Kelp Stout
Tofino Brewing Company

Kelp StoutKelp Stout
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From:
Tofino Brewing Company
 
British Columbia, Canada
Style:
American Stout
Ranked #207
ABV:
6%
Score:
87
Ranked #16,766
Avg:
3.87 | pDev: 8.01%
Reviews:
22
Ratings:
63
Status:
Active
Rated:
Aug 09, 2023
Added:
Dec 23, 2013
Wants:
  3
Gots:
  18
If there’s one sentiment that’s constantly repeated among craft beer drinkers it is, “This beer is good but it needs more seaweed!” If we’ve heard it once, we’ve heard it a thousand times. Well folks, message received. Tofino Brewing Company presents to you the Kelp Stout. A dark, rich, full-bodied ale brewed with locally harvested Kelp, giving a unique, umami-type quality to this complex beer.
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
Ratings by Mack:
Photo of Mack
Rated by Mack from Canada (QC)

3.74/5  rDev -3.4%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4

Dec 18, 2014
More User Ratings:
Photo of Yamaha1305
Reviewed by Yamaha1305

4.72/5  rDev +22%
look: 4.75 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5
Usually a Guiness drinker - this had all of that but somehow smoother - not as filling as a Guiness but all the taste...could spend the night with it.
Aug 09, 2023
 
Rated: 3.46 by Electros from Canada (ON)

May 12, 2023
Photo of WunderLlama
Reviewed by WunderLlama from Massachusetts

3.89/5  rDev +0.5%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4
Can poured in a snifter , both received from @beersnake1 in Bif15

Brewer Notes: If there’s one sentiment that’s constantly repeated among craft beer drinkers it is, “This beer is good but it needs more seaweed!” If we’ve heard it once, we’ve heard it a thousand times. Well folks, message received. Tofino Brewing Company presents to you the Kelp Stout. A dark, rich, full-bodied ale brewed with locally harvested Kelp, giving a unique, umami-type quality to this complex beer.

Dark cola like liquid capped by a bubbly taupe foam cap, good retention, good lacings

Aroma is milk chocolate

Taste is roast malts

Good sudsing, lighter body

Good beerv
Apr 24, 2022
 
Rated: 4 by BEER88 from North Carolina

Oct 18, 2021
 
Rated: 4.39 by rashjay from Michigan

Oct 07, 2020
Photo of LiquidAmber
Reviewed by LiquidAmber from Washington

4.17/5  rDev +7.8%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25
Poured into a Fremont small snifter. Pours a very dark mahogany brown, appearing nearly opaque in the glass, with a half finger khaki head with good retention and lacing. Aroma of dark toasted malt, light cocoa, hint of vanilla and licorice. There is a faint briny component that I probably would have missed if "kelp" wasn't on the label. Flavor is dark toasted malt with nice char, dark chocolate, mild licorice and like the aroma, a faintly briny taste that is somewhat reminiscent of oyster stout, but mild enough that I would not have noticed if I wasn't looking. Medium bodied with light creaminess. A nicely made stout with a well toasted and flavored malt base. Light notes of chocolate and licorice provide interest and the kelp seems to add a bit of character to the finish. I liked this one.
Sep 08, 2019
 
Rated: 3.84 by IPAnicked from Canada (BC)

Feb 15, 2019
Photo of AmeriCanadian
Reviewed by AmeriCanadian from Tennessee

4.14/5  rDev +7%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25
Enjoyed a bomber on a cool, rainy “Junuary” evening in Vancouver at the tail end of a trip home. A little gimmicky in the packaging and product description, but this is actually an exceptional American Stout.

Look is absolutely phenomenal, with a jet black body and huge, thick, lacing mocha head. Can’t emphasize the impressiveness of the head enough: truly robust, fluffy, and lasting. Awfully nice start.

Smell is stout-strong and layered, as long as you aren’t comparing it to barrel-aged offerings — remember this is a 6% stout. Lots of char, deep earth, dark-roast coffee, plus some baker’s chocolate, damp wood, and rye bread. There seems to be a slight hint of salinity on the nose, but that could be my imagination syncing with the beer description.

Taste is a touch more subdued than the nose, but still rock solid. Deep espresso and dark chocolate notes on the front of the tongue, but very little sweetness. A little molasses, lots of roasted malt, a very slight hop bight, and plenty of dark grain cereal. A really solid English stout profile.

Feel is medium and soft, with plenty of carbonation and lots of velvety smoothness. Slightly bitter aftertaste that lingers pleasantly.

IMO this beer is highly under-scored. I’m largely ignoring the kelp gimmick, as I find almost zero traces of its presence. But this is a damn good stout across the board, and my experience far out-paces the average review (to date) of this beer.
Jun 09, 2018
Photo of IanG
Rated by IanG from Canada (SK)

4.26/5  rDev +10.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.25
Nice stout despite the name
Jun 05, 2018
 
Rated: 3.73 by jgarvis from Illinois

Feb 04, 2018
Photo of kemoarps
Reviewed by kemoarps from New York

4.06/5  rDev +4.9%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Pours a rich velvety not-quite-black that is truly a ruddy brown, but so dark as to almost be that other one. Massive fluffy light brown head that finally settles in to a finger or so and seems content. Minimal lacing.

Nose presents roasty and a touch of chocolate in the malts. Subtly sweet and inviting.

Flavour begins similarly, and adds in some bitter coffee and dark chocolate. If I didn't know that it was brewed with kelp I don't know that I would necessarily pick it up explicitly on my own, but knowing it's in there I can definitely recognize it, and it makes sense for what it presents. The finish adds a little bit of briny seashore -- but only a touch. Almost more of an evokation than a full on flavour on its own. But I do find my cheeks tingling reminiscent of growing up on an island and accidentally swallowing seawater/licking my lips and the salty air just gives it that quiver.
I'm actually enjoying this one more than I had expected to.

Finish brings that... tang of a childhood spent exploring seashores and navigating tide pools or making kelp sculptures (no I never made those other things). This is in conjunction with a lingering roasty underpinning and espresso bitterness.

Ultimately I would agree with previous reviewers who have essentially said that Tofino started with a really well done base stout and then gave it a little quirkiness befitting coastal towns. I'm not sure that the kelp component makes the beer explicitly better per se, but it does give it a unique element to the finish, and it's a brew I would happily drink again
Jan 21, 2018
 
Rated: 3.86 by edthehead from Maryland

Aug 20, 2017
 
Rated: 4.35 by Boodoo from Canada (BC)

Jul 25, 2017
Photo of VashonGuy
Reviewed by VashonGuy from Washington

3.92/5  rDev +1.3%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4
I see that this beer has a fair number of skeptics. I'm not among them. I think this is a really good stout.

I'm wondering if the problem is the name, or the label. This stout is actually a very well made version of an American Stout, with a fine appearance (dark, nice tan head), and an excellent flavor, emphasizing roasted malts and some chocolate and coffee. The chocolate and coffee don't dominate, but they are pleasant components of the flavor. Then there's just a little something different at the end, a tanginess that must come from the kelp, and it must be what others have called briny. I don't find it prominent enough to call this beer briny, but I can see how it's a note that some might not like.

For myself, I think the Tofino brewers brewed an awesome stout, and then gave it a twist with the kelp. But don't go into this thinking "KELP". Think "Stout", and you may enjoy it as much as I did. And enjoy the twist at the end.

Hey, Dogfish Head does this kind of stuff all the time.
Jul 10, 2017
Photo of 3Vandoo
Reviewed by 3Vandoo from Canada (QC)

3.8/5  rDev -1.8%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
Directly from BC.
Very dark pitch black stout with no head at all.

Smell is very sweet, with hints of roasted coffee. There is a sourness taste present that I cannot pin point.

Taste is smooth and neutral. Watery at first with hints of toffee, shy caramel and a sourness that I assume might be the seaweed. Overall it reminds me of some Eastern European soda.

A very different beer
Apr 01, 2017
 
Rated: 4.07 by Eric_Standard from Canada (BC)

Mar 21, 2017
 
Rated: 3.95 by Supergenou from Canada (QC)

Feb 06, 2017
 
Rated: 4.49 by cknoch from Canada (AB)

Jan 08, 2017
 
Rated: 3.67 by ssgunbond from Belgium

Dec 31, 2016
Kelp Stout from Tofino Brewing Company
Beer rating: 87 out of 100 with 63 ratings