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Beer 101: tutorial; I need help


AsburySkinsFan

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chickory.jpg

My first review: I wish it would have been able to score higher but, it got a C+

look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | drink: 3.5

http://beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/10099/1153

Dogfish Head Chicory Stout

Bottle

Temp: near room temp slightly cooler

Pint stout glass

Appearance - A very dark brew, near black but up to the light it is amber around the edges although try as I might I could not see the light through the glass. The amber on the sides appeared clear and not murky like an unfiltered wheat. As I poured I was actually expecting more of a head to build, what did develop was about a ¼ inch head that was quite dark in color almost the color of a wheat bread, unfortunately the head dissipated rather quickly leaving only a thin rim around the glass which hung on nearly to the end of the glass. Considering how little head developed I was not expecting much carbonation and even after the head dissipated I did not see any real sign of carbonation bubbles. The blackness looked very inviting to me, but the lack of a sustained head was a bit of a disappointment (this may be a feature with stouts but from what limited experience I have I was expecting a fuller head).

Smell - I could smell roasted malts and a very dark scent, although it was not overly strong. There was a bit of spiciness or bitterness to the scent but it was covered by the dark malts. My first impression was that the smell was more subtle, and there was a hint of sweetness.

Taste - I tasted hints of coffee, but not as much as I was expecting from the description on the bottle. There was also some prominent bitterness, along the lines of a pale ale, however the malts were equally present. There was also some spiciness to the stout that was not hops, it was almost like a very mild jalepeno or chili taste. All of these flavors were fairly well blended and none of them really over powered the brew. The hops was what I tasted first, then breathing the aroma through my nose while holding the brew in my mouth I could smell and taste better the coffee, it was afterwards that I began to taste, rather feel the spiciness. This was definitely a more aggressive approach to stouts than I have tried before, which have been on the sweeter side.

Mouthfeel - My first impression on tasting was just how much carbonation was in the drink, it immediately started to bubble on my lips and tingle my tongue. The stout itself was thicker and felt heavier when I slid my tongue around in my mouth. After swallowing I could feel the brew lingering in my mouth. I noticed the way the foam in the glass slid downward almost like a very thin syrup would move, this is how it felt covering my mouth, but it cleared fairly quickly, leaving a light slickness. For me this brew was more carbonated than I was looking for or even expected, its carbonation was like a warm cola quite effervescent.

Drinkability - I could not see drinking several of these in one evening, or even chasing one with another, but even after drinking the pint I was not full, nor did I have a bloated feeling that I would have expected with the amount of carbonation in the brew. This was definitely a new style for me, and quite removed from what I have experienced to date and while I appreciate its complexities, I believe the carbonation and the level of hops would prevent me from enjoying another Chicory Stout from Dogfish Head.

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I can't believe how detailed people can be when drinking alcohol. "Oh, it has a hint of dog**** in it."

Who really gives a crap how it feels in their mouths? Who cares about how carbonated it is?. Ever drank a Coke?

Perhaps it isn't your thing, but for a guy that can't fly to Ireland and get a stout poured for him, Chicory Stout is pretty damn good.

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Ok, back from the store and here's my take for the week: (I'm sampling stouts this week Guinness heavy)

Young's Double Chocolate Stout (sampled prior but I wanted to drink a full one)

Dogfish Head Chicory Stout

Bison Chocolate Stout

Smithwick's Irish Ale

Guinness Extra Stout

Guinnes Draught (bottle with the widget)

Asked my wife to bring me Draught once and she brought me the Extra Stout. Way too much for me. How is the Draught not stout enough? Yikes.

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I can't believe how detailed people can be when drinking alcohol. "Oh, it has a hint of dog**** in it."

Who really gives a crap how it feels in their mouths? Who cares about how carbonated it is?. Ever drank a Coke?

Its about craft beers verses a mass marketed product, specialty flavors and brewing techniques. I guess its the same when drinking wine, you can get something that someone actually cares about or you can get a $3 gallon of swill. As for me I like this because I like to taste and experience my food, I like the smells, I like the way it feels in my mouth and I like a good aftertaste. If I want to scarf something down I certainly don't write about it, but if I enjoy a fine meal well its certainly worthy of remembering.

Perhaps it isn't your thing, but for a guy that can't fly to Ireland and get a stout poured for him, Chicory Stout is pretty damn good.

Where in my review did I say that it was bad? I would think that from my comments I was pretty fair, heck I even said that I appreciated the complexities of the beer its just not my thing, I didn't like the fizziness or the level of hops. If you like those things then great, write your own review, that's what its all about. :pint:Peace and Drink Up.

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Asked my wife to bring me Draught once and she brought me the Extra Stout. Way too much for me. How is the Draught not stout enough? Yikes.

I prefer the extra stout,the draught tastes off to me

The best is draft imo

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I can't believe how detailed people can be when drinking alcohol. "Oh, it has a hint of dog**** in it."

Who really gives a crap how it feels in their mouths? Who cares about how carbonated it is?. Ever drank a Coke?

Perhaps it isn't your thing, but for a guy that can't fly to Ireland and get a stout poured for him, Chicory Stout is pretty damn good.

How many of them did you have last night ? Really ? Reel it in bro.

He was just giving his review and trying to be as detailed as possible with his experience. Whether I agree or disagree does not matter. It's his thread about his beer likes and dislikes.

Perhaps you just don't look for the details in beer and flavors as much as some others. I appreciated the time and effort that he put into his review, especially since I have never had that beer.

To each his own. Good Luck with your search for great beers ASF. It will be fun and challenging at times to drink some of those beers. But all in all the end result will be that you find the style and flavor of beer that you enjoy, and that is all that matters.

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Thanks guys, I really appreciate the comments. When I started tasting beers about 2 weeks ago I did so kind of on a whim by picking up a 6 pack of Sam's Brewmaster's Collection, I figured I'd give it a go just to see and if I didn't like it them no harm no foul. But to my surprise I really did like them and I began to notice the different flavors, since then I've been sampling what I can on a regular basis to try and find what I like. The reviews that I'm writing now are kinda my way to keep track of where I've been, and I'm certain that as I progress my tastes will change and improve, at some point I'll probably revisit some of the early samples to see if things have changed with my tastes, but right now I'm really in the exploration mode of things.

I think with my reviews I'll post them in the "Beer Thread" from now on to keep one thread going and avoid confusion.

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damn... that's a detailed review for a beer "novice."

have fun sampling... that's the important thing!

www.beeradvocate.com has a great tutorial for writing reviews, they provide lots of questions to ask yourself as you sample. All I really did in my review was answer those questions as best I could, come to find out the "not hopps spice" is the Chicory which is a type of tree bark that adds the spice flavor, learned something already.

I've never been a beer drinker in fact the total sum of beers that I have consumed in my life up until about 2 weeks ago could have all fit in a single case, it was just never my thing, but now I'm glad that I've started this, its fun and quite enjoyable.

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How many of them did you have last night ? Really ? Reel it in bro.

You should have seen the original comments before the edit... I was wondering if he is actually the brewmaster for that beer or something. :hysterical:

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Listen, forum stalker, I didn't realize the 3s and 3.5s were out of 5. Was kinda taken back by the presumption that it was out of 10.

Oh sorry about that, I just clipped it from my review at beeradvocate.com, yeah its a 5 scale not a 10, although in my defense I did say it got a C+. See what happens with too much hopps. ;)

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My favorite is Kostritzer. It's a German Black Lager and is fantastic. As the name suggests, it's very dark and has somewhat of a chocolate undertone. But unlike a stout, it has a fair bit of carbonation which I like. Great beer if you can find it.

Excellent, I like the Sam Adam's Black Lager, and I was thinking that my next sampling trip was going to be the darker lagers, I'll have to see if this one is available here.

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Listen, forum stalker, I didn't realize the 3s and 3.5s were out of 5. Was kinda taken back by the presumption that it was out of 10.

Forum stalker? Is it my fault that most people don't have summers off, so there aren't that many new threads at 4:00 in the morning? Don't drink the haterade... ;)

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