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I've been impressed with Great Lakes Brewing Company, as we've been seeing a lot more of it on tap around the Rochester area during the past year. I'm a big fan of stouts, so I decided to grab their stout last time I was at Beers of the World. Apparently, Great Lakes brewed the Blackout Stout in memory of the 2003 blackout that hit a large portion of the northeast. I remember not knowing about it until I left work, as the building I was working in at Cornell was on their own power grid that wasn't hit by the outage. It was a weird day, but turned out to be kinda fun cooking dinner in the kitchen at my dad's lab.
The Blackout Stout pours an extremely dark color, with a little light showing through around the edges. The head begins at two finger-widths, but settles to about a quarter-inch with some serious lacing on the glass.
Its aroma is one with a smooth roasted base. There are definitely some sweet caramel notes, with some lighter roasted notes, possibly brown malt or some dark toasted malt.
There is a mooth roasted bitterness with a touch of crystal malt sweetness. A serious chocolate character provides a nice layer on the roasted base malt flavor A moderate bitterness from the roasted malts and the hops hits the back of the tongue and mixes well with the smooth roasted chocolate flavor over the middle of the tongue. All these flavor mix to give a great finish.
As expected from a 9% ABV stout the body is heavy, but with a silky character that makes it go down easier than would be expected.
Overall I would call this a delicious imperial stout. The hops can become a bit harsh as you drink, but that's the only real complaint. The rich, smooth, roasted chocolate flavor works well with the silky body. This is definitely highly recommended, as the beers tend to be from Great Lakes Brewing Company.
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