Days of the Beer, November 3

The beer for today is Port Dock Black Bart Milk Stout.

On November 3, 1883, "Black Bart the poet" got away with his last stagecoach robbery, but left a clue that lead to his capture.

Charles Bolles was an American Old West outlaw who left poetic messages after each robbery. He was one of the more notorious stagecoach robbers who operated around Northern California and southern Oregon.

The Black Bart character was taken from a Sacramento Union newspaper serial called The Case of Summerfield. In it, the villain was dressed in black, with black hair, a black beard and grey eyes.

Bolles the outlaw, was a polite and good mannered fellow, He told the driver to "Please throw down the box." He was courteous and didn't use foul language. He covered his body in sacks and linen to hide his clothing. He eventually began to leave poems at the sites of his crimes. He was very successful and made off with thousands of dollars a year.

It is believed that Bolles committed 26 robberies.

At his last attempt, Bolles held up a stagecoach at the same spot as his first, on Funk Hill near the present town of Copperopolis. The stage driver was Reason McConnell, the stage had just crossed Reynolds Ferry, on the road from Sonora to Milton. At the ferry, the driver picked up Jimmy Rolleri, the son of the ferry owner.

Jimmy had gotten off to go hunting and was going to be picked up at the other side of the hill. When he got there, the stage wasn't there, so he travelled up the road and found the driver and the horses. He learned that Bolled had unhitched the coach and forced McConnell and the horses to go over the other side of the hill, while he attempted to get the lock box. Bolles couldn't get the strongbox out, as Wells Fargo had bolted it to the floor inside.

McConnell told Jimmy that there was a holdup, took his rifle and fired at Bolles but missed. Jimmy took the rifle back and fired one or two shots. Bolles dropped the items he took from the box and fled.

The incident was investigated and some personal items of Bolles were found at the scene, including some of Bart's handkerchiefs with a laundry mark. That mark was traced to Ferguson & Bigg's California Laundry, where it was identified as belonging to Bolles. Bolles confessed to several earlier robberies, believing that the statute of limitations had expired.

Wells Fargo only pressed charges on the final robbery. Bolles was convicted and sentenced to six years in San Quentin. He was let go after four years for good behavior.

As to the beer:

Port Dock Brewery Hotel is located in Adelaide, South Australia. They produce six beers including Black Bart, and an alcoholic ginger ale, Ginja.

Dispensed with a high nitrogen gas, giving this Stout it's thick, rich, creamy head! Brewed with the inclusion of Lactose(sugar of milk) giving the Stout it's initial sweet taste, followed by a chocolatey smooth mid palate and a sweet dry roasty finish... Cheers!

So, for Black Bart's last train robbery, 125 years ago, see if you can find a Black Bart Milk Stout. It'd probably help if you were in Australia.

If you aren't, then Bear Republic, from California at one point made a Black Bart Imperial Stout, but it hasn't had a review on Ratebeer or Beer Advocate since 2007.