Ep 163 - Do Stouts Need Barrels To Be Great

Six stouts. Zero barrels. One big question: can a stout still hit hard on flavor when you take bourbon, rum, and oak out of the equation? Mike and Jim line up a full flight of non barrel aged stouts, starting with a nitro Scottish stout that delivers the creamy cascade and classic mouthfeel, then moving through a run of oatmeal stouts that are silky and smooth but keep leaving us asking, “Where’s the chocolate and coffee you promised?” 

Between sips, we go deep on stout history and beer trivia. We talk about how stouts began as porters, why porter got its name from London’s working porters, and why the word “stout” originally meant strong, not dark. We even get into the surprisingly modern story of nitrogen in beer and why nitro changes the experience so much, from foam texture to perceived sweetness and roast. 

Then the flight takes a turn: an American stout brings hop character and a drier finish, and we share one of the strangest stout facts we’ve heard, the old practice of prescribing stout after donating blood due to its supposed iron content. Finally, we end with the standout of the day: Untitled Art’s Dubai Chocolate Bar stout, inspired by the viral dessert, packed with cacao and pistachio aroma and the kind of rich stout flavor we’ve been chasing all episode. 

If you love craft beer reviews, stout tasting notes, and real talk about what makes a beer worth buying again, hit play, then subscribe, share the show with a beer friend, and leave us a review. What’s your favorite non barrel aged stout right now?

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Transcript

Welcome And Today’s Stout Plan

SPEAKER_00 0:22

Grab a beer and pull up a chair. Welcome to the Northwoods Beer Guy Podcast. Hey, ladies and gentlemen, and welcome back to the Northwoods Beer Guy Podcast. This is Mike, the Northwoods Beer Guy, and once again I am in the studio with Jim. Hey, buddy, how you doing? Doing good, man. How about yourself? Another day of paradise. There you go. Well, it's always paradise when we're trying new beers. Oh, Christmas. I just figured something out. All of a sudden I understand why I like this. It's so much fun. Yeah, exactly. Well, hey, we decided, you know, we're known for doing a lot of stouts and we're stepping outside the box. We're really stepping outside the box. We're doing stouts that aren't barrel-aged. Whoa. I know. I know. That is really a different one for us. I I should have warned you, but that's because usually what do we have with this? There's I don't know. Or what how are they usually mixed with bourbon barrels? Well, bourbon barrels and rum barrels. Yeah. It seems like cognac, apparently, a few times and such. But so now we've really got to get our taster dialed in. I think this is going to be interesting, more so because of that. Right. Just to get kind of the flavors that aren't scar some of them, I will admit, some of them that we like have been a little overpowered with the booze flavor. Right, right, right. But these won't be. No, and guess what? You have what? Some easy questions for us. Great. We've been a couple weeks since we've had we have been. And we've been slacking so and I I could tell you you had a little hop in your step for some reason here. Just some easy questions. You're probably gonna get all these right, and I'll be like, I'll have to dig deep for next time. And then you'll be upset, and then you're gonna really hit me with them. Right. All right. Well, so what do we got? We got six beers. Okay. I think three of them are pint cans. The one's a little taller yet, but I think it's got a bit of pint can, and three normal size 12-ounce cans. So these are all variations of stouts. I guess you could say different, would you say like a subcategory? Do you think, Jim? Um, there's they're different, they're not all the same, they're all stouts, but there's different variations, variations of whatever you want to say, kind of like that. I mean, because what's good is we got one with nitro, the other ones don't. Different sized can. I mean, everything about this is unique. I mean, there's nothing in here looks the same. So it's gonna be a really good comparison among all these stouts. Because we always talk about what would this have tasted like if they had put it in a bourbon barrel? So maybe we'll find one of those that would odds are there may be one in here too. Who knows? We've never tasted any of these, so it should be interesting to see. But I'll bet you at least once we're gonna say, boy, if they put that in a barrel. Yes, yes. So it'll be interesting. So I guess we might as well start into

Nitro Scottish Stout First Impressions

SPEAKER_00 3:04

one first. And I guess we're starting her off with the nitro beer, starting right off from the top, yeah. So this one, and I'm gonna look at it, it's gotta be in a pint can, but I'll guarantee it's probably a little bigger because of the widget. Oh, there you go. I forgot about that. This one is a 4.2% ABV, okay, and it's Bellhaven Black. And this is a Scottish stout. Nice, smooth, deep, and what is the last one? Distinctive. There you go. Wipe a little bit of condensation off of the word there. All right, pretty neat looking can. Yeah, I give him credit for that. Now, did you have any some info on it? Just a little, just Bellhaven Black is a rich, welcoming 4.2% stout brewed from barley and our unique Bellhaven yeast. Because I believe this is Scotland, right? So Ireland that it's got to be imported from somewhere here. In fact, we use a blend of our roasty barley, roasted black malt, and a light roasted chocolate malt. Wow. This creates a delicious, deep, smooth, full-bodied stout with a hint of sweet chocolate and a rich, dark finish without the bitterness of other stouts. This is from Scotland, by the way. Okay. Dunbar East L-O-T-H-I-A-N. East Lothan. All right, say that five times. I'm not even sure I said it right the first time. Out of Scotland, though. Okay. So all right. Well, I want to better get that close to the microphone. Waiting, waiting for me to get done so I can do the. Yep, there was a little widget. There's a widget. There's a widget. So we're gonna have to let it cascade so we can get the full. Yes. Oh, there you can see it. It's cascading. Oh yeah. It's moving from the bottom up. That's the one thing, ladies and gentlemen. If you've never had like a Guinness or anything that's actually on nitro, you gotta try because half of the fun is you sit and you gotta wait till it all cascades up before you can drink it. So now they're fully separated. Yep, it's got the very creamy looking head as usual, like most of the nitro beers have. With the very, very teeny tiny bubbles. Yes, not getting much aroma. No, nothing much there. Smooth. I was gonna say it's it's not as like a dark flavor, like Guinness. No you know what I mean? It doesn't have that. I mean, the fleet, I mean, I was looking for a little more sweet chocolate or something. I mean, uh there's not a lot of chocolate flavor to it. No, no, it's it's smooth, but it's it's just kind of there. Yeah. I was gonna say that's the one thing, you know, a lot of people I know when they you say, Hey, have you tried Guinness? and they're like, Oh, that's really strong. You know, because the flavor is kind of that that way. This one is not that. No, this you know, this is definitely a smoother flavor than what Guinness is, but I agree with you. I kind of would like a little bit more of something. 4.2%. This is almost like this might be Scotland's like Miller Light or Bud Light. It could be, you never know. Well, the Guinness is probably like 4.2 or 4.7 or something, is all it's there's not a lot of flavor to it. I mean, it has all the exterior characteristics, like it's gonna be like right there, but then it's not much. Well, I guess you get to go first. I could drink a can of that. Okay, but by the time it I was done with it, I think I'd be like, I'm gonna switch to something with a little more flavor. Yep. Honestly, it's not bad at all. And of course, it's always fun with the widget, you know. Yep, our first one of the day. Yep, and watch it. It's the first one we've had in a little while that that had the widget in it. Score-wise, like I said, I I don't think it'd turn anybody off. And you know, it's good, but I I still I left me wanting some more flavor and such. So I'm gonna go like a well, I'm gonna just I'm gonna go with 2.4. I just think that with a little bit more of something, I th I think it could have been pretty, pretty decent. So I was right now, I'm gonna say a 2.3, and only because I mean they're talking about the roasted chocolate malt, the sweet chocolate, this chocolate. I mean, I don't I don't didn't taste anything chocolate, right? And that's kind of what I was hoping. I was like, wow, this might be like a diamond in the rough, and it was just rough. There

Stout Origins And Porter Roots

SPEAKER_00 7:08

you go. It was just rough. Oh, so are you ready for your very first easy question? You bet. All right, so I know that you are gonna know this question, so I'm just maybe like bringing up some old information. Okay. What style of beer did stouts start out as? What style of beer did they start as? Was it a porter, you mean? Or there you go. Okay, just I just waiting to speak. Okay, is he throwing me a curveball? No, so porters were the original dark beers from England. Porters were universally dark, and stout porters were made with the identical recipes, but with less water, leaving them stronger. Oh, okay. So remember, easy questions. Easy questions. I got one right. I quit. See, I mean, I I know I probably should have got harder ones, but I'm like, well, Mike is gonna get mad if I don't let you at least get some right. Get something right. All right, so what do we

Oatmeal Stout One Tastes Flat

SPEAKER_00 8:01

got on our all right? Well, hey, the next one that we have is Sounding Line. And this is an oatmeal stout, and this is by Dual Citizen Brewing. It's 4.7% ABV and 35 IBUs. Now it's kind of funny because I looked on Untapped just to see if they had a write-up, and it says dark chocolate slash coffee. So I didn't, I wasn't wrong then by not having that's all they had on there. I was gonna say, because I couldn't, I think it's from Minneapolis, right? Yes, okay. Yep. And so on the can it just says oatmeal stout, chocolate, coffee, silky, serve cold, and sip fresh. Oh, all right. Well, so there you go. A lot about words. No, let's hope it's a lot about taste. There you go. They saved all their words for the flavor. There you go. That's or something. Our fingers are crossed, right? Exactly. We want to make sure the listeners know all the good stuff. That's right. Well, it is dark, yeah. It's like you think a stout. It's not quite when I poured it, it was kind of a brown, but then when it's in your glass, it definitely turned dark. The head is brown. I do get a little bit of a roasty aroma. Very, I mean, very faint, but you get it. It might be there. Boy, I don't know if I believe in taste coffee. No, I'm it's okay. I'm not, it's not knocking my socks off. No, exactly. I was gonna say it's we especially when it said dark chocolate. Right. And it's supposed to be an oatmeal stout, so I kind of thought it might be a little sweeter. Yep. It's silky, it's silky, yes. They got that. It is silky. Like I said, it's not horrible by any means. Now, on the aftertaste, I do get that roasted, burnt malt kind of flavor. I do get that. The rest of it though, I don't, unless I'm sure some of that is probably from the coffee, that aftertaste. Right. But I don't really associate it with coffee, you know what I mean? Right. So I don't, I don't know. It's uh it's interesting. It's in a 16-ounce can, too, by the way. Right. Yeah, it's very difficult for me to describe to come up with something unique, nothing bad, it's just it's just there. It's it's there. I don't I don't know. I can't. I'm really struggling to come up with something, an adjective. I mean, it's about as middle of the road as you can get. I mean, I don't know if you can get any more nondescript. I mean, it'll be interesting because a little little cat out of the bag, the next two we have after this one are both oatmeal stouts as well. Right. So, and and it's they're ranked in order by ABV. Yes. So it should be interesting to see these three different companies their take on an oatmeal stout.

unknown 10:32

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 10:33

So yeah, I guess, dude, I'll let you go first on this one. What what do you think? Well, so right off the bat, it does not taste bad. So my score is not a reflection of it tasting bad. It's I guess more of a score of it not having flavor. Is that I I I is that possible with a stout? Well, I guess. Struggling with it to come up with a good score that would capture that. I'm gonna say a 2.2. I guess mainly because we have had a few stouts. We've tried a few. For me, it's not it's more on the lower end of some of the stouts I think that we've had. There's just not a lot of flavor there. I mean, I think even if the oatmeal style, I mean, you could I think you could have added something more just to have a flavor stand out. For me, there's not a like you mentioned, the roasty mulch or the burnt. That's about the only thing I get, and that's not really the flavor. I don't think you want to stand out. Yeah, it's just difficult for me, I guess. I agree a hundred percent with you, and I'm gonna do the exact same 2.2 and for the same reasons. I just as a whole, there wasn't a huge amount of flavor, or I didn't think so. And then you do get that roasty, like I said, I and I I need to figure out a better word, but I always say a burnt, but that's kind of what people they can. I know exactly what you're talking about, you know. But the the normal, just the the rest of the flavor isn't much at all. No, and it's kind of a bummer, you know, because the the Scottish ale, the Scottish stout didn't really have a whole lot of flavor either, but it had a little bit more than what this one is. So not a bad beer. I'm not like you, I agree with you. It's not what we're saying, but just taste-wise, it could have used a little something, right? So for sure, yeah, all right. Well, two of them right off the bat that are okay. So so there you go. All right, so our question number two.

Porter Name Story And Class History

SPEAKER_00 12:17

I thought this was interesting, I did not know this, but how did the porter beer style get its name? Well, some guy stayed at a hotel and this guy took his bags, and no, he went there. I'm pretty sure it didn't have anything to do with the hotel staff. Okay, how did porter get its name? Was that the question? Yes, okay. I don't know, honestly. I don't know. All right, so are you ready for this? Yeah. So porters were strong beers, often very dark due to the roasted malt and barley used without an excess of hops. It was the champion of the working class. Oh. Consumed by the street and river porters. Really? So it was more who drank it that kept London running. Street porters back then were the equivalent of today's delivery drivers and couriers. These hardworking folk needed a hearty beer and they consumed them by the barrel. That's interesting. Well, I was joking about the the you know, but you were close. I was cla kind of close, but that that is interesting because most other styles you don't hear that they named it because of like that. Right, because the people, because I'm sure back in the 1800s, 1700s, when this they started making it, they maybe by a class, because I think we're gonna get a little bit into the stout. So the porter is like this. Now they're gonna dovetail off that to make the stout. Yeah, so it was like this was kind of the the working quote unquote poor folk beer. Yep. Isn't that funny? Wow. See, I hope I get get some education on that. Yeah, no, that's a that's very interesting. All right, so

Oatmeal Stout Two With Caramel Notes

SPEAKER_00 13:53

what do we got next? All right. Well, hey, we've had a number of beers from this company before. All right. This is by Indeed Brewing, and it's their Moondance oatmeal stout. All right. And I looked on untapped, and there's not a single word of a description. So I wasn't wrong on that one either. No, no, the only thing we got is 5.1% ABV and 25 IBUs. Oh, and uh 12 fluid ounces. Oh, yeah. Number on the can. We got three 12 fluid ounce cans today. Yeah. So that's kind of interesting that uh that was it. Now it does say notes on the can. It has roasted malt and chocolate and burnt caramel. All right. Well, so I'm guessing we're gonna find out if that burnt caramel is that burnt flavor that we're tasting. No, we're gonna see if we can get some chocolate. So this one's a 12-ouncer, like I said, that was on the can. Definitely dark brown in color. That's the one thing they've all been that dark, you know, dark brown. Yep. Not quite as dark as some of the spouts, the other start, the barrel aged stuff we have, but they're dark. And the head has always been that tannish color. Again, not a whole lot of aroma. Is that faint caramel? Is that I don't know. There's something there, but I don't know what it is. I can't pick it up really good. A little sweeter than the other first two. I was expecting really burnt. You know, when I said burnt caramel. Yeah, this has a little sweet note to it. Yeah, I don't I don't get much burnt flavor. Even on the aftertaste here, when I'm sitting there just waiting for that to it's not really doing it. Pretty smooth from start to finish. Yeah, I am pleasantly surprised. Yeah, I mean, it's but there's still not a lot of flavor. No, I was gonna say there is that hint of sweetness, and uh all I can say is it's gotta be from the caramel. Right. Because the chocolate, I'm really not picking up of a lot of chocolate by any means. No, it's not bad. I mean, it's just there's just not a lot there, right? Just that initial little sweetness. Yep, you know, and and again, that like I said, that's it's not a bad thing. I'm not saying that at all. That's the one dis distinguishing point of this beer compared to the first three so far. Yeah. Gosh, you're first on this one. Boy, it's like I said, initial taste, you get that little sweetness, but then it's gone real really quick. And there's nothing else. And there's really nothing else there. Well, I'm gonna do it. I'm gonna paint myself in a corner. I'm going to 2.5. Again, I just think it that little bit of difference there so far for me is kind of the right the deciding or differentiating point in it. And I think a number of people could try because it doesn't have that burnt finish, and I think sometimes that turns people off. So that's why I'm gonna do a 2.5 just because of that note. Yeah, I'll say the same thing. I'll say a 2.5 again. Struggling to come up with adjectives to describe it, it's not bad. Um, I mean, this it's just very average. It's I mean that's all you can say. It it there's nothing that really stands out. I mean, other than the first two, this the start to finish is much smoother. Yes, all the way across. Yep, but there's still not a lot of flavor. No, I mean it's minor at best. I mean, they could have added if it they put a little bit chocolate, I mean that more, a little bit more chocolate to it. A little more flavor. Something, yeah. And again, like we I think we're both in agreement. It's not bad. I could drink a can of it, but then I'd probably switch to something else, right? You know, and that's always kind of the when you think about it. Okay, could I drink multiple cans of it? If that's all I had, yes, I could do it, but I think after that initial one, I might just go to a different thing. Yeah, try to change them, yeah. Yeah, yeah. Just a little disappointed. Yeah, all right. See, now I'm kind of wondering why we don't do more of these ones. Yeah. All

Why Stouts Are Called Stout

SPEAKER_00 17:33

right. So are we ready for question number three? Yep. All right. So we talked about how porters got their name, right? Yes. So how did stout get their name? Does it have well, does it have anything to do with because I know when they're made that they have a lot of grain in it, and so they got a lot more grain in the mash, probably not quite as much water. Just because of how much it takes to do it. So I don't know if it's because when they were making it, the just the weight of the grain was more, so they call it a stout. I don't I don't know. That's a guess. So uh you're probably close, but stout actually means strong. Oh, so that's all okay. So it's stuck way too much. Right. You went you went you went down a rabbit hole on that one. So in the 1700s, stout did not mean dark, it meant strong. So the term was used to describe the strongest porters. Okay. And they were known as stout porters. So before before evolving into their own category of just stout. Stout. So it was stronger at ABV. Yep. And that's how they came. Okay. Huh. So again, I'm sure it from English grammar, English language. See, that's kind of interesting since these are 4.2 so far to 5.1. Right. It's hard to say they're say they're stout, you know. Yeah. Interesting. I'm not saying that they're very strongly flavored. Oh, exactly. I I hear you. Did we have no one the very limited on this one?

Oatmeal Stout Three And Sweetness Search

SPEAKER_00 19:04

All right. Well, here the next one. I'm gonna take a quick peek on Untapped. All right. Okay, we got a little bit. Okay. What do we got? So the next beer that we have is by Ursa Minor Brewing. They're out of Duluth, Minnesota. Okay, nice. And this is their This is supposed to be the brewer's breakfast. Yeah. This is not what came up on their I had Mamma Squatch. Oh, well, let's look up a different way here. All right. Because when I looked up, I could not find anything. Yeah. I thought, hey, look. Easy peasy. And then no. It threw you through a loop. Yeah. There we go. This might be it. Okay. What'd you find? Nothing. It is by Ursa Minor out of Duluth. This is their brewer's breakfast stout. 4.8%. All right. On the can it says 5.5. Right. That's what I put on out. Yep. So 5.5. Yeah, there is no description on untapped. What I looked up wasn't wrong. Nope. You nailed it. Does it say on the can? Boldly curious, Northland Crafted. Comfort Craftsmanship Community. Dark, malty, roasty, and rich. And that's pretty much all that it has, besides the government warning. Wow. So six or third oatmeal stout now in a row. Yes. Okay. So we're going to see. If we can get some flavor. Well, you don't want to jump into that stuff. You know. We're we're definitely inching our way in. Yeah, we're hoping. All right. So it's a color. Dark again. Same the tan head. Tan head. Very minimal aroma. Very minimal aroma. It may have a little more than the last ones, but not a lot. Not much. It's not bad. I don't, I think my opinion of those last three, the three oatmeal salts, this is probably the best one for to me. Right. I mean, but the flavor's not jumping out at me. No, not at all. But it does have a little sweetness to it. The sweetness is smooth. Yeah, it's smooth, has a sweetness to it. Again, is that you know what there's not a flavor to me that's standing out, whether it's the coffee or chocolate or anything. There's just sweetness. Yeah. Huh. Wow. All right. Well, I am like just hmm. All right. Well, I will go first, struggling to come up with a good adjective. It's not, it's not, does not taste bad. And I think you're right. This is probably of these four we've had so far, the best. I'm gonna say a 2.6. I guess start to finish. It's smooth and but just a little bit sweeter than the the moondance. Yeah. So maybe that's the only thing I gave it a tenth of a point more just for that sweetness, maybe. I agree 100%. I'm sitting here looking at the scorecard here, and I'm going, boy, it's better than that. I'm going a 2.6 as well. Because more out of, well, that's where I got to put it. You know, I guess I agree with you. It it does have a little bit of a sweetness. It is smooth. This is a 16-ounce can. I could probably drink that can. But again, I'd probably switch to something after that. But it's it's good. You know, again, maybe a little more flavor or something. We've had a number of oatmeal stouts too, and I don't know. I just I don't remember them all being kind of that lacking flavor. You know what I mean? This is a weird category. Yes, it has started off weird. We're hoping the last two breweries are gonna pull us through. So something's gonna happen. We're hoping. Well, we've we're struggling. Yeah. All right. Well, maybe I can come up with a better question for you. Because since we had this ingredient today, okay oatmeal. I thought I would wrap it into a question. Okay.

Nitrogen In Beer And Nitro Love

SPEAKER_00 22:45

When was nitrogen invented for beer? Ooh. I found the answer to that. So it's got boy, I'll give you a hint. Starts with a one. Great. Okay. I'm trying to think again when I think of the nitrogen, I always think of Guinness. Okay. Okay. And I know Guinness has been around for a long time. But did it always have nitrogen? See, that's yeah, I don't think it did. So it's like, but did they were they the ones that came out with it? Because I know they invented the widget. Okay. That the, you know, that's in the beer. I know they invented that, but again, that's you know, it's you're not talking 17, 1800s. You know, I'm gonna say, I'm just gonna go out on a limb. I 1952. Oh, you were close. Was I 1959? Oh, dang it. So before that, all spelts were carbonated like regular beer. Okay. Did it say who first put it in, or didn't it really? It did not say I'm sure I could I'll find that for another question. Interesting. So I was I was thinking, man. That's what I was thinking. Heavily beginners, but I'm sure. Well, but way back when, I'm sure they didn't even have to worry about it. Yeah. But once they figured out, oh, that doesn't what it does to the beer. I mean that just changed. Who was the first guy that did he just accidentally hook the wrong tank up or something? Wait a minute, what is this? It's not CO2, this is nitrogen. Oh yeah, look at the dozz of the beer. And boy, it ladies and gentlemen, if you've never had an I know we've talked about this before, but if you've never had a beer on nitro, you've got to try it because it changes the flavor. Oh, yeah. It's probably one of the best oatmeal spouts, I think. I don't know if it ever had, but I mean it's right up there on nitro. On nitro is unbelievable how it changes the flavor, the the mouthfeel. It's just so much smoother. Oh, you know, it's yeah, you do yourself a favor if you've if you get a chance, you see a beer on nitro at a a brewery or at a bar or whatever, try it because it's it's really good. And I think, well, and I don't know if it's for all beers, but at Sand Creek, they won't even let you put that in a crawler to take it. Correct, because it'll it comes out too quick or whatever. Right. So they you've got to get your glass there and try it there. Yep, exactly. All right, so what do we got next? All

American Stout With Citrus Hops

SPEAKER_00 24:55

right. Well, hey, the next one we have We have words. We have words. Awesome. Great, finally, finally. So this one, again, we've been to this brewery. Yes. And personally, they're yes, and they are one of the top breweries out there for barrel aging, yep, and such. So they also have a very large sour line and they have a very large IPA line. Okay, yep. You know, very large. This is by distal brewing out of normal Illinois. Yep. And this is their Black Angel American stout. 6.7% ABV. So we stepped it up a little bit. A little bit. And their description was uh an American stout with medium malt sweetness, notes of oak, chocolate, roasted malt flavor, and aroma, assertive citrus hop characteristics, and full body with a dry finish. I could have done without the dry finish. Well, that I have questions on, and also the uh assertive citrus hop characteristics. Yeah, that doesn't usually equate with a stout. Look at the guy on their can. That's kind of interesting. That's some good work. It's like skeleton. I don't know if he's supposed to be holding a barrel or it's about his midsection, and he's got almost like a slash type hat from Guns N' Roses, the mini top hat. So, and that's their black angel. So this is an American stout. So we got through with the oatmeal stouts. Yep. Now we're gonna try this American stout. And what was that first one? That was the uh Scottish stout. So we've got the Scottish, the oatmeal, now an American. Now an American. All right, so we'll see how this is. It's dark, it's dark. Got a little bit of a tan head. That same, yeah, tan head. This one I can smell kind of a hoppy a little bit, a little bit of a hoppiness to it. Not overpowering. No, but it's definitely more than the the last ones. Yep. Oh it's different. Yeah. The hops are not overpowering. No, thank goodness. I still haven't got the dry finish yet, so I'm waiting to see. I mean, I think the roasted malt is kind of what comes through for me because I I don't really taste chocolate or oak. No, and I am now when you sit here. I do get kind of that dry, a little bit of a dry finish, but more the roasted malt, that burnt kind of flavor. Oh gosh, I'm just struggling. I mean, it's not I don't mean this in a bad way, but I'll pick dust fidano over this. I mean, again, there's not a flavor that's really just stepping out. Really just all that little bit of that hoppiness, and then that stronger roasted malt flavor at the finish. Yeah, but like other like the kind of flavors we're looking for, the the chocolate, nothing there, not really. Wow. Now there's a I have a conundrum because score-wise, what am I gonna do? Wow. I guess I'm gonna have to go with 2.3 because I I know you don't like duplicates. And I think I like like that Ursa Minor one, I do like a little better because it was a little sweeter to it. Yeah, I it's not bad, but I I definitely think after a can of this I would switch to something else. That that finish is just getting a little bit right stronger on there. So well, I think I'm gonna you have to change something or well. I do like, I like you said, I like the breakfast out, and I do have an opening at 2.4, but I'm locked myself into now now. Then the last one is gonna be the best or the worst. That's what we're at. So and again, uh the 2.4 is only because it's you know very average, right down the middle of the road. Um, especially from our experience. I'm not I don't want to speak for you, but I think distal has really shown me that they know what flavor is. Oh, yeah, yeah. I mean, they have got a lot of good beers that have a lot of good flavor that really come through where this is just there. It's just I'm just I was I kind of thought this might be one of our top beers today, just because uh distal has really shown to me they've got a good track record of having very good beer, very flavorful. This is just when you think about it. I mean, even their their IPAs are have very good flavor. The pickle beers, right? I can't believe I'm gonna say this, have good flavor. The sours are are good. So yeah, I don't know if it's just more the American stout style, but I don't think so. You know, I I just I just kinda yeah, yeah, unfortunate. It just I was really looking forward to that because I mean I I don't know exactly how many American stouts we've had, not a lot, right? So again, that's

Stouts As Medicine After Blood Donation

SPEAKER_00 29:20

a different style for us, but god, I was hoping for something really good. I agree with you. All right, so I have one final question. Oh, okay. Because of what reason why were stouts prescribed after this medical procedure? Why were they prescribed after so you're wanting me I want to know what medical procedure and why? Yep. Well, I'm guessing with the amount of grain that's in it, there's probably like some sort of vitamins and minerals or something, some kind of health benefit, I guess. What would the prescribe uh prescription or the the procedure be? Jeez, I something put your your MD head on. Yeah, yeah. Where's Web MD when I need them? I was gonna say some kind of stomach surgery, but I don't know. I don't know. All right, based on its high iron content. Well, I said minerals. Iron's mineral. True. Okay, so I get like a tenth of a point for that. All right, we'll give you a tenth. Okay, perfect. It wasn't unusual for people to be given a stout after donating blood. Really? In fact, up until the early 1900s, doctors were known for prescribing stouts to nursing mothers.

unknown 30:33

Really?

SPEAKER_00 30:35

See, so I wow. Okay. There now, you can't tell me you're not getting educated now. No, and I guess we should be donating all sorts of blood. So there it's wow. That was the final question for the day. That is interesting. I never would have thought that. So I know they give you a cookie now, but right. But see all the different knowledge you have. See, that's why we say we educate as well as entertain. There you go. See, so they're easy questions, though, right? They weren't hard ones. No, no, they weren't. And I give it, I give you credit, those were those were good. Okay, you know, and I I probably had that like 1.2 points. One point, yeah. Because I'm taking a tenth of a point for the porter one, too. Right, okay. Since I was somewhat close. Yes. So you did good. You did better. Yes, you do, you're getting much smarter. There we go. Or lucky beer company won't. Whichever, yeah. One of them. So beer we're on our last one.

Dubai Chocolate Stout Saves The Day

SPEAKER_00 31:26

Okay. And this company, once again, we uh we've had a lot of beers from them. Yep. They're usually really good. So we're gonna see, they know usually know what they're doing with flavor as well. So this is by Untitled Arts. Okay, and this is their Dubai Chocolate Bar. Ooh. And this is an 8% ABV. All right. And their description was experience the luxury of the dessert with our new stout, a rich dark brew inspired by the viral Dubai Chocolate Bar. Indulge in decadent layers of cacao and nutty pistachio crafted to evoke opulent delight in every sip. Wow. Now that has a lot of big words in it. Yeah, exactly. Now, will it back it up in the taste? Oh, I hope so. I would really think we gotta have one out of six, right? Uh-huh. Well, you know, going into it, we kind of figured these were gonna be a little bit of a crapshoot because again, they're not barrel aged. But that barrel aging does help that. Barrel aging does add specifically flavor. Yes. And boy, when I poured mine, I got a lot of foam in that one. All right. Well, it's dark. Oh, I can smell it. I can smell flavor in that one chocolate. That smells sweet. I can smell chocolate for sure. Wow. There's no ifs, ands, or buts about that one. If this is a blind taste test, you could tell this one right away out of those other six. If you told me there's one of these, is an untitled art. Can you find it on Aroma? Yes, you can. And flavor? Well, that's got a sweetness to it. But not over the top, not an Avery sweetness. Wow, that too. Thinking back to last week's episode, I'm trying to remember. There was one that when I tasted it, I could almost could feel the cavities starting because it was really sweet. And I can't remember which one it was. And this is totally off topic. After we got done with last last week's episode, a beer popped into my head that I totally forgot to talk about. It was called What the French. Oh. And I should have written it down again because I can't remember who made it, but it was French toast. It tasted just like French toast. Without some syrup. Right. I apologize. I was going to talk about that last week and I I forgot about it. But let's get back to this one now. So Dubai Chocolate Bar. This is good. This is the I guess we should have tried to find the Dubai chocolate bar to see what it tastes like. I mean, compared to these other six, this is not even in the same category. No. Not even like you got that right. I mean, this is definitely way up there in flavor. And a really good flavor. Yeah. They didn't let us down. They and again, I do feel bad now because the other ones are, you know, kind of more of your standards. Right. They're the bare bones though. This actually it said it was gonna put this is you buy chocolate. Yep. There's there is chocolate here. Oh, there's yeah, there's yeah. The only reason you wouldn't drink a lot of cans of it is eight percent. A little higher. A little higher. But boy, is this smooth? Is it the right sweetness, the right flavors? You could you could wow, yeah. You could I could drink a can of this. This is just like unbelievably good. Yeah. Oh, I guess we don't have to worry about painting ourselves in the corner. This is probably not gonna no. I think yeah, we don't have to worry about probably don't have to worry about going on the low end on this one. I guess you get to go first. All right. Boy, this is for sure. This is probably my favorite of the day. No, there's there's no I can't really hide that fact. It it it checks the boxes on everything from start to finish across the board, up and down, right to left. Very good. I just wonder what that would taste like. Yeah, yeah, bourbon barrel. Man, that would probably be this is a silly question, but for all the beers we tried, have we ever had one of theirs that's barrel-aged? I can't remember for sure. It actually comes in like a 16-ounce can. I do actually have a couple of those too. Oh, okay. Because I but we probably have they're very limited release, they're not like the other ones come out, so they do come out and they are really good too. Because when I think of them, I think of like these, right? You know, I mean, I'm thinking up there the 3-8, 3-9 range. Uh I'm I'm gonna say a 3-9. Okay. I really like it. I mean, I can't find anything wrong with it other than it's in a small can.

unknown 35:41

Right.

SPEAKER_00 35:42

I wish it was in bourbon barrels. See, there's the only things I would say change on it. Yep, yeah. This is by far the top one for me, too. It's it's sweet, it's it's tap dancing a little bit on the sweet getting to the point you're gonna say it's a little too sweet. Right. I do like the flavor though, and I'm gonna go like a 3.6. Okay, just because of that, because it's a it's on that verge, but boy, it it's got flavor. And like I said, if if that Dubai chocolate bar tastes anything like that, it's it's probably really good. So really good, yeah. So yeah, I I agree with you. I think that's that was the clear winner of this group. All

Rankings Listener Requests And Sign Off

SPEAKER_00 36:19

right. So do you want to have a second place? Yeah, my second place is probably that Ursa, I I believe is probably that yeah, for score-wise, that's yeah, yeah. That's my second place one, and it that again had a just a little bit of sweetness to it, not like this, but it was a little bit sweet, and then it it's kind of a crapshoot after that, to be honest with you. You know, the the moondance was probably next. So I it's yeah, but I mean, uh head and shoulders above the rest was the untitled arts. Right. I I I'll echo exactly. I mean, for good or bad, I'm glad we finished on a high note with this one. This really brought up the category considerably. The rest of them there's the scores are reflective of it being all the other five being right in the middle of flavor. Not not a lot there, just wishing there was more, but my number two would be I think the breakfast stout from Ursa Minor, and then the Moondance and the Black Angel for me were kind of in there too. I split the hair and split the hair and split the hair, right? It was just like I couldn't even like after a while. I mean, you could see right through the hair, it was like nothing there. I I couldn't come up with another adjective other than the final Dubai one, yeah, which was super good. Yep. So I'm glad we tried them. I just wish we'd had. I mean, I thought these were all gonna be very different, but it didn't turn out like that. No, that's the one thing that especially with the different styles, you know, Scottish stout, oatmeal stout, American stout, you know, all these right, and I'm sure the last one was probably a pastry stout, I bet, right? I would sure bet, yeah. And of those first five, they were all very similar. Yes, you know, little tweaks here and there, but not as much difference as I was expecting. So yeah. Well, all right. Well, hey, dude, I guess we survived yet another one. Yep, so yeah, I guess we're gonna have to reconvene and figure out what we want to do for the next episode. So we might have to come up with a heavy duty one, yeah. We'll we'll figure that out. We got plenty of those. We got a few we got to go around. It's gonna take us a little while to get through some of those. Exactly. So cool, ladies and gentlemen. You know, let us know if you've had any of these or if there's any other non-barrel aged stouts out there that you really think we would enjoy. You know, reach out, let us know. We'd love to hear from you. And hopefully some of them would be something that we could eventually stumble across, or if they wanted to ship it to us, hey, not a problem. We could try it on the air, yeah. So cool, Jim. Thanks for uh sitting down and struggling through this group with me and and giving me some questions that I at least remotely to guess at. No problem. You're getting smarter. Yeah, exactly. You're not only broadening your craft beer palate, but your mental palate as well. You're getting smarter. My canology is there. You go. You're you're gonna be super smart. There you go. Something like that. Awesome. Well, cool, ladies and gentlemen. Thanks for listening. Like we always say, we hope your campfire is always warm and your beers are always cold. See ya. See ya. Thank you for listening to the Northwoods Beer Guy podcast. If you have a question, a comment, or a beer you'd like us to review, please feel free to send us a message at Northwoodsbeerguy at gmail.com. You can also find us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. If you're on Untapped, look up Northwoods Beer Guy and send a friend request. Until next week, I hope all your campfires are warm and all your beers cold.