Sierra Nevada Stout

B- / 3.3
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | drink: 2.5
Bottle
Room Temp (glass)

Appearance: The Sierra Nevada pours oily black and builds a huge head, by my count three fingers and that was on a regular pour. The brew itself is black and opaque, with some light showing through on the edges which reveals a rich dark clear amber. The medium density almond colored head is a monster and holds fairly well lacing the glass evenly. The head indicates to me that this may well be a heavily carbonated brew.

Smell: The spice of the whole hops hits my nose first followed up with a mild sweetness and rounded out by the malts which are more subdued. This is a nice smelling brew, not to complex and what one would expect from a stout, although some more malts might increase the pleasure of the aroma. Also in keeping with the style there was no discernable alcohol aroma even with the 5.8% abv.

Taste: Just as the aroma started with the spicy hops so does the taste, this is followed by a dark malt taste with an espresso type quality, it finishes hard though bitter and a lingering bitterness on the palate which for me was uncomfortable and decreased my enjoyment. I was hoping this full bodied brew would be more along the lines of a Bison Chocolate Stout or a Guinness Draught with the malty richness but without the harsh bitterness, instead this brew reminds me very much of the Guinness Extra Stout, as such I think if it were presented as an extra stout it would be more fitting but since it is only a stout I find it harsher than it should be. There was however no alcohol taste although once I did feel the burn in my chest.

Mouthfeel: This is a thick full bodied brew with medium carbonation which results in a nice creaminess, the fizz is present but it is not harsh like with the Dogfish Head Chicory Stout. I actually enjoyed the way this rolled in my mouth.

Drinkability: With this stout being akin to the Guinness Extra Stout I found its drinkability on the low end as this is a sipping brew for a certain group of hopheads that enjoy the bitterness and the lingering bitter after-taste, as for me I found myself just wanting to be done with my glass which is a shame. Rename this as an Extra Stout and I think it would be more fitting of the experience in with this particular offering by Sierra Nevada.