Three Fine Stouts at Armsby Abbey’s StoutFest

On April 17, I was lucky enough to make my way up to the Armbsy Abbey pub in Worcester, MA, for their StoutFest event. For those who don’t know, Armsby Abbey is a wonderful restaurant catering to lovers of fine beer. Normally, they feature a wide variety of artisan brews, many hard to find outside of places like this.

I’ve only been to the Abbey twice, but both times I’ve had both great food and fabulous beer. This was my first time going to one of their special events. StoutFest featured 22 different quality stouts.

It was a low volume night for me both because I was driving from East Greenwich, RI, and I hadn’t eaten all day (although I ordered one of their pizzas, and that did the trick). Ultimately, I sampled three different stouts. Here’s my reviews:

2009 Port Older Viscosity (11%)

Flat out, Port Older Viscosity was my favorite beer of the night. Keep in mind that this is a relatively high alcohol stout at 11%, but manages to avoid the sharpness that accompanies most high alcohol beers.

This is a very dense beer with an earthy flavor that fills the entire mouth. The finish reminded me of a combination of coffee and dark chocolate.

As much as I loved Old Viscosity, it’s not a session beer and it’s not something you drink in pints. Mine was served to me in a larger than average brandy snifter (so less than a half pint). This was the perfect serving size. To that point, my friend Jim got his Old Viscosity served to him in a stemmed half-pint glass. He noted that the strong flavor became a bit much as he got to the bottom of the glass.

So, I would strongly recommend Port Old Viscosity as a first beer of the night.

Oskar Blues Ten Fidy (10.5%)

This is probably the closest thing I had to a session stout that evening. I really loved Oskar Blues Ten Fidy. It carried a unique taste but not so overwhelming that you couldn’t drink several of these in an evening.

When drinking Ten Fidy, you’ll pick up an initial smokiness combined with a hint of roasted nuts. This stout is very smooth and finishes with a dark, mildly fruity taste.

I generally prefer a stout with a little less bite if it’s going to be my only beer of the night, but I’d happily put up with the bite considering all of Ten Fidy’s other strengths.

Cisco Captain Swain’s Extra Stout (8%)

This was my least favorite stout of the evening, but in the grand scheme of things, it’s still a B+ beer. This extra stout hits you hard with a malty bitterness. If you prefer your stouts with a lot of bite, then you’ll like this beer more than me.

Captain Swain’s Extra Stout conveys an earthiness that borders on gritty. It’s got a strong black coffee taste with just a little fruitiness as a finish. I liked it, but I didn’t love it.