Tag: Stuart Stout

Beer of the Week: NW Peaks Stuart Stout

By Iron Chef Leftovers

I believe in the 150+ beer reviews that I have written, I think that I have only once reviewed a beer multiple times, Elysian’s Dark O’the Moon. Well, I am doing it again, this time with NW Peaks Stuart Stout. The beer only gets brewed once a year, so I felt it was a good time to review it again, especially since there were probably minor tweaks to the recipe.

From the NW Peaks website:

Since Mt Stuart is one of the most noticeable, bold, non-volcanic peaks in WA we tried to make the beer bearing its name similar. Stuart is medium-full bodied stout that is roast forward. The end result is a rich, deeply roasty interpretation of the style that starts smooth and ends with a slight lingering bitterness from the roasted barley . A fine beer to drink anytime, but best enjoyed in front of a fire on a cold rainy winter evening.

 

untitle8dThe beer pours jet black in color with a tannish-brown head and shows significant amounts of chocolate and coffee on the nose with backing hints of caramel, vanilla and malt supporting. The beer states out with notes of caramelized sugar before quickly moving into deep roasted flavors of dark chocolate and dark roasted coffee before beginning its finish with a very pleasant bitterness (think black coffee) with notes of vanilla and caramel coupled with a very long and mildly boozy dark chocolate finale that keeps lingering in a pleasant way. Layered and complex and creamy and unctuous, this beer is very drinkable and works well either with food or on its own.

NW Peaks Stuart Stout does it again with a solid 4 self-affirmations out of 5.

Beer of the Week – NW Peaks Stuart Stout

By Iron Chef Leftovers

One of the things I love about the mountain beer program at NW peaks is that if you sign up for 2 growlers and invite some friends over, you can compare and contrast both styles that they put out each month. A few months ago, it was stouts, and considering the way the weather had been, a stout tasting was very much in order. The beer is still available in growlers from NW Peaks if you are so inclined (or was as of this writing – check with the brewery).

The description from the brewery website:

Since Mt Stuart is one of the most noticeable, bold, non-volcanic peaks in WA we tried to make the beer bearing its name similar. We based this beer on last year’s recipe but reduced the munich malt and changed hop varietals (but the hops have the same characteristics). This resulted in a slightly smoother, lower-bodied beer while retaining the dark roastiness making Stuart Stout a rich, full bodied, deeply roasty interpretation of the style. A fine beer to drink anytime, but best enjoyed in front of a fire on a cold rainy winter evening.

Malts: 2 row, roast, chocolate, crystal 40, wheat, and a smattering of oats. Hops: Apollo, Goldings. ABV: ~4.75%

The beer pours jet black with a fizzy tan head. Lots of roasted malt notes on the nose with hints of chocolate and coffee. The initial taste yields a pleasant, slightly burnt roasted flavor (think dark roasted coffee) yielding to mild chocolate flavors with some sweetness and hints of oatmeal. The beer finishes long with a pleasant roast notes. As the beer warms, hints of cocoa powder show up and the finishes seems to go on forever.

Stuart Stout is a great beer to sip next to warm fire on a cold day to feed the soul.

NW Peaks Stuart Stout hikes into base camp with a tasty 4 s’mores out of 5.