Shorts Smugglin Plumbs Sweet Stout

on tap at hopcat. pours black with beige head..aroma of heavily roasted malts, chocolate, smoke, and toast..ditto on the flavor with hints of prune, raison, and dark fruit..

on tap at HopCat. pours black with tan head. aroma of plums and chocolate. flavor of plums, chocolate, and roast. nice plum skin finish, full mouth feel. very drinkable, not overly sweet or fruity. the use of plums is perfectly executed. probably the best fruit stout i’ve ever had.

On tap at HopCat and served in an English pint glass. This stout poured a slick, oily black with a thin head of dark tan bubbles that hung around for a bit. Some spotty lacing was left behind. The aroma of the beer was made up of heavily roasted malts, light plumbs, and some chocolate. The flavor was similar, with a healthy dose of sweet plumbs coming in to play. Chocolate covered plumbs...tasty! The mouthfeel was medium-bodied and creamy smooth with light, soft carbonation. A really nicely crafted stout. Fruity and highly drinkable.

On tap at the brew pub. Dark dark brown to black but not impenetrable with almost no head. Light tan ring. Dry nose, bigger roast and prunes along with some slight soy sauce. Full creamy mouth. Light, not overly carbonated. Dry dark roast acidity over dark fruit. Fruity! Very dry and nondistinct on the plum, though a bit pops out midway through with some small diacetyl. Lingering fruity roast. Fun beer.

On tap at the brewpub. Ruby fringed black pours, with a sparse rocky coffee and cream head. Noses in delightful deep roast and dark fruit. A little bit of coffee leaks in there. Unique flavor profile. Really smoky, densely roasted and not all that fruity. I get a bit of watery peach skin, but not much plum. A touch of salt and oak. Not really working that well for me. A bit watery. Light fruit. Unbalanced roast and underfermented sweetness. Some distant plum brandy sugars carry a little complexity, but it doesn’t quite work for me.