David Brockington's Tasting
Notebook

Blue Ridge Steeple Stout

Product Reviewed: Blue Ridge Steeple Stout
Brewed By: Frederick Brewing Co.; Frederick, MD
Style: Irish Dry Stout
Form Reviewed: Bottle shipped from brewery
Date Reviewed: May 5, 1998
Posted to Usenet and added to Notebook: May 6, 1998

Initial Impressions:

This self-proclaimed "dry stout" pours black-opaque in my Frederick Brewing Company mug. I literally can not see through the beer, which is a good sign for a stout. A nice tan head exhibits excellent retention properties featuring the concomitant lacework that meanders its way down the side of the mug.

Nose:

A slight note of competing roast and malty aromas serve as a background for a pleasant earthy hoppiness.

Flavor:

There are quite a few distinct flavor components working together in the profile, although they are all a bit muted. This full-bodied beer opens with a moderate maltiness, that is truncated by a slight roastiness. Hop flavor picks up following the roasty notes, and the stout finishes with a nice hop bitterness. The finish lingers, adding roasty notes in a sticky coating of roast and bitterness that clings to the inside of your mouth like peanut butter.

Final Analysis:

A tasty, well-crafted stout. I'd really like to try this rendition of an Irish dry stout under nitrogen; I bet it performs quite well up against a pint of Guinness. However, the flavor, aside from the sticky finish, was a bit too muted throughout the beer to move it into the excellent range. Definitely one I would try again, however.

Rating: ***

(Good on my 5-star scale)

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