I'll admit I was wrong

Recently in a post I stated that Imperials and stouts (or the combination) were not my styles of beer. Well, I can scratch stouts off the list. I think for the longest time I associated stouts with the most famous one, Guinness. I was never a fan of Guinness (although maybe I need to re-evaluate) partly because it always felt like a meal for me to drink. Well following my visit to Town Hall Brewery and having their Black H20 Oatmeal Stout, I thought I needed to revisit stouts. I like porters a lot and there isn't a huge difference between the two, plus I never thought I'd like porters.

So on a recent visit to my liquor store, I picked up a bottle of Rogue's Shakespeare Stout. Well... this was a great beer. Roasty and chocolately with a nice smooth finish and a hint of hoppiness. I thought, damn, maybe I should open my mind some more. So, today after buying the ingredients for The Gringo at Northern Brewer, I stopped at a really good liquor store on my way home and picked up a mixed sixer and two bombers. In the "make your own" sixer I put Bell's Java Stout and also bought a bomber of Lion Stout.
Here are my impressions:

Bell's Java Stout pours black with a two finger tan head. It has a great roastiness right off the bat with a dry finish. The body is really creamy and the coffee gives it an interesting aftertaste. I think it makes it a bit bitter, but definitely gives it a unique finish. I thought this was a good beer, and one I'd probably buy again if I found it in another "mix your own sixer" but probably wouldn't go so far as to buy a six pack of just the stout.


Lion Stout- This is a Sri Lankan beer that weighs in at a hefty 8.0% abv. This beer pours jet black with a foamy tan head. Heavy coffee and chocolate aromas. The beer is quite creamy with a nice chocolaty-roasty flavor. There is a slight coffee presence and a some of that alcohol "heat." My first impression was that it was good, but the more I drank it, the more I enjoyed it (that could be the 8% abv!) . It was $2.99 for a 22oz, so at that price, it's a bargain. I would definitely buy this beer again.

So...there you have it. Actually this is one of the best things about beer, finding something (or a style) that you think you wouldn't like, but do. I am going to sample some more stouts, so I'll take suggestions please. I think my spring 3 gallon experimental is going to be an oatmeal stout, but I'm still formulating the recipe.

Salud!
The Bearded Brewer