Pope Crisco: Dark Truth Stout by Boulevard Brewing Co.

When you work a shitty job, and have a shitty schedule, a lot of people express pity for your employment predicament. While I do enjoy to some extent the idea of having a regular nine to five job with the weekend off, I also must say that having one’s downtime when the majority of other people are working has its benefits as well.

For instance, while other people are watching the clock till 5 o’clock Friday for the weekend, my Saturday begins at 12 am on Thursday morning. This leaves me the freedom to, without any guilt what so ever, pop a top after lunch while the majority of my peers sit in their cubicles with another day of toil before their own opportunity to enjoy a weekend beer.

Today, for example, in celebration of International Stout Day, I am enjoying a bottle of Dark Truth Stout, an imperial stout brewed by the wonderful people at Boulevard Brewing CO.

The beer pours out rich and blacker than Texas Tea, with a lovely mocha head that, despite my best effort to control the pour, is quite aggressive, and towers a good inch above the rim of my pint glass before dissipating to a height agreeable to consumption of the beer below.

Knocking back of the pint glass, the first mouthful is a creamy wash of dark chocolate and coffee bitterness with agreeable roasted malt sweetness. As the drink mingles on my palate a not unpleasant alcohol hotness develops, rounding out a moderately dry finish with a slight spice and the slightest suggestion of vanilla.

As the beer continues to disappear into the abyss of my gullet, the stout’s bite mellows out and becomes more drinkable while still being bold in flavor to keep things very interesting, while the healthy 9.7% ABV of this beverage succeeds in rinsing away the week’s headache.

My only disappointment is the lack of a second bottle to enjoy.

Happy drinking!

I brew and drink beer, smoke pipes and cigars, eat till I’ve had more than my fill, and escape in pulp rags till my eyes turn buggy. I don’t claim any expertise in any subject other than the chase of my own earthly pleasures. I write to help others find their own pleasures so that together we will decay in spirit with these lesser pursuits.