Tallgrass King Buffalo Stout

Product description: It looks like Buffalo Sweat. It has the same dense, foamy head — though it’s a little darker — and it leaves the same sticky lacing on the glass. The aroma is spot-on. Coffee. Chocolate. Roasted barley, hints of toffee and a little bit of booze. Take that first sip. The familiar coffee and chocolate flavors are there, but they’re bigger, bolder and more complex. The body is thick and robust, with a velvety texture and a bitter, dry and warming finish. There’s no residual sweetness like that of Buffalo Sweat – because there’s no lactose in this brew – but an earthy, herbal hop character that bounces beautifully off the dark roasted malts. It’s the perfect silky-smooth stout to get you through the cold months ahead. One Buffalo to rule them all.

Tallgrass Brewing – Tallgrass King Buffalo Stout – 12 oz. can poured into specialty glassware. 10.5% abv.

This one looks clear cola in color coming out of the can but opaque black once in the glass. Carbonation is ample and generates a thick, cappuccino mousse that persists for several minutes until settling to a thin, protective layer of foam. The aroma is lighter and sweeter with raisinets, chocolate-covered strawberry, chocolate birthday cake. The flavor is full-bodied with dense, semisweet chocolate and heavy raisin balanced with just enough tar and woodsy hops to keep it from being too sweet. The finish is a tad wood pulpy and slightly too dry, but sweet raisins continue to distract and keep the finale on course. The abv, though listed at 10.5%, doesn’t manifest itself as any apparent booziness or warming.

Overall, I found this beer to be enjoyable and not too sweet, which is usually my biggest issue with imperial stouts. The body is dense and the flavors are fairly uniform focused on chocolate covered raisin. The aroma and finish could use some work, though.