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I love a good stout. The world would be a sadder place if we did not have these dark, roasted/toasted, and chocolaty drinks. After long jogs, especially in the summer sun that is out now, I either want a light lager or a good stout (not the heavy stuff, but think a Guinness after a long day’s golf – for the golfers out there). I always buy some stout beers as well for my father, who loves a good stout and porter.

This time around, I bought the Shangaan Stout from Sabie Brewing Co and the more commercially available Striped Horse’s Milk Stout. Both, I drank after a long jog, and I can report back with rather radical certainty: Both go down so well after the jog!

I know this is a very strange way to judge a beer, but both these beers were at my disposal after the run, and I needed a beer! So, without further ado, let us get into the tasting notes from these incredibly delicious stout beers!

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The Sabie Shangaan Stout

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Stout | 4.7% ABV | 37 IBUs

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Recently, I visited the Sabie Brewery again for a second time. And I could not help but buy some of the stout they had. And that was a wonderful experience indeed! I loved the stout, and it again, like so many times, reminded me of my beers that I brewed so many years ago.

My first impression was that the beer was incredibly full-bodied. There was a strong chocolate taste, almost tasting like a piece of cake! We in fact had some chocolate cake made with this beer! The notes on my nose were incredibly deep roasted coffee, almost reminiscent of wine to some degree.

As the beer warmed up a bit, I got more and more toasted malt notes underneath all of the heavy chocolate. The taste lasted very long, which is something a lot of beers lack in. I love a beer that remains in your mouth long after you swallowed. There were hints of sweet, almost creating a syrup mouthfeel as I swirled the beer in my mouth.

The IBUs of the beer was very low for the amount of bitterness that I tasted, which was funny. The beer also did not have a lot of lacing, but the dark head after the pour was beautiful and indicated the incredible chocolate and coffee taste.

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The Striped Horse Milk Stout

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Milk Stout | 6% ABV | ?? IBUs

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The Striped Horse Milk Stout challenges the very big commercial brewery SABMiller or South African Brewery who brews a similar beer, their Castle Milk Stout. I tend to try and stay away from these beers for my beer reviews, as they are nothing special besides the memories I link to them. For example, my dad and I always drink the Castle Milk Stout because we have so many fond memories around the fireplace when drinking this beer. Let us not divert our attention!

The beer comes in 660ml bottles, making it a nice and big beer in terms of volume. It is strictly speaking two beers, but after a long jog, it did not feel like it! This beer is very similar to the classic Castle Milk Stout, but it is also unique in its own ways.

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The first sip was creamy, having a lovely mouthfeel to it. I immediately got coffee notes on the nose but also palate. It was really just a smooth beer. Even though it was not as full-bodied and heavy as the Shangaan stout from Sabie, it was seriously refreshing! If I can say this, it was an easy drinking stout. How easy drinking should a stout be though? That one we leave for the others to decide upon!

In the end, it quenched my thirst, and for the price of this beer (compared to other craft beers in South Africa) this is a steal. I would in the future much rather drink one of these post-run than any other lighter beers to be honest.

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Postscriptum, or Let The Stout Challenge Begin

Recently, I have been having more stouts than usual. Rather than do them one-one, I will compare them with each other! Stout beers are awesome, and I love the rich chocolate taste in liquid form. Luckily for me, I have not had any bad stouts (yet). I would love to keep it like that though.

I hope that you have some nice stout beers lined up for your #BeerSaturday!

For now, happy drinking, and keep well.

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All of the drunken tasting notes are my own, albeit inspired by the post-run clarity of mind. The photographs are also my own, taken with my Nikon D300.