Deschutes Brewery

Bena, OR

Obsidian Stout

6.4% ABV

Deschutes is one of those breweries that has a lot of lore and hype surrounding them. With such sought-after beers as The Abyss, Black Butte and so on, those of us on the East Coast don’t generally get to enjoy any of their offerings.

But beer people are good people, and a recent trade resulted in me getting my hands on my first Deschutes brew.

Obsisian is their year-round stout. Looking at their website, it’s got a pretty robust malt and hop profile. But at just north of 6% ABV, it’s almost a sessionable stout.

True to its name, it’s black as obsidian. There’s no light whatsoever getting through the glass. Two fingers of a brownish bubbly head top it off and stick around. There’s some gorgeous lacing that grips the side of the glass and some mild alcohol legs.

There are big dark chocolate and roasted qualities on the nose. Definitely a strong coffee and espresso note that permeates everything else. Just a very slight black licorice flavor backed with a ticker sweetness.

Mild hop bitterness on the front of the tongue. Almost a creamy mouthfeel to it. Smooth across the palate with just some light carbonation. Roasted notes really shine on the back. Big dark coffee lingers and almost smokes your mouth. Aftertaste is big sweet dark chocolate.