Dick’s Cream Stout

First beer of the tasting at Malt & Vine yesterday was Dick’s Cream Stout.  Let me tell you, this is one fine specimen of the stout species.  It is on nitros, so that may be playing with it a bit, but I think this ranks right up there with the Ten Fidy from Oscar Blues. 

A good nitros head and a smell of toastedness and smooth, smooth chocolate assaulted both taste buds and nostrils as this one quickly got drained.  This is a dark beer that doesn’t pack a huge ABV punch, but it is super-tasty.  It lives up to the “smooth” in its name unlike many others we have had the chance to review.

I wanted to buy some but they were out… next time, this will make my list.

JBB6 Rating: Will Buy Again

Samuel Adams Cream Stout

Samuel Adams first showing on the blog was well received, so I had high hopes of the follow up that was purchased in Idaho today…  Samuel Adams Cream Stout came through for some but not others, but came through for who counts, which is the person writing this blog, so they are ok.

We were definitely using the wrong glass, but despite that, this beer shined among the others we had tasted during the last couple of days.  A good, dark, heady-grey foam came to the top and settled in as we passed the brew around.  The first several tastes from the more experienced beer-drinkers around the kitchen all had relatively positive results.  Then, though, we came to somewhat of a dark beer virgin and, well, a picture does happen to tell a thousand words in this case:

Needless to say, that isn’t a fake… it is truly a pretty amazing bitter beer face caught directly on camera.

For the rest of us, though, the dark smoky-smooth flavor and the use of the chocolate and caramel malts really brought this one home.  The best part, IMO, was the fact that it wasn’t too heavy… it didn’t way me down and I really wish I would have bought 6 of these instead of 6 of the Wild Blue Blueberry Lagers… ah well.

JBB6 Rating: Will Buy Again