Appearance

The Red Bison Alta Mira is in a tall black bottle with a red bottle cap. The front of the bottle has a Red Bison, stripe and Alta Mira in white font. The beer pours dark, but on the thin side with a thin white head.

Aroma

Nosing the beer, I’m getting aromas of malts, sweetness, coffee and chocolate nibs. Everything I certainly enjoy in a stout and it has me eager to start drinking.

Flavor

My first few sips and I’m able to taste toasted oats, coffee and light chocolate. The chocolate begins to take on a whipped chocolate nib flavor as the beer progresses. As the beer warms, coffee and toasted oats become more defined.

Balance

The sweetness from the chocolate is balanced out nicely with the other flavors. As the beer warms up, the coffee and toasted oats dominate the profile, pushing the sweetness and chocolate nuances aside.

Finish

The Alta Mira has a big coffee finish, which gives way to oats, then dark chocolate, then long lingering coffee again.

Overall

The Red Bison Alta Mira is a big flavored stout that doesn’t have a huge ABV % to go with it. It’s entirely sessionable, with in your face flavors of coffee and toasted oats. The chocolate has a great creaminess to it, while the sweetness is more on the subdued side of things. I would seek this beer out, especially if I was looking for big stout flavors without the typical booze factor.

John McTavish

SCORE

6.42

Cost/Point

$0.85

Scoring System

Personal Beer Review: Red Bison Alta Mira