Beer Advent Calendar Day 21- Bristol Beer Factory Ultimate Stout

Good evening all. Accompanying tonight's beer tasting is the hip hop-era opus from R. Kelly, "Trapped In The Closet (Chapters 1-12)". Hopefully it won't cloud my judgement too much! After the picture, a review of Bristol Beer Factory's Ultimate Stout, part of the "12 Stouts of Christmas" collection....

Ultimate Stout is 7.7% ABV, which makes it quite a departure from the more subdued stouts I've been enjoying over the last few days. This particular stout has been fermented with a Belgian yeast, which is quite an interesting concept that will hopefully be detectable in the aroma and taste. The appearance is dark black with a small beige head that dissolves fairly quickly (most likely because of the higher alcohol content). The aroma is very rich, with lots of roasted malt, chocolate and coffee coming through. There is a slight phenolic character in the nose, but this is not immediately apparent. Tasting the beer, I'm greeted with bitter chocolate and some coffee. The finish is rich and malty- very reminiscent of Marmite or a similar yeast extract. Some nutty flavours also come through, close to pecans. No real sense of any flavours contributed by the Belgian yeast, but this could be because of the density of the other flavours. The mouthfeel is quite thick but not overly carbonated. Overall, a very nice higher gravity stout with a plethora of interesting flavours. As recommended on the bottle, this would go well after dinner with a similarly-flavoured dessert. Another winner from the Bristol Beer Factory!

Tomorrow, there may or may not be a post. If not, it will be combined with Day 23. Until next time....