Into a Glass, Darkly: Boulevard Dark Truth Stout

At long last I face down Dark Truth, the strong stout from Kansas City's Boulevard Brewing Co.  It quickly dashed my hopes of a Belgian-style stout, but impressed at the right moments. 

Highly creamy nose with waves of expresso, toffee and dark fruits, likely dates or figs. The yeast might not impart Belgian characteristics, but the nose is a descendent of the luxuriously strong Trappist and Abbey ales. 

This stout has none of the effervescence other Belgian-style stouts have presented. The creaminess drags it out of Russian imperial stout territory none too soon. Confession - I burned out on strong stouts some time ago. People would lap up any Russian imperial stout poured at the wine store,  but the style has too many overlapping representations. Very few stand out from the pack, and fortunately Dark Truth veers off on its own. 

Dark Truth finishes dryly with a few fingers of dark chocolate and a little ruby fruit - possibly cherry - although not the plum the label advertised. This fruitiness is more elusive and still sublime.  The smokiness doesn't stick, drifting away as a layer of chocolate remains. A much-touted display of spice never rises from the German hops, but no matter; there's enough character beneath the surface of Dark Truth to compensate. 

Save this bottle of opaque stout and all its complexities for the depths of winter. It's a solid drink in the heat of summer, but paired it would feel better when placed with rich desserts at a holiday meal.  It might not reappear until next winter anyway, and its high alcohol content (9.7  percent ABV) makes it worth socking one away to age. 

I wouldn't call Dark Truth a world-changer, but it possesses enough facets to keep up the surprises throughout a 750.