Art Brew: Blackcurrant Stout (England: Stout: 4.5% ABV)

Visual: Dark brown black with a very thin layer of browned bubbles.

Nose: Blackcurrant, slight fruit acidity and gooseberry sourness. Bitter chocolate and slightly chalky.

Body: Lots of blackberry, blueberry and slight milk chocolate mix with apple juice. It’s very sharp and fresh initially. Slight coffee touch. Chocolate cake. Very smooth and slightly sweet middle with a small amount of bitterness backing it up. Faintest hint of liquorice.

Finish: Blueberry, sour grapes, blackberry. Slight apple tartness and a light charring to the air.

Conclusion:  Much as I love a good stout, they are very rarely well suited for a session. With a tendency towards strong flavours and high abv, they tend to be best nursed and enjoyed slowly.

This is a bit different from the pack then.  Packing in the fruit flavour it really adds a new element to the stout flavour with massive sweetness, and more importantly, a tartness that makes it oh so easy to drink.

The stout elements are solid, and pretty much in the middle of the expected range. It really is the fruit that makes this so immensely enjoyable and a bit different.

As an examination beer it is ok, but as a session drink it’s a great job done good.

Background: I’d had this beer earlier in the week and enjoyed it so much I decided I had to tasting note it.  Art Brew id pretty much the locals main thing to have on tap, and seem to be getting quite a handle on their craft as of late, and started bringing out a few odd experiments.  Oddly rate beer lists this a retired brew, which is demonstrably false.

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