My first impression out of the bottle is that of slight surprise – this stout isn’t pitch black. The bottom of the glass has a reddish-brown glow that I previously saw only on Guinness. The nose is fantastic, though, acting as a precursor to a heavily malty taste. The mouthfeel is fairly light, though not nearly so much as the lightest ones in the tourney, Guinness and Young’s. It’s a fairly stingy feel as well, there isn’t much coating your tongue after you swallow. The aftertaste is almost smoky (though this isn’t a smoke beer), and I’m left with just a tempered bitter feeling on my tongue ten seconds or so after swallowing. At 9.7% ABV, it’ll getcha drunk alright, and you’ll have a mighty fine time of it.
Thirsty Dog Brewing Company is an American craft brewery in Akron, Ohio that makes a decently large selection of tasty brews. I’m a fan of their trippel as well as their pumpkin ales, but Siberian Night is the best of show, IMHO.
I want to state for the record that I’m a big fan of this beer and regularly pick up four-packs from Total Wine in NC and the Perfect Pour in MD. That being said, I don’t see this one making it out of the elite eight because it’s got a date with Oak Aged Yeti, which I feel has a slightly fuller taste. I like the high ABV and the mouthfeel is actually a surprisingly nice change-of-pace from a lot of the very smooth, coating feels you’ll find on some of its competitors (including OAY). Even though I don’t see this one hitting the final four, it shouldn’t have any problem dispatching its first round opponent, Samuel Smith’s Oatmeal Stout (which I was never very high on to begin with). Siberian Night is a solid beer from a solid brewery with a lot going for it. I just don’t see it taking the title against this very tough competition.
The matches aren’t played on paper, though, so we’ll see how everything unfolds this weekend.
Duff Out.
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