A beer post for #Beersaturday. It's been a while for me but I'm glad to be back for another round of beer.
Something that I missed in France while I was there were Stout beers. They were hard to find in the country and there weren't many to choose from. Now that I'm back in Canada though I have a pretty decent selection at my fingertips, so here are a few that I've tried over the past few weeks, starting with my favorite of the group.
Mill St. Cobblestone Organic Stout
Mill Street started out as a micro brewery in Toronto Ontario. However, since then it has gone the way of most small breweries in the world and has been bought out by Anheuser-Busch, the brewing conglomerate that owns many of the premium domestic brands on the market like Budweiser, Corona and stella Artois, just to name a few.
But I still remember when the brewery was small and I had been there several times back in the day when I lived in the city and ling before the buy out. I even still have the glass after all these years.
I'm happy to say that this particular beer that they produce is still quite good.
Name: Cobblestone Organic Stout
Style: Irish Stout (Ale)
Abv: 4.2%
Marketing: Simplistic design with a sort of rustic farm look.
Color: Opaque black liquid with a sturdy and creamy mocha colored head. Nitrogen produced Microbubbles.
Nose: Roasted malt. Some leather notes coming through in the background.
Taste: Mildly sour with a long lasting bitter finish.
Texture: Velvety texture underneath sharp bubbles. Not watery at all, like Guinness Draught.
All around very good beer.
Cowbell Draught Nitro Stout
Style: American Stout (ale)
Abv: 4.2%
IBU: 20
Marketing: Simple, "action" or maybe "comic" sort of art style.
Color: Black in color with a tan colored head. Loosely packed micro bubbles, unlike Guinness or Mill Street Cobblestone Stout, not as thick and creamy and rich.
Nose: light chocolate notes with some leather in the background.
Taste: Slightly dry, with not a lot of sweetness. Not much bitterness. Well balanced. Strong chocolate in the background, some cocoa, and some lingering roasted flavor in the finish.
Texture: Sharp on the tip of the tongue but with a velvety smooth mouthful. A noticeable weightiness on the tongue.
Sawdust City Brewing Company: Skinny Dippin' Stout
Style: Oatmeal Stout
Abv: 5.5%
IBU: 35
Hops: Magnum
Yeast: California Ale
Marketing: Colorful and cartoon-ish artwork. Catchy and fun name.
Color: Black with a thin tan head.
Nose: Some roasted notes but very subtle. Subtle milk chocolate.
Taste: Very mild Taste, some mild roasting notes with a short lasting bitterness. Dry. Some very subtle milk chocolate in the background after the temperature increases a little.
Texture: Crisp and sharp bubbles that hit the front and sides of the tongue. A dry feel. Not as smooth as I would expect from an oatmeal Stout, though it did get a little more silky after I let it sit a little and warm up to room temperature.
The company markets this beer as a velvety smooth beer that's crammed to the brim with chocolate flavor...
In truth though, I'd say that there is really not a lot going on with it. It's pleasant to drink but doesn't have much flavor at all. I get very little of the chocolatey notes that it claims but if it weren't for the color I might not even know that it was a Stout really. The texture isn't velvety either, it's more sharp and crisp and dry. If it was marketed as a dry Stout I would have been more pleased by it.
My least favorite of the three.