This week Jason from Ohio sends us in to two amazing stouts. One of which won first place at the Ohio State Fair!

Both stouts were amazing simply sitting in their glasses. The aroma from the glasses was super prominent. The Jamaican Blue Mountain Coffee, Cacao Nib, and Bourbon stout was incredible complex. Each time I sampled the aroma I was bouncing back and forth between the coffee, the chocolate, and the Bourbon. Very dynamic and complex. Super enjoyable. The flavor was equally complex yet balanced. No heat from the Bourbon, but a great vanilla based barrel like character. The chocolate and coffee played very well with the roast malts in the stout. Medium to high body contributed to a very smooth body.

The smoked stout was equally complex but with fewer components. There was a sweet malt aroma to pair with the smoke. The smoke quality was in perfect restraint. Some smoked beers can have a bacon aroma. This beer is not bacon like. Thankfully, it still tastes like a stout but with a cool balance of smoke. I swear that there was some lactose in this stout because it seems like a sweet stout. I’m sticking to that. The body was medium and provided a basic smooth stout backbone.

Without the recipes to go on it was tough to really dissect the beers. However, that created a really cool experience of simply evaluating the beers based upon the enjoyment factor vs. pushing against a defined style guideline. Truly two very very nice beers and a great stout drinking experience. I could sit and enjoy another pint of either one of them. I could go on and on tasting these and digging into them.

Thanks much Jason from Ohio!!
BREW ON!!!