Alaskan Brewing Company Alaskan Stout

__Aroma:__ “The toffee, nutty, and buttery caramel notes dominate the nose. Roasted malt is secondary to that, and there’s a low, earthy, grassy hops aroma. More notes of sweetness, cream, oatmeal, chocolate, raisin, licorice, sherry, plums, and sweet molasses are also present.” __Flavor:__ “Dark roasted notes with a great nutty flavor of almonds comes through on the first sip, along with chocolate and mint. Raisin, licorice, molasses, dark fruits, earthy hops, and toast are also present. The beer is creamy throughout, but the carbonation is a little high and offsets some creaminess. Slight roast astringency on the finish.” __Overall:__ “This is a nutty beer that really allows the oats to come through and the roast to play a secondary role, making it a balanced beer with a good level of complexity despite its drinkability. The creaminess and chocolate malt sweetness carried through the most, and it tasted slightly different than the aroma. Overall, pretty good.”

**Aroma:** “Earthy, like a walk in the dark pine forest, maybe a hint of gin/juniper. Intriguing. Some grapefruit, orange, and pine—the nose was subtle on this one.” **Flavor:** “The forest turns a bit more ominous. Dark juniper richly lingers, but paired with an assertive bitterness. There’s just enough body and malt to make the medicine go down, but this is a seriously bitter potion. Although the bitterness is strong, it is also nuanced—I even get some roast coffee here, too. The gradient from start to finish is smooth and works well. Finishes with a slight alcohol warmth.” **Overall:** “This beer is a nice continuous transition from start to finish. Nothing is out of balance. Some more aroma hops would always help. The citrus and grapefruit juicy notes were nice in balancing the hops bitterness.”

**Aroma:** “Coffee up front with a touch of malt sweetness to balance. Notes of roasted malt, espresso, and dark chocolate. Oak is subtle and comes through as vanilla. Very strong coffee notes in the nose. Nice roast character, chocolate, some vanilla, and some oak wood character. Some sweet tobacco notes and a bit of green pepper.” **Flavor:** “Intense coffee/espresso notes with a wonderful chocolate character to round it out. A mild amount of barrel character, but the coffee is the star of this show. Caramel malt sweetness and subtle vanilla oak character come through, and the finish is mostly balanced—impeccably smooth without being cloying.” **Overall:** “Extremely tasty beer—coffee is well-executed and balance is excellent. An amazing coffee beer that presents the coffee perfectly—balanced and accented well with delicious chocolate and roast notes and just a touch of barrel character.”