Beer – #446 – Pelican – Tsunami Stout

A beer that I am genuinely looking forward to drinking.

Brewed by Pelican Pub & Brewery this is their take on the style that is Foreign Stout and they are in Pacific City, Oregon USA

I have a 1 Pint, 6 Fl OZ bottle (22 fl oz) , or about 650ml, of beer that is 7.5% ABV, 45 IBU things, so 3.85 standard drink units , and 225 a serve of 412 for the bottles if you are counting calories.

This is the look of a man with expectations

Midnight black color and rich dark-roasted aroma. Specially blended hops combine with flaked unmalted barley to give this brew a full body and a dense creamy head. All elements combine in a solid, lingering finish.

It’ll bowl you over with its midnight black color and rich dark-roasted aroma. Magnum and Willamette hops combine with unmalted barley and roasted malts to give this brew a full body and a dense creamy head. All elements combine in a rich espresso-like finish.

Mouth watering in anticipation, I hope it’s not disappointing.

Rich chocolate aroma, darker deeper.

Poured with a fleeting head and the chocolate aroma became something less and picked up a bit a grassiness to it on the way. Frown

The second glass poured with a much better head, and more persistence. A different glass might have been different.

There seems to be a lot more bitterness in this than 45, and they’re quite edgy with it. There is a burst of warm malts in the middle though. A much fuller beer.

But am I bursting at the seams with warmth and love.

No I’m not. I’m trying to talk the up but it still lacks that oomph in the body that makes this a full mouthfeel beer.

It’s a very good stout with some nice flavours, but it’s not “the stout”, the one you have and say that’s it, that’s perfect…. this isn’t that stout.

Bugger. (for anyone not in NZ that’s a clickable link to explain the local slang)

I am enjoying it, but not in the way I wanted to, and that seems to be the way sometimes, the gap between expectation and delivery is the disappointment (that’s management 101)

Given though that I could drink this without feeling the need that it needs balance against a food of some kind I’d say it was a pretty clever beer.

Muted bitterness, mellow softness in the middle, that carries that sweetness and a decent finish that is slightly bitter but not dry or sour. Clever really.

Really clever as I find myself enjoying the , for want of a better word. fluffiness, of the mouthfeel in this. In the end not a total disaster, and so what started out as a desire to have the world stop for me ended up with me meeting the prettiest girl at the dance. That’s not so bad.

The pdubyah-o-meter rates this as 9 a of its things from the thing. Not going to be a 10, it didn’t pour so well, and too it’s time to settle on something that was more wallflower than leading the dance. It’s still a cracking beer that you’d quaff and end up giggling at your own jokes though, and that makes it ok in my book .

The double dip review

Am I enjoying it? I was up dancing to the music, which might be the beer talking, but yes once we’d made up it was all on like donkey kong
Would I have another? I’ve had a whole bottle (or will have had) and I’ve ticked it off the list of things to make me happy. However I’d love another, if this was the choice it’d be premium.
Would I share with a friend on a porch and set the world to rights? Yes, I think that this has all the things that make a conversation worthwhile, enjoyment and distraction in something other than the nonsense that your mouth is saying.

Still has the Amy Winehouse on the music machine, this is “Valerie”

Worth a dance with the missus.

FOREIGN STOUT

Foreign Stout began with the beer that would become Guinness Foreign Extra Stout. This was a stronger, extra-hopped version of the basic Guinness Extra Stout, brewed to survive long journeys overseas. The classic FES still exists in a few different forms, but many of the original destination countries (Jamaica, Sri Lanka, etc.) now have their own, locally-produced versions. Foreign stout occupies a position between basic stout and imperial stout. It is sweeter than a basic stout, but not as robust as an imperial. It is less fruity and less hoppy as well. Foreign stouts are sometimes made with local grains and adjuncts sugar is not uncommon. Alcohol ranges from 6-8%