Brewery: 5 Stones Artisan Brewery
Beer: Camo
Style: Pale Stout
ABV: 7.8%
Character: Pale stout brewed with cocoa nibs and espresso beans
Metal Connection: THE BERZERKER – Reality
Wait a minute! Does that say Pale Stout? it sure does. Give it up to the guys over at 5 Stones Artisan Brewery to come up with such unique beers like Camo. Ever since 5 Stones busted into the Craft Beer scene, they have been turning heads all over the country. Cool thing about that is, everyone is now looking in our direction, towards San Antonio, because of breweries like this. 5 Stones is actually located in Cibolo, TX, but that is within the greater San Antonio area, right on the outskirts of the big city.
One look at Camo as it sits in your glass, in my case a Twisted X Brewing Company pint glass, you would not expect what is to come next! The beer appears a clear golden color, with a very thin layer of a white bubbly head, which did quickly disappear, leaving no lacing down the glass. A nice looking beer for a Pale Ale (Stout?!?!)
To my surprise, just like the rest of the world who have had this beer, the aroma was something not expected at all! Seeing a golden beer, which has a strong aroma of coffee, and cocoa was a bit different. Right off the initial whiff, the smell of the espresso beans hit me first, which them mellowed to a fair amount of chocolate in the nose. For me, this beer smelled just like a normal stout would, chocolate, coffee, earthy notes, and some light toasted malt aromas. Nothing that I was expecting at all!
The flavors hit you just as oddly as the aroma did. Espresso coffee bean taste right up front, mild lightly toasted malt body, earthy hops in the background, and the beer finishes with a creamy light chocolate sweet bitterness. If this was a blind taste test, I would not be able to tell this apart from a normal dark stout at all. I really love how this beer fools the mind.
Camo has a medium body thickness, so it’s not very heavy or filling, which could help you drink a tons more of this stuff in one sitting. The mouthfeel is smooth, and creamy, and finishes with a sweet bitterness, and a lingering chocolate taste.
This beer is a complete mind fuck, and I love that about it! I love the fact that my nose and taste buds were not ready for this beer after gazing upon it. The name Camo is so fitting for this beer on so many levels! I will give 1 million kudos to 5 Stones Artisan Brewery for coming up with such a monstrosity (in a good way, of course!) of a beer! I love their creativity, and I only see bright things for them in the future in our craft beer world. I am lucky to have such a brewery so close to home, and in distribution range.
Metal Connection: THE BERZERKER, a project band created by one man, Luke Kenny in 1995. The band became well known after signing to Earache Records and releasing their self titled debut album in 2000. The Berzerker was taking all the best elements from Industrial, Death Metal, and Grindcore and creating a musically and visually stunning monster. The reason for me choosing The Berzerker as the Metal Connection for 5 Stones Camo beer was because in the beginning of the band’s career, they wore masks to camouflage their real identities. They were something else when behind the masks they wore. In my opinion, at the time there was no other band quite like The Berzerker. The riffs were fast, meaty, the vocals were monstrous, and the industrial sounding drums created something truly never heard before. The first single, and song I ever heard from them is this song called “Reality,” which was the opening track to their debut album. You can imagine my reaction when this disc started playing. I didn’t know where this album was going to go after this fast, short, whirlwind of a song. See for yourself, if you never.
“I know what I have witnessed. Now it is your turn. Prepare yourself for a journey into a world where each new step may give you a better understanding of your own reality.”
Beer Metal Media 