28 Aug Running Walker Brewery Stout by Tony

Running Walker Brewery Stout

Running Walker

Richmond

Stout

ABV: 5.8%

IBUs: 52

Packaging: Draft, 12 ounce cans

Harvey’s here. The city’s under water. Dark clouds fill the sky and the hearts of many Houstonian’s are heavy. While I’m not flooding, I am trapped in my home, and I figured a heavy dark beer would be an appropriate one to review this week. This heaviness led us to cut the wings off our Big Beer Big Bird idea, but the Beer Chronicle team must move forward.

I got it from Total Wine in a build your own 6 pack a few months ago, and I’ve been waiting for the right time to drink it. I enjoy stouts, but I have to be in the mood for them.

When my wife and I went to Fiesta to stock up on some last minute supplies before the storm, I told her to grab me some Saint Arnold Oktoberfest, but she got Shiner’s Oktoberfest by mistake. With the lines and craziness, I didn’t complain. I was just happy to have a few beers. But good thing Hannah’s a trooper because she just wrote about it yesterday as she was roughing the storm.

I started off with an Oktoberfest and then went on to Running Walker Brewery Stout, and the two beers paired well. Running Walker bills this Stout as, “A smooth session stout that doesn’t have coffee, chocolate infusion, or barrel aging,” rightly so.

I usually put a great deal of effort into describing the can art, but this one’s just gray, black and aluminum with their logo and the word Stout real big. Not real creative. But that’s standard operating procedures for these guys.

Running Walker Brewery Stout pours so dark brown that it’s almost black. There’s a thick, creamy, tan head that melted slowly, but eventually left the hurricane party early. That might’ve been due to my glass, though.

This stout smells heavily like milk chocolate with tiny vanilla and tobacco notes, and I swear y’all are gonna think I’m full of it, but some cinnamon. It’s like a beer version of Mexican chocolate milk almost.

The taste of Running Walker Brewery Stout starts off with bittersweet chocolate and slight burnt coffee. It’s a bit light bodied, but not quite watery. The carbonation is pretty high, but I think it plays well with the light body. The finish has similar flavor notes. The cinnamon and tobacco from the aroma show up again with a leathery sweetness.

I don’t think it was as watery-thin and eventless as Nick did, but it’s still not winning any awards in my book either. Comparing it to a Guinness might be fair, but I haven’t had one since 2013 or 2014. It’s also worth noting that this beer was canned on February 25, 2016, bought in June 2017, and drank at the end of August 2017. Stouts do well with aging, but maybe the time differences make up for some of the discrepancies between Nick and my review?

You can find Running Walker Brewery Stout at Pink’s Pizza, Craft Grill, Red Brick Tavern, and a few other spots.