Two weeks ago, I began a small "stout standoff". My father is an incredible stout lover, and recently I bought some extra stouts. He did not complain at all and drank with me.
This week, I will be trying Saggy Stone's Sliver Back Dry Irish Stout and Charlie's Brewery's Bourbon Stout.
Needless to say, my father was happy when I brought out these beers. We lit up the fire, and while the wood was burning (to turn into coals) we cracked open these beers and began drinking them like we did not have any worries in the world.
He is also a lecturer, so we always talk politics and academic nonsense when we stand around the fire. Beer unites us, and the fire keeps us warm and cooks our food.
As we drank the beers, we just realised again, like always, how fragile life is and how we need to enjoy every moment. People get so worked up with their lives that they forget to breathe. So, we took a moment, took a deep breathe, said thank you to the beer gods, and then we drank our beers relishing in the moment of absolute bliss.
For beer is the ultimate equaliser.
As noted above, the Stout Standoff round consists of Saggy Stone's Stout and Charlie's Brewery's Stout. Both stouts were good, but the clear winner was Charlie's Bourbon stout. It was heavier, richer, more full bodied, and just an overall more complex beer.
The round might have been a bit unfair, as the dry Irish stout is not the same type as the bourbon stout, but such is life and I had these two beers on display! So, we had to put them against each other.
Nonetheless, both beers had their moments, and both beers had their weaknesses. Such is life.
It is always funny how my own perception of the beers I drink is shaped by my own home brewing days. Charlie's Brewery's Stout beer took me back to my own stouts that I brewed. So, maybe I was a bit biased as I drank these beers.
But let us go a bit deeper into the tasting notes!
Saggy Stone: Silver Back Dry Irish Stout
| Dry Irish Stout | 6.5% ABV | 43 IBUs |
The smell as I poured the beer was very light on my nose, almost like an ale and not a stout. There was slight toasted and roasted malt notes coming through ever so slightly after the pour.
It tasted very mild on the first sip. Not too bitter despite the highis IBUs. It was much more bitter than the Charlie's Brewery Stout (below). Slightly bitter taste as I continued to drink, but incredibly smooth.
After it warmed up a bit, the beer got significantly more bitter. The alcoholic smell increased as well, but also the chocolate-toasted notes. It really became a good beer, but an easy drinking one.
Charlie's Brewery: Cormorant Bourbon Stout
| Bourbon Stout | 4.3% ABV | 30 IBUs |
This beer had significantly less alcohol and IBUs than the one above, yet it was more complex and more bitter to me.
Interestingly though was that the pour was incredibly flat at first. It did not have much carbonation. The smell was also not as strong, but maybe it was due to the fridge being too cold. But maybe they also added too few sugars to to the beer. I think they bottle conditioned them, so that might also be a problem.
After leaving it a while, the smell changed to a musty wood barrel smell. I am 100% sure they did not wood barrel age these beers (they were too cheap for that expensive process), but it really did have that smell. Underneath this, the classic stout smell came through.
The first sip was very mild, not too bitter (due to the lowish IBUs), very full bodied, yet it was not a "big beer". It was more complex that the one above from Saggy Stone, but it was by no standard "big".
As it warmed it, the wood and deep chocolate smell and taste intensified. It was a well rounded beer in the end, and from the two I tasted, the clear winner.
Postscriptum, Or Cheers
In the end, we enjoyed the beers thoroughly. There is nothing like a good stout with good company. Funny enough, my mother also started to drink the stout beers after taking sips on our beers. Now, it is only time to convert my fiance as well, as she still does not like the heavy dark beers.
In any case, happy drinking, and keep well!
All of the photographs are my own, taken with my Nikon D300. The drunken taste notes are also my own, and I take no responsibility for them.
Inside the Philosopher's Beer Fridge
| Boet Beer Brewing Co | Brews: |
|---|---|
| 🍺 Boet Beer Lager | |
| 🍺 Boet Beer Easy Blonde | |
| 🍺 Boet Beer Pale Ale |
| Cape Brewing Company (CBC) | Brews: |
|---|---|
| 🍺 Amber Weiss |
| Cape Collective | Brews: |
|---|---|
| 🍺 Session IPA |
| Cederberg Brewery | Brews: |
|---|---|
| 🍺 Voertsek IPA |
| Clarens Brewery | Brews (All Brews Reviewed in this post): |
|---|---|
| 🍺 IPA | |
| 🍺 Hazelnut Brown Ale: Clarens Goes Nuts | |
| 🍺 Stout | |
| 🍺 Tondon Pilsner | |
| 🍺 Village Lager | |
| 🍺 Weiss | |
| 🍺 English Ale | |
| 🍺 Blonde | |
| 🍺 Mulled Apple Cider | |
| 🍺 Red Ale |
| Darling Brew | Brews: |
|---|---|
| 🍺 Warlord Imperial IPA | |
| 🍺 Arrow Head Russian Imperial Stout | |
| 🍺 Long Claw Modern Saison |
| Devil's Peak Beer Company | Brews: |
|---|---|
| 🍺 Jucy Lucy Hazy IPA | |
| 🍺 King's Blockhouse IPA |
| Drakensberg Brewery | Brews (All Brews Reviewed in this post): |
|---|---|
| 🍺 Cathedral Peak Pilsner | |
| 🍺 Champagne Castle Blonde Ale | |
| 🍺 Giant's Castle Stout | |
| 🍺 Amphitheater Red Ale |
| Hey Joe Brewing Co | Brews: |
|---|---|
| 🍺 Session IPA |
| Jack Black Brewing Co | Brews: |
|---|---|
| 🍺 Skeleton Coast IPA | |
| 🍺 Butcher's Block Pale Ale |
| Mad Giant | Brews: |
|---|---|
| 🍺 Capital DIPA (in Collaboration with Capital Craft) | |
| 🍺 Killer Hop Pale Ale |
| Route 96 Brewery | Brews (All Brews Reviewed in this post): |
|---|---|
| 🍺 Zamalek Lager | |
| 🍺 Summer Blond | |
| 🍺 Africa Pilsner | |
| 🍺 Stout |
| Sabie Brewing Co/Hops Hollow Sabie Brewery | Brews: |
|---|---|
| 🍺 Dravidian Draught IPA | |
| 🍺 Glynn's Gold Golden Ale | |
| 🍺 Safari Gold Marula Infused Blonde Ale | |
| 🍺 Cockney Liz English Bitter | |
| 🍺 Shangaan Stout |
| Saggy Stone Brewing Co | Brews: |
|---|---|
| 🍺 Bear Jam - Session IPA | |
| 🍺 Pale Weizenbock | |
| 🍺 Rocky River Pale Ale | |
| 🍺 Bomb Squad Lager |
| Striped Horse | Brews: |
|---|---|
| 🍺 Milk Stout |
| That Brewing Co. | Brews (All Brews Reviewed in this post): |
|---|---|
| 🍺 That Blond Ale | |
| 🍺 That Subtropical Ale (Delicious Monster) | |
| 🍺 That American Pale Ale (APA) | |
| 🍺 'el Juicy IPA | |
| 🍺 VESS KISS IPA |
| Imported (Non-South African) Beers | Brews: |
|---|---|
| 🍺 Super Wit | |
| 🍺 Duvel Tripel Hop Citra IPA | |
| 🍺 Maredsous Bruin | |
| 🍺 Trappistes Rochefort 8 |