Isgood Stout

[steveh]

Denmark Brewing, Denmark, Wisconsin. 22 oz bottle. I'd provide a link to their web site, printed on the label, but you get to nowhere but a "forbidden" notice. Time for the DB marketing folks to kick it up a notch.

Poured a deep, dark, ruby-black with a cream to tan colored, creamy head that settled to a thin cap.

Milk chocolate nose, some vinous tartness back along with mellow roasted malt.

Smooth roasted malt flavor, chocolate malt back with a crisp/tart/dry finish. Some caramel back with more warmth. All very well balanced, but I'd bet the tartness would be more unpleasant - and possibly be revealed as a brewing fault - in a lighter bodied, more mellow malted beer.

Medium bodied with a creamy to somewhat watery mouth-feel.

An enjoyable dark brew for an equally dark afternoon into evening. I don't know the distribution of Denmark's beers, but I don't think it's much beyond a radius of Green Bay. Based on the quality of some initial brews from this small micro, and the history of the brewery I believe it took over (how many breweries can there be in Denmark, WI?), I think Wisconsinites can expect more exposure to good products from this small micro.

S.

http://www.denmark-wi.org/

[chazwicke]

I caught that reference to tartness and was wondering if you thought it may be infected or a mistake.

[steveh]

Originally posted by chazwicke
...was wondering if you thought it may be infected or a mistake.

You can hide a lot of mistakes in a dark, robust malted brew!

S.

[newportstorm]

Any dates on the bottle? Could freshness be an issue?

[steveh]

No, no date on the label.

Freshness is a possibility, though I bought it from the cooler, placed it on ice in my picnic cooler to transport it home, and it's been in my firdge since.

Another thing to note is that the beer is unfiltered - not exactly bottle conditioned, so you have to question the effect of that yeast.

One thing I want to make clear, the tartness was minimal and didn't spoil the pleasure of the drink - I've poured out many soured micro-brews in the past.

S.

[chazwicke]

Originally posted by steveh
You can hide a lot of mistakes in a dark, robust malted brew!

S.

Precisely why a nice precision lager such as a pilsner is so difficult to brew. You can't hide nuttin.

[newportstorm]

The brewery seems to get decent (though varied) reviews for their line-up:

http://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/review/4150/

http://www.ratebeer.com/Brewers/Brewing-Company-2646.htm

Cheers!

[steveh]

Agreed, see the last sentence in my review.

I had the Weiss over the Summer and found it pretty good...thought I reviewed it, but can't find the post. Maybe I have notes but didn't get 'round to posting them.

S.

D'oh! I do, notes on the Denmark Wit, Dunkle Weiss, and the Pils! I'll try to post them as I can.