Pike XXXXX Stout

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

Serve in English pint

Bomber. Pours black with just slight ruby glints in the light. The head is sparse and spotty, though really nice lacing is left on the goblet after a swirl. I get baking chocolate, nutshells, hickory smoke, and coffee in the aroma. It seems to be bittersweet and borderline tannic. Yeah, this is rather bitter in the flavor and dry all the way to the finish, though it is clean. The bitterness comes across with lots of wooden flavors and suggestions of cacao and espresso. Very little sweetness is present. . .maybe some licorice in the finish. This is one dry stout and remarkably balanced and drinkable at that. Pretty well put together, if I do say so myself.

22oz bottle, courtesy of a trade from a while ago. Thanks! Pours a dense, dark chocolate-brown color; dark tan head with solid retention and fine-bubbled lacing. Lots of cocoa, dark chocolate, and roasted / charred malts in the aroma; dense and chewy without being overly sweet. Medium-to-full mouthfeel: lots of chewy milk chocolate and cocoa; solid malt core with a lot of complexity (nougat, caramel, dried fruits even); maintains its dryness pretty well throughout; hard to imagine drinking a ton of this, but I just ate a ton of Chinese food, so it’s hard to say. Lengthy, dark chocolate and roasted malts and cocoa in the finish; sweeter than elsewhere.

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].

22 oz bottle. Near black with a spongy tan head. Nose is cocoa, molasses, espresso and raisin. Mmmm. Body a bit thin but develops some richness. Faint carb. Taste is dark roast and chocolate caramel. Coffee bean finish with grapefruit.

Bottle, dark aroma of tobacco, leather and raisins, pours very dark opaque bblack with a small tan head. Nice light carbonation, some sweetness, balanced against a nice roast and hops combination. Slightly slick on the tonge. Its quite nice, very drinkable a tsty stout.

From a bottle poured black with a small amount of head. Strongtoasted malty flavor with a lingering coffee finish.

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.

Tap at GABF 2007 Aroma is chocolate goodness. Taste is sweet fruit, chocolate, citrus hop bitterness. Complex and very solid.