The stout, when done right, can hold all sorts of different flavors and qualities. But contrary to many legends about stouts, most stouts (including this one and Guiness) are not that heavy, nor higher in alcohol or calories than a pale ale. So if your definition of a tough beer is a high alcohol, super heavy beer, you'll have to look elsewhere. Go ahead, have your "meal in a can," but I'll bet you'll be getting a fourth meal not too long after.
One Woman's Chocolate Stout came in a nitro-can (the kind with the little "widget"). Have you ever wondered about the magical little ball inside Guinness cans and other stout cans works? Well, basically, they were developed in the 1980s by Guinness so that the home drinker could experience a similar kind of foam texture to a heady draft beer. The widget and the pressurized nitrogen gas inside make it possible for those decadent fine bubbles to form. The amount of gas inside the bottle control how fine the bubbles are.
Young's Double Chocolate Stout, a sweet/milk stout brewed in England, is nowhere as heady as a Guiness, but just as tasty in so many ways. The color is a dark red brown, but it's so dark you can't really see through it. I was immediately hit by the smells of coffee, bourbon, and dark chocolate. Yum! Plus, there were hints of roasted cacao, beeswax or toasted honeycomb. Despite all the smells though, these are qualities and scents, not in-your-face flavors. It goes down so smoothly, even though the flavors are dry like a bittersweet darkchocolate. The combination of a pre-dinner Double Chocolate Stout with sweet potato chips was like a match made in heaven.
Which brings me to the musical pairing of the day: Flight of the Condor, a traditional Peruvian song, also familiar as the tune covered (or was it stolen) by Simon . This is in honor of the First Condor Nest in Pinnacles in 100 years. The article mentions that Condors stay with one selected partner for life. Amazing!
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