Today we’re debuting a new blog series that will inject a bit more competition into our beer reviews. We’ll try to level the playing field between the beers and eliminate preconceived notions by doing blind tastings. Of course, we will also have to create meaningful groups of beers to compare. We would love to get your input on other types of beer to test out. If you’ve got a favorite, an interest, or a grudge against some beer, let us know.

For this week’s installment, Treehorn tried four different stouts. As the name might suggest, a “stout” beer was originally the catch-all British term for the strongest brew on offer at a given brewery. The term was coined in the late 17th century, at which time all beers in Britain were ales made with roasted malts. Over time, as new varieties of beer were developed, the term “stout” continued to refer to those strong, dark ales to which it was originally applied. Today, stouts can be had in several sub-varieties, from the more traditional dry stout (see Guinness) to more experimental versions such as New Zealand’s Oyster Stout.

We decided to include three rather traditional stouts and one more experimental version in order to get an idea of the range of flavors and typical traits to be found in stouts.

A look at the stats:

The Fort Collins Brewery: Chocolate Stout

Style: Chocolate Stout

Alcohol content by volume: 5.3%

Brooklyn Brewery: Dark Chocolate Stout

Style: Imperial Stout

Alcohol content by volume: 10.1%

Victory Brewing Company: Storm King Stout

Style: Imperial Stout

Alcohol content by volume: 9.1%

Dogfish Head Craft Brewery: Chicory Stout

Style: Stout (modified)

Alcohol content by volume: 5.2%

In order to do a blind tasting, we labeled glasses 1-4 and had an independent, though slightly besotted, observer randomly assign each beer a number. We covered the numbers and poured the beers so that we could judge the head before the blind tasting began. Once all the beers were poured, we removed the bottles, shuffled the glasses around, and revealed the numbers again. The following tasting notes were generated with no knowledge of which beer we were tasting.

Perhaps the two most traditional stouts in the tasting were the Fort Collins Brewery’s Chocolate Stout and Brooklyn Brewery’s Dark Chocolate Stout. While the category of chocolate stouts doesn’t necessarily contain any actual chocolate, the malts used are deeply roasted. This lends the beers a deep, chocolaty flavor. The Chocolate Stout from Fort Collins was a true expression of the espoused style, but Brooklyn’s Dark Chocolate Stout was actually an ingenious hybrid of the Imperial and Chocolate Stout styles.

Oddly enough for a Chocolate Stout, the Fort Collins brew’s head was the lightest of all the beers in this tasting. With a body black as night, the light head created a great visual contrast. This is the sort of beer that makes me long for a roaring fire and monk’s habit just looking at it. While it’s appearance wrote a big check, it’s body definitely cashed it. The nose started off with strong notes of toffee and caramel, and created an expectation of a rich beer with dominant carmelized sugar flavors and undertones of coffee. The first sip introduced a soft, smooth carbonation and medium body that gave way to a punch in the face of smoky, roasty coffee flavors. Although the typical toasted grain taste of roasted malts was present, it was the mellow flavor of wood smoke that captivated my palate.  As the smoke dissipated, more subtle hints of hickory and a mild, hoppy bitterness started to come through.  This beer scratched every stout itch I had, and the delicate balance of deep roasts and hops kept me coming back for more. While the alcohol content was low compared to the Imperials we also tried, this was probably the most sessionable beer in the group. If it were me, I’d just have a few. When there’s a cold front rolling in, I’d highly recommend picking up some of this beer.

Brooklyn Brewery’s Black Chocolate Stout. The Brooklyn take on this style is actually a mash-up of Imperial Stout and Chocolate Stout styles, with the gravity of an imperial at 10.1% ABV but the extra-dark malts of a chocolate. The alcoholic hypertrophy was immediately detectable in the nose of this beer, redolent of aged rum and dark roasted coffee with a spicy edge of nutmeg. The head was a deep coffee-and-cream brown, but rather anemic in size and staying power. Not to worry: what the head lacked the flavor of the beer more than made up. Viscous and moderately carbonated, this beer was deliciously substantial. The dominant flavors were dark, dark caramel and chocolate that faded into rum and then a dry, tart and earthy aftertaste. Just on the edges of the fading aftertaste, a few gentle wisps of smoke gave one last added twist of complexity to this heady brew. While the hops were very muted in aroma, they did lend the Brooklyn a refreshing bitterness. I generally enjoyed this beer; however, the acidity and alcohol-forward flavor profile made it the least drinkable of the beers in this tasting. I would gladly drink a pint of Dark Chocolate Stout, but probably no more.

In the next installment of “Is it a Weekday?” we will try the final two beers: Storm King Stout from Victory Brewing, and Chicory Stout from Dogfish Head Craft Brewery. One will pack a cruciferous kick in the best possible sense; the other will have a hop profile more typical of an IPA than a stout. Will the comforts of a traditional stout trump, or will novelty take the day? Tune in Monday for the exciting conclusion of the Stout Shout Out!

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