GREAT LAKES BLACKOUT STOUT

Man, am I ever on a hot streak right about now. Every new beer I try hits the hallowed 7/10-or-better status, with the last few hitting the proverbial catbird seat of 8/10 or better. The last beer I had to try in a batch lovingly cobbled together by Kevin at KevBrews is this outstanding GREAT LAKES BLACKOUT STOUT, a Russian-style Imperial Stout fairly heavy on the alcohol (9%) and way heavy on the intense, mouth-puckering flavor. Deep, rich malts combine in a brew that’s as black as arctic night, and they are so rich, so caramel-laden, so, uh, malty, that you just want to throw caution to the wind and keep unloading these 12-oz. monsters into your chalice. Good thing I only had one sent to me. This is confirmation yet again that the craft beer tide has successfully swept all corners of the United States this past decade, and that pretty much no matter where you go in this country (except perhaps the deepest South), you’re going to find several microbreweries that are bringing the experimental revolution to the people. Moving out of California is finally an option for me, what with breweries like GREAT LAKES, BELL’S, FOUNDERS and JOLLY PUMPKIN in Michigan alone (correction - Great Lakes is in Cleveland. Never mind!). Hello, Flint! Any auto manufacturing jobs left out there? Oh yeah – this beer’s easily an 8/10 – track it down anytime, anywhere!