Additional holiday tasting notes include St. Peter’s Cream Stout and Avery’s Mephistopheles Stout.

Starting with the Cream Stout -

Things start out on a good foot, with 16.9oz instead of 12oz. But that’s just sizing. The taste is a bit interesting being a milk stout. It reminds me of a very weak latte with a disproportionate amount of heavy creme. Almost as if the barista put in half of the recommended amount of grinds, and used a very mild breakfast blend. There is a mild bitter flavor overlay, slightly more bitter than the Obsidian Stout from Deschutes. Like the Obsidian Stout, it has a decent, lingering finish.

Next, the Mephistopheles Stout from Avery-

Ok, if you’re looking for bitter, this is the stop. The Mephistopheles is an exercise in bitter. The initial taste is bitter. The finish is bitter.

Spitzer’s Bitter Beer FaceOnce you get past the bitterness, there’s a range of flavors. There are notes of berries - dark berries like raspberry, blueberry, blackberry, etc. There is also a sweet flavor, much like black licorice or anise compounded by raw sugar. The sweetness of the berries and licorice stays through the finish, where there’s a hint of frosting, like vanilla frosting. Bitter vanilla frosting.

Overall, the Cream Stout is a great beverage, and would likely pair well with any carb-laden meal. Mashed potatoes with cheese, dinner pancakes, etc. The Mephistopheles is exceptionally complex, with great sweet notes. But the bitterness overpowers it, making it outside of my preferred palate.

Obsidian Stout is a year round brew from Descutes Brewery. From Deschute’s website:
“Obsidian Stout gets its inspiration from one of the world’s largest obsidian flows at Newberry Volcano–just a few miles south of the brewery. “The Big Obsidian Flow,” as they call it, covers more than 700 acres with shiny black obsidian.”

The tasting notes from the World Beer Awards:
“Black as midnight with a dark head. Deep, black chocolate aroma, wonderfully complex and clean. Hoppy and very bitter in the mouth, a great roasted finish. Sharp and dry. Great balance.”

The tasting notes above are not too far off. I wouldn’t say that the stout is very bitter - the bitterness is mild enough to notice, but not so strong to where it is unenjoyable. There are definite notes of cocoa, and interestingly enough, notes of brown sugar. There are also strong malt and wheat flavors. After the temperature rises a little bit, the malt flavor softens and the viscosity seems to increase. The finish lingers, and leaves a sticky, brown bread flavor behind. This is a very easy-drinking stout.

If the economic rhetoric produced via mass media hasn’t turned you to drinking, maybe the joyous celebration of the holidays will! Either way, choice beverage companies will be bringing in the cash. I intend on doing my part to help.

With that, I stopped by the local (and over-priced) liquor shop today to pick up a few non-standard items. I strayed from my single malt comfort zone and picked up a handful of (hopefully) quality beers. However, I was sure to keep a close tie by picking up a bottle of Ola Dubh Special Reserve 30 (for a meager $17…). This ale is finished in Highland Park 30 YO casks, which should impart an oaky taste. Oddly enough, the tasting notes on the Harviestoun website note this boldly. I say oddly because overly noticeable oak taste is not a desired trait in the whisky. I’ll be sure to return with tasting notes on this.

Below is the list of today’s run:

Deschutes Obsidian Stout
Ommegan 10th Anniversary
Ola Dubh Special Reserve 30
Samuel Adams Chocolate Bock (x2)
Mephistopheles Stout
TenFidy Imperial Stout
St. Peter’s Cream Stout
My plan is to complement the turkey tomorrow with some quality dark beers, and then cling to the bottle while building a Machiavellian philosophy based upon the plights of our current fiscal woes.

 I love the holidays!