Knuckle Dragger (All through 2010)
The Alchemist in Stowe, Vermont, United States 🇺🇸
Stout - Foreign / Extra Regular Out of Production|
Score
7.15
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Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 6 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 8
Notes from March 2009 Belgian Milk Stout according to the chalkboard. Half inch of harshly carbed mocha head, over a dirty brown on black body. Cold, it smells a little like weak French roast. Warming up, I get coffee creamer & cocoa powder, bark, & surprisingly clean yeast(where are the Belgian phenols?). Very mild bitterness, roasted malt flavors minus most of the coffee flavors that tend to go with it(which is a positive for me). Grainy brown sugar, lactose & vanilla wafers; a bit leafy. Finish is a touch lactic, delivering the rest of its roast & most of the alcohol along with it. Good cask potential. Carbonation was on on the high side, but the body still had a great velvet-like feel. The alcohol detracts slightly, but overall, a really nice beer. Availability is really the only serious problem. :)
Appearance - 10 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 8
Draught pint at Redbones on 5/6/06. Dark black, very nearly opaque with a very well-retained light chocolate head that provides ample lacing. Moderate chocolate tones falling off the liquid intertwine gracefully with clean Belgian yeast notes (soft dough, vanilla, marshmallow). Very reserved roast and light prunes provide depth, with succulent malts hidden, waiting to burst forth as it warms. Highly aromatic, especially for a draught beer served out of a shaker. And as it warms, definite sticky fudge comes forth, almost showing a touch of tobacco and crunchy, earthy black malts. It never gets too far dry, however, thanks to the prunes (which sort of share a note with some raisins and/or dates) that sweeten things. Chocolate fudge, woven amongst vanilla and light yeast slowly assuage the palate, while light tinges of bitter chocolate provide an intriguing change of pace, as some minimally crunchy malts show themselves. Just enough to add a little oomph and cut the sweet chocolate and soft vanilla-creme sweetness. All the while, visions of Abbey Dubbels and dark Belgian ales flash through my head. WIth a slight change of malt, this could blend seemlessly in to a true Belgian ale. Very tastefully yeasted, perfect attenuation with low, fairly engaging carbonation. Maybe a light touch of leafy, soily hops, but it is mostly lost amidst the dark malts. Clean, flavorful and quite complex. It dosent seem to have been boiled that long, and that contributes to a drinkable beer, with a lighter palate. When I think of Alvinne Podge imperial, I just think of too much chewy, near-syrupy brown malts building up too heavily on the palate. This concentrates on presentation of flavors, which, ultimately, I think beer should do, without confusing things with a heavy mouthfeel or overly aggressive flavors. No alcohol noted in flavor or aroma.