Four City Brewing Company Four City Stout

**Aroma:** “Cocoa and chocolate character dominate with some cherry, caramel, toffee, and slight roast with low levels of cherry and prune. Nice roast quality and some earthiness. Coffee comes through toward the end. Nice toffee sweetness and chocolate malt.” **Flavor:** “Roast character is very nice with some cocoa, chocolate, and coffee. Some burnt-coffee type notes add to this roasted quality. Sweetness of some dark fruits along with malt sweetness add sweetness to this beer. Some earthiness and bitterness finish in the end with warmth. Sweetness hits your tongue but the swallow amplifies the roast and hops bitterness. Hops last into the finish. Warming alcohol.” **Overall:** “The roast quality helps to make this beer. It sits on your tongue after the sip. The hops bitterness adds complexity but leaves this beer a little sharp, which is enjoyable but may seem a little strong to some palates. Good for a stormy winter night. Very sweet.”

“Comes across like a tropical foreign stout—almost peanut-butter creaminess in the nose, very light on the roast character, with dry toast and a coffee-like finish. No hops. Very light, to the point of being watery. Finish is dry, fairly clean, but bland. Light chocolate and nondescript bitterness.”

**Aroma:** “Rich chocolate and cocoa. Nice sweet malt character with some esters. Light toffee, dark cherry, a little musky, pleasant roast, some burnt husk character. Coffee, chocolate, and toast malt aromas dominate.” **Flavor:** “Nice roast profile with some acidic bitterness. Coffee, chocolate, and cocoa. A little light bodied compared to the nose and missing a touch of mouthfeel, though otherwise balanced. Dry finish is a little surprising after the big chocolate nose, and roasty bitterness lingers. A little tart in the finish, which is refreshing.” **Overall:** “Nice roast character with sweet creaminess. A good profile of the chocolate and cocoa. It’s a subdued and approachable stout that one could drink in great quantities and still retain one’s dignity. Very much what an Irish stout should be.”