Black Hole Appears in VT

Black Hole Irish Style Extra Stout is going on tap today as we return to the celestial theme for naming special releases. Brewers have taken to serving Irish style stouts using nitrogen rather than the more traditional carbon dioxide gas in the last couple of decades which is a pity. The use of nitrogen, which is relatively insoluble in beer, to push the beer from the keg to the faucet allows the pressure to be raised to push the beer further and faster. Then you can use a specially designed faucet to literally spray the beer into the glass. The spray plate installed in the faucet is followed by a plastic device that straightens out the flow to give the impression of a slow creamy pour. The resulting beer has a long lasting creamy head on it but is virtually flat underneath. Bitter compounds in the beer are incorporated into the foam making it a little more bitter, and the beer underneath a little “smoother,” as the marketing types like to say. I also find that nitrogen dulls the palate and makes the beer’s flavors less intense. The most famous Dry Irish Stout in the world is Guinness and most beer drinkers are familiar with the slow poured draft and widget containing cans and bottles designed to try and replicate the draft experience. The plastic widget in the bottom of the can is designed to stir up the contents of the can when it is opened to try and duplicate the action of the slow pour faucet used in the draft systems. The bottled version of Guinness Extra Stout however is a different beer entirely. Big, bold, anything but “smooth” and bottled with the natural carbon dioxide gas produced by natural fermentation. That is what Black Hole Stout is like. There is tremendous body and depth to this beer, the bitterness is balanced in the beer and in the foam, the use of some light chocolate malt from Thomas Fawcett Company in England gives it some added depth underneath the burnt grain flavors of the Fawcett roasted barley. A hint of smoke adds to the complexity and the lingering bitterness politely stays just the right amount of time. I’m really quite proud of our first stout here at Drop In