235. Three Floyds Black Sun Stout

Black Sun Stout is our second beer from Three Floyds Brewing Company; the last one was Blackheart IPA. We had this out of the bottle at the Beer Store in Louisville, KY while waiting to have dinner at the Mayan Cafe across the street (which was also totally excellent). Besides an excellent selection of bottled beers, the Beer Store also has several beers on tap; while we browsed their selections earlier in the day, we sampled a glass of Three Floyds Dreadnaught. How’s that for an enjoyable shopping experience?

Black Sun Stout pours a delicious deep and rich black color with a thick rich white head. The nose is mostly coffee accompanied by a light burnt malt aroma. Flavors are dominated by a roasted malt and coffee flavor in the front, leading into a smoother middle with some perceptible hop bitterness, and closing with more of the burnt and roasted notes at the end. Black Sun has a medium body with medium carbonation; the creamy mouthfeel is balanced with bright clean flavors. A delicious beer overall, and one that we look forward to trying again.

From the bottle: “Black Sun Stout has a nose of coffee, roasted malts and piney hops. This medium bodied stout has a broad depth of maltiness and a clean dry finish.”

From the Three Floyds website: “Black Sun has a nose of coffee, roasted malts and piney hops. This medium bodied stout has a broad depth of maltiness and a clean dry finish. December release.”

ABV: 6.5%

IBU: 50

Also, we visited Cumberland Brews earlier in the day, where in addition to lunch we tried their Pale Ale and Runner-Up Ale. The Pale Ale is described as “a copy of our favorite Chico beer,” while Runner-Up Ale is a small beer that was brewed off of the second runnings of their barleywine and fermented with a Belgian yeast. Both were delicious. Too bad there wasn’t more time to indulge our palates with their wide array of beers. There’s always next time...

(2/20/2010)