Wednesday, December 9, 2009

Ridgeway Brewing's Lump of Coal Dark Holiday Stout

Dark? We'll see about that. I'm hoping for a stout that's maybe somewhere close to an RIS, or at least bigger than most straight-up stouts (I'm looking at you, Guinness).

Nope. During the pour is looks like little more than a rauchbier. It's dark, but you can see right through it. It's opaque in the glass though. Thin light tan head that thins further to a collar even faster. Low carbonation is visible at the edges, helping the head evaporate.

Alcohol. That's the first thing I smell here. Once the head is completely gone that fades to a very vinous deep fruit smell, much like a porter.

Wow, it's like a merlot, without all of the vinegar. The alcohol bite, odd for a beer with only 8% ABV, makes up some of that difference though. So, maybe a strong burgundy? I'm a closeted wine drinker (hell, I can't even tell my friends I drink so many different beers), so I can stand to drink this, but it's a weird beer. It also has a strange feel to it like a flat Coke and has more of a twang than any bitterness. Roasted grain comes out next, mostly in the aftertaste after the wine and twang are gone.

I was thinking about buying Ridgeway's Bad Elf series of beers, but not any more. I'll also skip this one in the future.

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