Ultimate "Black Stuff 6-Pack": Mid-Atlantic Stouts

Stouts are perfect for the cold chill of winter. Lately, the weather has been ever changing in Washington, DC, and has gone from 60 degrees one day to snow the next. One thing’s for sure: unlike the uneasy weather patterns, it is easy to find good sipping stouts full of hints of chocolate and coffee when the weather finally decides to act like it should.

The Mid-Atlantic region has some great breweries that seem to pop up every day. For this entry, I decided to focus on the stouts from this region – ranging as far south as North Carolina and as far north as Delaware.

While driving the other day, my GPS decided to act stupid and took me to an empty lot. After making a wrong turn, I found a high end wine, beer and cheese shop called Red, White and Bleu in Falls Church, VA. I picked up a mixed six pack of stout.

 “Which one are you going to try first?” the clerk asked.

“All of them,” I replied.

I hope you enjoy these stouts for 2012 as part of the Perfect 6 Pack of the Black Stuff (Mid-Atlantic).

EVO – Lucky 7 Porter, Evolution Craft Brewing Co., Delmar, DE, 5.8% ABV

This porter is rich and full flavored with notes of chocolate, coffee and smoke. Lucky 7 pours blackish brown with a mocha head. It is very roasty on the nose, with a deep smokiness to it that is softened somewhat by sweeter malty notes of chocolate and caramel. There is also some green citrus present here that blends in with the smokiness of the malts.

Milk Stout, The Duck Rabbit Craft Brewery, Farmville, NC, 5.7% ABV

This stout pours out a nice dark brown almost black color with a mild head of beige foam that quickly faded to a thin lace. Duck-Rabbit has made several dark beers and the smell is always one feature of the beer that I can always count on being amazing. This beer has a nice sweet milk chocolate and coffee with cream smell. The taste starts off with milk chocolate (almost like chocolate milk), followed by coffee flavor with a very mellow sweetness.

“Fifteen” Smoked Imperial Stout, Weyerbacher Brewing, Easton, PA, 10.8% ABV

Fifteen is a Smoked Imperial Porter and is not a shy ale. This stout is an intense, full-bodied, smoked beer. Fifteen, which gains its name from the 15years that Weyerbacher has been brewing, pours very dark with a tan head and a sweet nose which is not carried through in the beer itself. It has a rich flavor profile balancing notes of dark roast, burnt toast, and spices with a deep earthy aroma of smoke and wood. Smoke is mild up front but comes through strongly at the finish.

 

Black Lightning, DuClaw Brewing Co., Aingdon, MD, 6.4% ABV

This medium-bodied, American Black Ale brings a full bodied, roasted malt flavor with an aroma and finish of American hops. This ale lives up to its name pouring black in color with a khaki head to it. On the palate you will find faint citrusy hops and a touch of sweet pineapple. A bit of pine and herbal hop character is there in addition to some molasses type sweetness and roasted malt. The finish is somewhat strong on the roast with maybe even some licorice.

Porter, Port City Brewing Company, Alexandria, VA, 7.5% ABV

This smooth, full-bodied porter pours black with a rich and almost creamy tan head. The aromas are sweet and dark followed by chocolate notes that range from ultra dark to milky sweet. There is a hint of roasted coffee beans towards the middle of the palate. The combination of cocoa and coffee is evident throughout and enjoyable while drinking this high ABV, slow sipping beer.  

Coffeehouse Stout, Williamsburg Aleworks, Williamsburg, VA, 5.4%ABV

Pouring espresso black with a thin tan head, this stout brings forth a magnificent wave of fresh coffee aroma from dark roasted Guatemala Antigua beans. There is a little bit of chocolate and roasted malts which surround the coffee and creates a rich and smooth body and coffee and light chocolate on the palate. Even with a low ABV, the body is pretty good. This beer is extremely drinkable for a coffee stout with a great coffee aroma and flavor.

Honorable Mention:

Lubrication American Black Ale, Clown Shoes (Brewed by Mercury Brewing Co.), Ipswich, MA, 6% ABV

This beer comes from the East Coast, but from a little further north than the Mid-Atlantic region. The brewer is Clown Shoes, but the beer is brewed out of Mercury Brewing in Ipswich. Lubrication is also referred to as a Black IPA (India Pale Ale) and is dark brown to pitch black with a somewhat thin head. You will definitely pull out the spruce-like characteristics of IPA hops. The aroma is dry (almost chalky) with predominantly bitter chocolate on the nose. The taste is bone dry with bitter chocolate and even cocoa notes which creates a dose of bitter hops at the end.

Peak XV Imperial Porter – Black Diamond Brewing Co,  Concord, CA, 8% ABV

This is a shout out to the left coast which is obviously far from the Mid-Atlantic region. This porter is deep brown (almost black) in appearance with little tan head. The nose gives off dark, chocolate malt with vanilla wafting over and some cocoa. The taste starts thick with caramel then dark chocolate kicks in and vanilla lightens up the flavor profile, thus creating balance to the heavier flavors. It has a sweet backbone by the end of the pint.

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