Double Feature: Animated Stouts

Does TRON: Legacy count as an animated film? There is certainly a ton of animation in the film. Even some of the supposedly “human” characters are animated (notably the pre-disappearance Flynn and CLU), albeit sometimes poorly (you can see that uncanny valley effect quite clearly on a couple of occasions). Well anyway, I went in with very low expectations that were thus met. It was entertaining and pretty to look at, and the music was awesome, which is about all I could ask of it. This iRi post gets at one of the things I really like about TRON (the way the grid seems so alien), but I have to say that the effects described in that post are probably less pronounced in the sequel (in particular, I was disappointed by the light-bikes). The other film of my double-feature (and the only one I was actually drinking during) was Despicable Me, which had a few really funny moments (and I love the minions), but which is ultimately nothing too special. As kids animation goes, it’s no Pixar, but it’s probably a step above average.

I’ve never really been a fan of Stouts and when I started this blog, one of the things I wanted to do was better familiarize myself with the style. I took a bit of a detour into Belgian Strong Darks during the holidays, so I have a bunch of Stouts that I’ve been buying that have been sitting in my fridge or on my shelf waiting. They’re certainly good winter beers, though I wouldn’t recommend drinking a stout while watching an animated kids movie. Kinda weird, actually, but that’s what I did:

Brooklyn Black Chocolate Stout

Brooklyn Black Chocolate Stout – Pours an opaque black color with a small, relatively light colored head that leaves lots of lacing as I drink. Smells a bit on the roasty side with some nice maltiness coming through, maybe even some caramel. There’s only a very light roastiness in the taste though, which is instead dominated by rich chocolaty flavors, some of that caramel, and a solid malty sweetness. There’s some bitterness there too, but it’s dry, like dark chocolate. Indeed, this is almost like drinking a good dark chocolate. It’s a full bodied brew with surprisingly good carbonation given the small head and high alcohol, which makes one heck of a smooth, drinkable beer (a bit dangerous when it comes in at 10% alcohol!) I get the feeling that lesser breweries would totally screw something like this up. All of the complex elements here are very well balanced. As I said, I’m not much of a stout drinker, but this one is probably the best I’ve ever had. I don’t think that will last, but it’s still an impressive effort from Brooklyn (and my new favorite beer from that brewery). A

Beer Nerd Details: 10% ABV bottled (12 oz). Drank from a pint glass.

Founders Breakfast Stout

Founders Breakfast Stout – Before I get into this one, a disclaimer: I don’t drink coffee. I wouldn’t say that I hate coffee, but I don’t particularly like it either. So while this beer is currently ranked on BA as the 7th best beer on the planet, I am not likely to enjoy it quite so much. So if one of my three readers happens to be a beer nerd, be forewarned, I’m gonna rate this one relatively low. Like the Brooklyn, it pours an opaque black color, with a bigger, darker colored but still light brown head. Some lacing apparent, but not as much as the Brooklyn. Smells much more roasty with some coffee thrown in for good measure. Now, I do usually like the smell of coffee, but this beer isn’t really doing much for me on that front, which I find odd. The taste is also dominated by roasty coffee flavors. There’s some malt sweetness there too, maybe chocolate, but it’s overpowered by the coffee. There’s a complexity in the taste, but I just can’t get past the coffee. As far as mouthfeel goes, it’s got good carbonation and a nice full body. A little less smooth than the Brooklyn stout, but still quite drinkable (assuming you like coffee). Really, this just ain’t my style of beer. I’m glad I tried it and it’s certainly not a poorly crafted beer, I just don’t like coffee… If you do, you’ll probably love it. B-

Beer Nerd Details: 8.3% ABV bottled (12 oz). Drank from a pint glass.

So there you have it. I loved one and didn’t care for the other. I’m looking forward to some of the other stouts I have waiting in the wings though, including one from Stone and, given my taste it should not be surprising that I have some Belgian-style darks that are kinda pretending to be stouts, like Allagash Black and Ommegang Chocolate Indulgence (which says it’s a stout on the bottle, but is classified as a Belgian Dark on BA).

3 thoughts on “Double Feature: Animated Stouts”

  1. I love stouts and porters, and chocolate and coffee, but I find most chocolate and coffee stouts a bit disappointing. Brooklyn’s chocolate stout is way too overpowering on the chocolate, and it’s so thick and sweet, I can only drink 1.

    I haven’t had Founder’s, but most coffee stouts are the same thing, big coffee flavor that distracts from the actual ale. An exception, I think it’s Troegs that makes a java porter that finds the right balance for an absolutely amazing beer.

    A moment’s research finds: Java Head Stout. It’s based off of their oatmeal stout, which may help explain why I love it so much. Oatmeal stouts tend to have such a smooth, creamy body, I absolutely love them =)

    Reply
  2. Oh, and have you seen the original Tron? I tried to watch it on TV a few years ago, figuring it will be so campy it will be fun. Nope, it was just all around awful, I turned it off after about a half hour.

    I hope the new one is at least better than that.

    Reply
  3. Neither Tron movie is particularly good. I like them both, but they’re clearly flawed. I think that iRi review I linked provides an interesting perspective on why I like them, even if, again, they’re not especially good in any other respect. Also, the original seemed to be kinda prescient in terms of the way we look at computers and networks. The new Tron is very lame in that respect. Think of all the changes in computers and networking since 1982 (or whenever that first movie was). More complex, faster, huge networks, the internet, etc… None of that is even remotely touched on in the new movie.

    Reply

Leave a Comment