Bell's Special Double Cream Stout Review

Name: Bell's Special Double Cream Stout
Style: Stout
ABV: 6.1%

I have yet another winter seasonal courtesy of Bell's Brewing. Since I've been on somewhat of a roll with reviewing stouts, I have taken this opportunity to review Bell's Special Double Cream Stout. I find it a bit odd that they would throw in the name "Double" even though the ABV is only at 6.1% as opposed to something higher. In any case

The beer pours a black color with a red tinge along the edges when held up to a light. The head starts out with a nice foamy look before settling to a more filmy appearance with some pretty good lacing.

The aroma has a nice chocolate and surprisingly strong lactose quality to it. Along with that are notes of roasted barley, and some mild coffee ground notes. It smells almost like someone poured coffee creamer into my beer which is the best way I can describe it.

Flavor-wise, it's pretty heavy on the chocolate and lactose with some notes of whipped cream, sugar and roasted barley and malts. Again, it's like coffee creamer but with some much sweeter notes. As for the aftertaste, it's a mix of sweet cream and roasted barley.

Despite my expectations, the palate is very light in terms of both body and carbonation. With that said, it's also got a very smooth texture which makes this very easy to drink

I have to say that I enjoyed this quite a bit! It may be a little too high in lactose for some, but this is a great beer to try out and an excellent cream stout. I wish Bell's would make this a year-round offering because I would definitely buy this on a regular basis.

Bell's Special Double Cream Stout - 9/10

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

Fitger's Big Boat Oatmeal Stout Review

Name: Fitger's Big Boat Oatmeal Stout
Style: Sweet Stout
ABV: 6.6%

I ought to review something from Duluth for a change and what better place to start than Fitger's Brewhouse. The original brewery was established in 1857 and continued to operate for 115 years before shutting down in 1972. At it's peak, they made over 100,000 barrels of beer in a year, which even by today's craft brew standards is alot!

Then in 1995, the old brewery complex was bought by it's current owners and now houses a hotel, fitness center, bookstore, 2 nightclubs, and a few clothing stores; As well as a couple other places I may have missed. But Fitger's Brewhouse is probably the biggest draw out of all business at the complex because they are known around the country for making some quality beer. On top of that, it's very close to where I live!

For my first in-depth Fitger's Brewhouse review, I decided to review a beer that is on their tapline pretty much year-round and that is their Big Boat Oatmeal Stout.

Big Boat is pitch black with a thin brown head, with light carbonation and no lacing; Giving it a very clean finish.

Roasted barley & oatmeal permeate the nose upfront in addition to some chocolate malts and some mild hoppiness. The flavor is alot more sweeter than roasty with oatmeal, chocolate malts, caramel-toffee sweetness and some mild, but noticeable, hops.

The body is moderate in weight and somewhat thick but the carbonation is very mild which gives it a very nice creamy texture and easy drinkability.

Big Boat Oatmeal Stout is an easy drinking stout with enough vibrancy to make this a very enjoyable beer. If you're ever in Duluth and happen to come upon Fitger's, this is a great beer to get yourself started on.

Fitger's Big Boat Oatmeal Stout - 9/10

Lakefront 25th Anniversary Imperial Stout

Lakefront Brewing just recently celebrated their 25th year of operations and to celebrate, they will be releasing 4 Limited Edition beers in commemoration. The first one, which I will be reviewing today, is an Imperial Stout. The other beers planned are a Bourbon Doppelbock, Saison, and Brandy Barrel-Aged Pumpkin Ale, according to BeerPulse.

It pours a pitch black color with a brown-red colored head. It doesn't really leave behind any lacing and it finishes rather clean.

The nose has a nice aroma of Vanilla, Rum Raisin, Chocolate and Cocoa. Reminds me a bit of Breckenridge Vanilla Porter, but with more Vanilla. Flavor wise, it's very vanilla and chocolate heavy upfront, followed by a rum raisin and cherry notes and has a boozy aftertaste.

The body and carbonation are both fairly light and doesn't really feel like something you'd expect from an Imperial Stout. How one interprets this is a matter of opinion.

So how do I feel about this beer? It's got good, unique and somewhat robust flavor, thanks to the vanilla and cherry flavors but the booziness does hurt the flavor. The body also is a bit watery for this style of beer and feels out of place but that does make it easy to drink. I have had much worse Imperial Stouts than this, but for this particular style of beer it's very in the middle of the road

Lakefront 25th Anniversary Imperial Stout - 7.5/10

Castle Danger George Hunter Stout Review

I mentioned in my previous post that I was in Duluth last weekend visiting my Dad. While I was up there, I picked up a growler from Castle Danger Brewing which is about a 45 minute drive up the North Shore from Duluth proper. Below is their current facility....

It is literally the size of my living room basement

....And yes, it is that small. They will be moving into a bigger facility in Two Harbors to expand production (Which is supposed to happen later this year) and hopefully bring it down to the Twin Cities in the near future.

I've actually had their Nestor Grade Amber Ale as I got it as a Christmas gift and thought it was really good. So I figured I would review the George Hunter Stout, which is named after the owner's Great-Great Grandfather.

To start, it pours a pitch black color with a very dark brown head. It's a beer so dark, I can see my reflection on the glass. The lacing also sticky and abundant.

The nose consists mainly cocoa, roasted malts, chocolate, and hops. Pretty sweet cocoa notes upfront with just a hint of hop bitterness in the back, all of which are over-encompassed by a malt sweetness.

In terms of taste, the sweet milk chocolate and coca hit the palate almost immediately, with the middle possessing an almost caramel-like quality, while the finish is a chocolate-hop bitterness.

The beer itself is both creamy and smooth, thanks to it's light yet thick texture and mild carbonation. This goes down incredibly easy and feels heavenly on the palate.

This is a solid stout. I sincerely hope that Castle Danger is available in the near future in the Twin Cities area because I've been very impressed with the quality of the beers that I've had from them so far. If you are ever going up to the Minnesota North Shore for any reason, please try to stop by and pick up a growler or have it on tap because Castle Danger makes absolutely great beer! And if you get the chance, try this beer out as well!

Castle Danger George Hunter Stout -  9/10