The cold and snowy weather made my choice for this week’s review pretty easy: Ballast Point’s The Commodore American Stout. Stouts and porters usually are full-bodied beers that fare pretty well on a winter night.

The bottle has a very artistic label, with a special touch of flare that helps it stand out on the shelf. The first thing you see is a skeleton pirate, dressed in purple and smoking a pipe on the ocean. Honestly, it’s a pretty cool design.

When you pour The Commodore, it looks as dark a brown as possible — almost black — and leaves a sizeable tan head. This is a dark beer, absolutely no question about it.

Unlike a lot of beers I’ve reviewed, The Commodore is extremely potent. It offers very strong coffee notes and chocolate notes, as well as a bit of sweetness and nuttiness. Before taking a sip, it felt like I was hit in the face with the smell — it’s that strong.

When I took a sip, I was a bit surprised. It didn’t feel like the thick, fuller-bodied stout I was expecting. It had a watery and carbonated start, but eventually felt like it thickened from the tip of the tongue to the finish.

The Commodore has a mix of strong dark chocolate, nutty and coffee flavors. The biggest thing I noticed was how dry my mouth felt after taking a few sips. It has a very roasted feel to it, almost like a burnt flavor, that’ll linger a few moments after a sip.

As mentioned earlier, The Commodore is a great beer for a cold night. It’s high in alcohol content, weighing in at 6.5 percent ABV, and it’ll warm you up. You won’t want to drink a lot of it either, as it’s really filling. I wouldn’t order this on its own, but I’d happily enjoy a pint alongside a rack of ribs or with another smoky barbecue dish.

This is a classier beer than most you’ll see on a college campus, but it isn’t priced like one. You can find a six-pack for around $11, which compares pretty well to any standard six-pack.

Published on April 7, 2016 at 12:01 am