Blackout Stout - Great Lakes Brewing Company

Blackout Stout

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Great Lakes Brewing Company Great Lakes Brewing Company web site map for Great Lakes Brewing Company GLBC_Cleveland

Cleveland , OH

Overall: 9.23/10 by 3 dudes

Standard Deviation: 0.14 or 1.5%

Trend: 9.23/10 over past 5 reviews

Style: Russian Imperial Stout

ABV: 9.00%

Season: November through January

Have Another: 100%

310 beers rated with a 8.28 average
  • 9.40/10 have another
  • A: 9.0 | T: 10.0 | L: 9.0 | M: 9.0 | O: 9.0
  • sDev: 1.84% Color: Black
  • Pours black with a hint of ruby red when I hold the glass up to the light. A one inch khaki colored dense foam head with good retention. Thick lacing sheets down the sides of the glass.

    The aroma is full of dark roasted malts, a hint of coffee and some chocolate notes as well.

    The taste is rich and full with a big roasted malt profile. A sweet molasses blends with the dark roasted malt and creates a nice balance between bitter and sweet. A dark fruit flavor shows itself in the middle and works into a roasted malt with bitter chocolate and a hint of coffee. Finishes with a bitter citrus grapefruit flavor that lasts on the palate.

    Full bodied with medium carbonation. Creamy mouthfeel with a lasting bitter sweet aftertaste. Slightly dry encouraging me to keep drinking!

    This is an awesome beer! A perfectly balanced beer with great flavors and aroma. An easy to drink stout with a well hidden higher ABV. This is the first time that I have had this beer and it easily falls into the favorite category for me! Try one!
  • 1,038 characters
  • Reviewed: Friday, March 02, 2012 at 00:49:40
  • Tasted: Friday, March 02, 2012
  • $4.25 for 12 oz. bottle
370 beers rated with a 7.94 average
  • 9.24/10 have another
  • A: 10.0 | T: 9.0 | L: 9.0 | M: 9.0 | O: 9.0
  • sDev: 0.11% Color: Ruby Brown
  • Color is very dark brown with a slight glimmer of ruby. It has an OK tan, foam head but impression during the pour into the snifter is that it may be a tad thin for the style.

    Nose is uber unique, with a mix charred-high quality malts, and a musky grape-fruity mix follows. Way in the background is a complex mix, and I'd say that ripe tree fruits emerge the most.

    Taste matches everything described in the aroma. Plus added into the taste is caramel malt sweetness, with hop fruitiness and citrusy bite. All of this finishes with a very bright and sharp alcohol flame, and I mean in the best way. The mouthfeel and carbonation are not too low, just the proper levels.

    I really like this more than I thought I would. The mix of smokey malts and the hops, that are more citrus than bite is balanced perfectly. If you're a fan of grapefruity notes in darker brew, this rates with the tops of the segment. I wish it weren't so hard to get. I'd drink it all winter. Plus, I can only guess how this year's class of the BBA aged version will be. Shit, another hard ass beer to get.
  • 1,078 characters
  • Reviewed: Friday, December 23, 2011 at 22:10:49
  • Tasted: Friday, December 23, 2011
  • $4.25 for 12 oz. bottle
1,470 beers rated with a 7.84 average
  • 9.06/10 have another
  • A: 9.0 | T: 9.0 | L: 10.0 | M: 9.0 | O: 9.0
  • sDev: 1.84% Color: Black
  • Poured opaque with a nice, brown, and thick one-inch foam into my DFH snifter. Retention was quite good with the foam becoming a frothier version of itself as it receded. Lacing is thick but does run back down a bit.

    Aroma is roasted malt foremost. Chocolate, dark fruits (dates and raisins), molasses sweetness, and a caress of alcohol round out the beer.

    Taste has the sweet molasses up front, followed by dark fruit and chocolate in the middle. The chocolate lasts through the end but is driven behind by the roasted malts that steal the show in the end. Roasted malt, coffee, and a nudge of alcohol embrace the taste buds into the finish.

    Full bodied beer with a medium carbonation (could be a bit less for me as I prefer my big beers lower on the carbonation meter). Creamy and a bit dry.

    I have had this before and really liked this beer. It goes down quite easily for such a big beer; the balance of the flavors and aroma are done almost perfectly that nothing over burdens, but is well blended. Enjoy!
  • 1,021 characters
  • Reviewed: Monday, December 06, 2010 at 23:03:09
  • Tasted: Monday, December 06, 2010
  • $3.29 for 12 oz. bottle
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Cost Breakdown
  • $3.93, 3 serving(s), 12 oz. bottles
Beer Swapping
Malts
  • Harrington 2-Row, Crystal 77, Black Malt, Roasted Barley
Hops
  • Simcoe, Northern Brewer
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