Saranac Black and Tan

More than half the year is over already and it's officially Summer, which means the Fall brews are just around the corner. Normally, I would focus more on summer brews but I have had this post half written for a while. One of the nicest things about warm weather in New York City is that this place is really meant for walking. Most of the fun stuff is really discovering new places to hang out and new places to try new foods. As always, any place that serves a bit of good food usually has a good list of beers to go with it.

The first time I had one of these, I was in a very crowded restaurant that was known for its greasy greasy burgers. I lacked a camera on me and my hands were pretty grimey to get a cellphone picture of this. I remembered this beer and remembered the brewing company that I ended up buying the Saranac variety sampler to try their regular offerings. I'm a big fan of lightweight stouts like Guinness because the dark color and the weight fools you into thinking that it would this heavy bitter mess, but it's not. I've tried other stouts that were heavy, bitter, and some were downright foul tasting. This one is not any of those things, it's got the perfect balance of weight, bitterness, and carbonation to make it easily one of my favorites for the category. This is something I'd pick up regularly if I could find it near home without making a trek to specialty shops to pick it up.

Brooklyn Black Chocolate Stout

Before the Winter is done for, I'd have to put this up and write a bit about it. I'm a big fan of Brooklyn brews not only because they're local, but they're different in taste than a lot of other beers I've come across. The Black Chocolate Stout pours out dark like ink, like a hefty stout, and I could smell the burnt and roasted chocolate grits just by hovering over the glass. Unfortunately, that burnt smell is what it tastes like: bitter with obvious hints of burnt bits. I really wanted to like this, but it just wasn't very good to drink more than a few sips of. As for acquiring that taste for it, I just couldn't, half a glass later, it was still not palatable. Unless someone likes espresso flavored beer, this isn't something I'd recommend trying.

Young's Double Chocolate Stout

I've seen this bottle many times over but was not a big chocolate fan, well, not enough to drink over a pint of it. I settled on getting one as a dessert type of beer and I think dessert would have been an understatement. This beer is thick and creamy, like there was a chocolate bar blended right into it. There is no bitterness in this one, it goes down easy, and there's no gritty aftertaste. I could easily say this was a full on meal and if it was socially acceptable, you can trade this for a Nutrament drink. Young's isn't domestic but I've seen it pretty frequently in a lot of stores, it's worth trying for chocolate fans.

Butternuts Farmhouse Ale Moo Thunder Stout

I bought a Butternuts variety pack a few weeks back and slowly went through each wacky labeled one. I was a bit surprised a small brewery pushed their product in cans. I'm not biased against beer in cans, but I wouldn't be happy if it arrived in a plastic bottle. I had to try the stout first, partly because I liked the whole happy cow plastered in the front. What does Moo Thunder taste like? I'd have to say it's pretty thin, but in a good way, and I wasn't hit with the sour and bitter at once. Overall, it was a mild one that could have used perhaps a plastic widget to keep the bubbles going. This would probably be great on tap with more carbonation.

Butternuts is from New York, but I'm sure it's possible to find the variety pack in stores along the east coast.

St. Peter's Cream Stout

After trying one St. Peter's brew, I had to go ahead and try another. I'm a stout fan so I immediately gravitated towards this. Maybe I got a skunked bottle, but this was absolutely terrible in bitterness, dull flavor and being barely carbonated. I can equate this to a black cup of Starbucks coffee, room temperature and sitting around for an hour. Needless to say, I couldn't stomach the whole thing to acquire any taste for it and ended up pouring it down the drain. I haven't given up on St. Peter's in general since I liked the English Ale so much.

Samuel Smith's Imperial Stout

Samuel Smith brews originated from England and probably still uses the original label. I chose the Imperial Stout because I'm a general fan of stouts. This one was bitter, burnt, barely carbonated and it took half a glass to acquire somewhat of a taste for it. There's quite a bit of alcohol in this one which makes it not too easy to drink. It's unlikely I'll buy another one of these just based on taste.

Rogue Shakespear Stout

This is my first Rogue branded beer and I was drawn to it by its label. The real reason it made it to the checkout line with me is the part that says "Stout". I'm a fan of stouts and though many variations of it can be quite bitter and maybe even unbearable, there are some definite gems to be found. This one is no different, it's heavy in alcohol and more on the bitter side, but does taste pretty good. The nice things about these beers is they're for sipping and not so much gulping, and there's plenty in the tall bottle to share.

Murphy's Stout

I'm not a globetrotter, so Murphy's is new to me since it's not imported commonly like Guinness. Nothing bad to say about it, it's very consistent to Guinness in weight, texture and taste. Since it costs more being an uncommon import, it's cheaper to stick with the regular Guinness.