Summit Rebellion Stout Review

Name: Summit Rebellion Stout
Style: Foreign Stout
ABV: 8.5%

Last year, Summit Brewing announced they were giving their brand and lineup a redesign overhaul. Amongst those changes aside from the label changes was the introduction of the Union Series, a new lineup of beers that features hops, malts and other ingredients that are new to the craft beer industry.

Their first effort in the Union Series was a Belgian Style Session Ale, which I thought was pretty good all things considered. For their newest entry, they have shifted their focus from light to dark and heavy with their Rebellion Stout, which is classified as a Foreign Stout. The most popular Foreign Stout I know of is Guinness Stout and pretty much every beer drinker knows of Guinness. Another thing to point out is that this is Summit's strongest beer to date in terms of ABV, which clocks in at 8.5%.

Rebellion Stout pours a pitch black color with a brown thin filmy head. There is a mild amount of carbonation visible on the edge of the glass and it leaves behind some decent lacing.

I'm getting a strong aroma of chocolate malts mixed in with some hops. On the back of the nose is also some roasted barley, hints of caramel and light coffee.

The flavor is pretty roasty upfront thanks in part to the chocolate barley but I'm also getting caramel notes and a rather strong resin-hoppy taste in here too. The aftertaste is mainly coffee and hints of dark chocolate, so it's a rather roasty stout.

As expected, the body has some considerable weight behind it and also some moderate carbonation as well. Normally this wouldn't be a big sticking point but I can't help but feel the carbonation should be more subdued than it is when you consider the flavor and style. Call me picky but I found this to be a lot smoother on tap than in a bottle.

Despite my criticisms, this is an excellent beer that you should try out especially if you can get it on draft. Even if you get it in a bottle, I would still highly recommend checking this out.

Summit Rebellion Stout - 8.5/10