Madtree Brewing Co. - "Blacktart" tart stout

Today's beer comes to me courtesy of fellow craft beer enthusiast Jason, who's recently moved to DC from the Midwest. It's Madtree Brewing Co.'s "Blacktart," coming from Cincinnati, OH. This beer is a collaboration between fifteen breweries as part of Cincinnati's beer week.

The "Blacktart" is an 8.00% ABV stout made with cinnamon, lactose and blackberries, as you can tell by the above picture. The nose is sweet and smooth, with some dark berries and chocolate.

Dark as the night is long. The foam is also a dark tan. Sorry, I didn't get a clear in-focus photo of the pour.

Wow, the taste is unusual. It's sweet, reminds me a lot of some of the darker beers like Southern Tier's Plum Noir and Stone's Russian Imperial Stout. Definitely picking up on the lactose - similar to Lancaster Milk Stout or the Baba Black Lager in terms of mouthfeel. Nice and full. I like the malts here - it's smooth as velvet, warm, with interesting cinnamon spice tastes. I'm not picking up in the blackberries. The aftertaste is smooth with some cinnamon notes.

This was a good beer to try - the cinnamon I think is its biggest strength. The flavors and spices are good and I always enjoy the way some darker beers can be made without any oily or burnt tastes. I bet this would be amazing on nitro. All in all, a good beer to have. Very drinkable, and would be suitable for a cool fall evening. Thanks Jason!