Rock Bottom Chicago Terminal Dry Stout

**On tap at GTMW as WBCG Dry-Hopped Stout. Not 100% sure this is the proper alias.** Poured black with a large, creamy cap of deep brown head that settled on there perfectly. The aroma picked up toasty semi-sweet chocolate and caramel paired with coffee grounds and vanilla-ey notes.. great! The flavor had coffee bitterness on a bed of fine dark chocolates.. dry finish picked up a touch of vanilla.. quite refreshing! Light-medium bodied and well-balanced on the palate.. higher bitterness played well, but there may have been a hair too much. I could drink this all day.

Original Rate -- Nitro pour at RB Chicago. Deep brown pour with a tall, thick, creamy, and well-retained beige head. Lightly-roasted chocolate with a ’nitroey’ feel in the flavor... but really nothing else going on. Dry chocolate, light coffee roast, and a medium bitterness on the edges in the flavor... again not exciting or complex by any means. Light mouthfeel and somewhat grainy. Dry finish as advertised. Nothin’ here makes me wanna go back for more. 5 4 5 2 10 (2.6)

This is a nice effort - typically microbrew thin, but solid roasted barley flavour.

Deep brown with a thick, tight layer of brown foam. Nitro-pour? The aroma is subtle, light and smooth. Definite malt leanings with conspicuous amounts of roasted malt proffering notes of burnt toast, coffee, smoke and a bit of sweet caramel. The hops are mellow and subserviant, allowing the stronger malt through. The body is smooth and creamy, though light and lacking substance. The flavors are pretty good, though lacking true depth. The malts are dominate and offer mostly roasted elements with just a bit of sweetness. The hops compliment the present bitterness and give it another layer. Weak and unassuming, the finish is less than satisfactory. I’m not positive, but a lot of signs point toward a nitro pour. This isn’t surprising because everyone wants Guinness on St. Patty’s, but still disappointing because there’s probably an even more solid beer underneath.

Draught (likely nitro), 2005 version: fairly opaque dark chocolate body with a strong, tight, light brown cream on top…toasty aroma combining charred fire wood, roasted nuts, spent coffee grinds, and a whisper of fresh hop pellets. Smooth, creamy mouth feel that slides right through the mouth without leaving any residue or much flavour; just a bit of roasted flavours that match the aroma, but then nothing…hmmm, I can’t help but think that I am missing something, but I can’t put my finger on it. I’d try it again, but just to see if I can find the thing I missing…

Nitro... DLD’08... Black ale with a mid-sized, creamy, everlasting, light brown head. The black malts impart notes of coffee, dark chocolate and acrid smoke (“...and horse’s breath...” ;-)). Medium-bodied and creamy with feather-soft carbonation. It’s supposed to be a Guinness clone and they pull it off, only with better balance. Essences of dark roast coffee, carbon and cocoa, but a touch thin. Finishes lightly bitter and lifeless. The nitro really sucks this one dry... figuratively, of course.