Steelhead Extra Stout

Product Reviewed: Steelhead Extra Stout
Brewed by: Mad River Brewing Co.; Blue Lake, CA.
Review by: David Brockington
Original Posted to Usenet: June 19, 1994

Initial Impressions:

This beer was reviewed in draught form at the Wedgwood Cafe and Pub, a mere handful of blocks (and walking distance) from my humble abode. The pint I ordered was somewhat on the flat side, which was OK. While there wasn't much head to begin with, what head that did form displayed wonderful retention qualities, leaving a nice lace down the side of the glass. It was extremely opaque. (Not to be confused with "slightly" opaque. :)

Nose:

The dominating feature in the nose was roast. Teasingly in the background were notes of malt, but the roast dominated the olfactory profile. There were no hops to be found in the nose, which is to be expected.

Flavor:

Very roasty. The first thing to hit was the roast, which slid into a brief, malty middle, finishing with a lingering hop bitterness. I cannot overemphasized the degree of roasted barley in this stout; it was certainly quite aggressive, and exactly the sort of West Coast stout that I favor. Although the emphasis on the roast was pleasing, there were hints of astringency floating around, biting at you while you enjoyed the beer. No hop flavor was detected, which is also to be expected.

Final Analysis:

I understand that Mad River acquired the old Sierra Nevada equipment when the latter expanded. It shows; Steelhead (not to be confused with the excellent brewpub in Eugene, Oregon by the same name) is a very good beer, which accomplishes the tricky task of making an aggressive, yet balanced, dry stout. The only thing keeping this beer from an "excellent" rating in my book is the hints of astringency that came through.

***1/2 (out of 5)

Next Up:

Yuengling Porter (I know I said this last time, but I goofed)

Also, I am attending the Herbfarm Microbrew Festival for a second day this afternoon. I took notes on several NW micros there yesterday, including Leavenworth IPA, Red Hook Blueline IPA, and Full Sail Maibock. Look for those in days to come, in addition to some others that I will sample today. Cheers!

David Brockington, Seattle, USA
bronyaur@u.washington.edu