|
Searching for big daddy of beers? Go to the dark side! |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Written by Knight Ridder
|
|
Wednesday, 03 May 2006 |
|
|
|
|
For years, stout seemed more like work than enjoyment to me.
I was always put off by the blackish-brown color, the heavy mouth feel of this style of beer — originally, as the strongest of Britain’s once-popular porters, known as stout porter.
When I visited Ulster and the Irish Republic in 1971, stouts were served at room temperature; years later, when I tried them again in Africa, they were served even warmer.
Finally, after graduating from German lagers to Belgian ales, and then to ever-weightier brews, I felt I was ready to try stout again.
It took a while. For me, the style was an acquired taste. Now, however, when I find a good one, it’s worth all the effort.
Far too many people know just one stout — Guinness. This is not to say that this Irish brew (or the Canadian version we get) is not an experience to savor, but there are so many adventurous stouts on the shelves of upscale markets these days that you shouldn’t limit yourself.
 Among the more widely available options are Samuel Smith’s Oatmeal Stout and Rogue Shakespeare Stout, both worthy choices.
Smith’s has deep aromas and plenty of sweet fruit flavors — apples and figs — nicely balanced with roasted, grainy, chocolate notes.
As mentioned in a recent review, Rogue Shakespeare is simply delicious, not as heavy as it looks, with a sweet, deep aroma, rewardingly substantial mouth feel and nicely balanced flavors — coffee, chocolate, a casual embrace of caramel.
A little harder to find is a “sweet stout” from Colorado’s Left Hand Brewing Co. called Milk Stout. The “milk” refers to lactose, or milk sugar, which adds balance and body with about one-tenth the sweetness of sucrose, the brewery says. Milk Stout pours a dark perked-coffee brown, with a worthwhile aroma of powdered chocolate. It can be consumed chilled, but the warmer it gets, the more discernible the roasted-malt favors, the kiss of chocolate and a slightly charred mocha aftertaste. | Only registered users can write comments.
Please login or register. |
|
|  | "Humankind cannot gain anything without first giving something in return. To obtain, something of equal value must be lost. That is Alchemy's first law of Equivalent Exchange. In those days, we really believed that to be the world's one, and only truth." | |
|  | We're not that bright, even though in our own little world, we're geniuses. We like 80s hair bands and one-hit wonders, but among us we have respectable tastes, too. Metallica, Iron Maiden, U2. Pursuit of all things trivial is a lifestyle, not just a game. We like some sports, love other sports, and can find something to say about anything. We watch TV and movies and we've read a book or two, even a few classics (Yes, Classic Comics count!)
We call it insight, you call it what you will. | |
|  | Felix Wong is an outdoor enthusiast living in Fort Collins. A mechanical engineer by day, he is especially passionate about bicycling, running, and backpacking. | |
|  | Hola Amigos! I'm Sandra. I like to believe that people are 70 percent good and 30 percent dumb. I'm stickin to that story. Reading this blog might make you want to be good, but probably just dumb. | |
|  | Donovan Henderson is editor of NEXTnc. | |
|  | Here at Nextnc we have some characters. Get a sneak peak behind the curtain and find out what amusing antics our staffers get themselves into on a weekly basis. | |
|  | What is up FoCo?
I am a recent college graduate of Minnesota State University Moorhead. After recieving my B.A. in English and Mass Communications this past August I moved down to Colorado.
I enjoy long walks on the beach, candlelight dinners, and heavy metal. My hobbies include reading and writing, music, movies, and getting drunk. Some of my favorite contemporary authors include Bret Easton Ellis, Chuck Palahniuk, and Kurt Vonnegut. My top movies are anything directed by Kubrick. I enjoy listening to anything that rocks.
Right now I am just trying to get to know Colorado and FoCo better. Mostly in order to find the best drink specials on each day that ends in Y. So if you know where I can get a cheap drunk on, let me know!
--Drew | |
|  | Life's little morsels of inspiration, observation and encouragement seen through the eyes of the Nextnc reporter.
| |
|  | Ms. Giles currently lives in Colorado where she stars in her own private reality show. She writes aphoristic accounts of her life, taken completely out of context, and embellished with characters and situations disguised to resemble something close to interesting. | |
|  | over and out | |
| | My name is Michelle Turley and I'm 28 years old. I live in Severance with my hubbie, Brandon. We have 2 dogs and a cat. We enjoy camping, four-wheeling, and just being in the mountains. I like to cook, clean (go figure), flea market, and play poker. I have so much to say about poker... | |
|
|
