 2000-2001--2000 12 oz. Bottle. 6.00% ABV. (3.75 / 5.0) Clear dark opaque black color. Tan Espresso head. Thin lace. Espresso roasted mild front.Creamy velvet rich roasted slightly dry body. Creamy end with lingering hopless roasted flavor. Blander Version. Sampled 7/17/2001. Pike Brewing Company--Pike XXXXX Stout--Limited Release 2001-2002--2001 12 oz. Bottle. 6.00% ABV. (4.5 / 5.0) Light sediment. Rich espresso head and lace. Opaque dark thick black color. Rich roasted espresso chocolate mild hop front. Creamy rich sweet roasted chocolate fruit body.Sweet spicy chocolate hop end. Sampled 12/28/2001. Pike Brewing Company--XXXXX Stout 2002-2003 12 oz. Bottle. 6.00% ABV. (4.5 / 5.0) Clear obsidian ebony color. Rich lacy brown head. Sweet floral chocolate hop front. Creamy sweet velvet texture is rich with roasted chocolate cherry espresso notes. Smooth mild earthy hop malt end. Tasty. Sampled 12/30/2002. Pike Brewing Company--Pike XXXXX 5X Stout--2003 12 oz. Bottle. 6.00% ABV. (4.5 / 5.0) Bottle Conditioned sediment. Rich lacy espresso head. Opaque obsidian black color. Rich choc espresso tangy floral hop front.Creamy crusty earthy rich burnt sweet chocolate cherry espresso body. Balanced hop mild citrus end. Sampled 4/5/2004. Pike Brewing Company--Pike XXXXX "5X" Stout 2004-2005 12 oz. Bottle. 6.00% ABV. 50 IBU’s? (4.5 / 5.0) Lacy dark espresso head. Shiny obsidian jet black color. Rich burnt roasted espresso chocolate hoppy front. Creamy crusty burnt biscuit caramel mild sweet cocoa body. Chalky earthy balanced rich hop end. Sampled 11/8/2004. Pike Brewing Company--Pike XXXXX 5X Stout Limited Release 2005-2006--2005 12 oz. Bottle. 6.20% ABV. 45 IBU’s? (4.5 / 5.0) Sediment hint. Lacy espresso head. Opaque dark black color. Rich roasted espresso hop front. Crusty creamy rich burnt toffee caramel espresso mild cocoa dry sweet velvety body. Clean smooth roasted hop end. Sampled 1/9/2006. Pike Brewing Company--"Pike Stout XXXXX ""5X"" Extra Stout"--2006 Release--22 oz. Bottle--6.60% ABV--65 IBU’S. (4.25 / 5.0) Stout--Lacy espresso head. Opaque dead dark color. Burnt sweet chocolate espresso hop front. Sweet burnt drying smoky mild espresso body. Crusty burnt hop spice drying end. Rich brew drys and mellows with warmth. Sampled 12/10/2006. Pike Brewing Company--Pike Stout XXXXX Extra Stout--2009 Release--22 oz. Bottle--7.00% ABV--65 IBU’s. (3.9 / 5.0) Stout--Sediment Hint. Lacy thin dark espresso head. Dark clear obsidian black dark red edge color. Thick pour. Rich burnt roasted espresso earthy hop cocoa hint front. Dry sweet tangy rich burnt espresso mild dark fruit smoke hint crisp malty body. Hot hop spice end. Sampled 2/4/2010. $4.49 Each. Earlier Rating: 1/16/2010 Pike Brewing Company--Pike XXXXX Stout. 7.00% ABV. 60 IBU’s. Lacy espresso head. Rich roasted espresso front. Crusty chocolate Stout body. Crusty hop spice end. (4.0 / 5.0) 5 oz. Taster @ Seattle, WA Pike Pub & Brewery. Sampled 5/9/2010.

Black colour with a tan head. Roasted malty aroma with coffee and chocolate sweet notes and hints of some hops. Coffee bitter flavor with a light earthy note and hints of hops.

Bottle and on tap at Pike: Pours deep black with a light brown head. Mocha, smoke, chocolate and roast in the nose. Full roasty flavor, dark cocoa, espresso, coffee, chocolate and a slightly charred finish - which isn’t ashy. Light caramel sweetness. Full, round and creamy with moderate carbonation. My favorite Pike beer.