Old No. 38
North Coast Brewing Co.

 

 

A: opaque: very dark brown in color; a 1 finger finely pored light brown head that receded to a wispy cap with a moderate tight collar; OK lacing;

S: bittersweet chocolate, deeply roasted grain, and a hint of black coffee;

T: deeply roasted grain with coffee in the background; moderate bitterness at the end;

M: medium bodied; moderate carbonation; moderately dry finish;

O: nicely done;

This one pours a fairly dark black color, with a small head, and lots of lacing.

There’s a nice roasty coffee note on the nose, with some dark chocolate.

This is just a super classic and traditional take on the style. The body is thin but the flavor is not. There’s lots of roast here, with a nice chocolate and coffee finish, and a hint of charred bitterness.

This is creamy, but thin bodied, with a great drinkability.

This is one of the best dry Irish stouts that you’ll find made in America – it was extremely enjoyable.

 

RB transfer

I had this on draft 6/10/25 @ the Beer Temple.

Black/brown appearance.

Nice tan head; nice lacing remained.

Medium roast coffee bean, chocolate & mild oat notes in the nose.

Creamy medium mouthfeel...delightful!

Medium roast coffee bean & bakers chocolate flavors up front; dry oat notes on the finish.

Solid, drinkable, flavorful...I'd have another!

 

Pours clear, dark brown with dark garnet highlights. A three-inch, chestnut head turns from frothy foam to loose as it gradually forms a thick pillow and never fading. An unbroken open lacework is left on a Harp nonic.

The aroma is rich with malt and chocolate syrup. Black coffee closely follows. While it is a bit sweet, roasted malt takes center stage. Warmth brings out currants.

The malt carries directly into the flavor, however, there is more sweet than expected. The malt is also a tad burnt. Baker's chocolate and mild bitterness follow into a long, powerful finish. The finish is dominated by roasted malt.

A thin body and watery texture. The alcohol and light carbonation are both as expected.

This one is always a good drinking beer and works well with a cigar. I prefer it with Bleu Cheese and this time it was a lightly smoked and creamy Bleu Cheese.

 

Poured from a 12 oz bottle dated 01/29/25 into the test glass
A - Dark brown color, not much light makes it through. A creamy off white cap last quite a while. Lacing is spot on.
S - Milk chocolate, a light roast malt thread in there, As the offering warms a hint of coffee and bit of char emerge'
T - A bit of char upfront, then again with the cocoa, and roast malt. There is a hint of hops,
M - Light on the palate, easy drinking offering. with a linger of roast malt. Excellent dry finish
O - A very good, stout that is easy to understand. Delicious

 

 

Decent if thin nose of malty mocha. The body is flavorful, with more roasty mocha and bitter, biting dark chocolate. Roasty dark malts linger on but overall somewhat thin and watery.

 

Good if not great for the abv stout offered by North Coast

Bottle pour - inky black, short khaki head, minimal lacing. Roasty and malty. This is a nostalgia beer for me. Reminiscent of motorcycle rides 30+ years ago along the coast stopping at North Coast for a hearty bowl of dirty rice and beans washed down with copious pints of Red Seal and Old #38.

The pour is jet black with a tan & frothy head of foam. The taste is roasted malt, grains, along with some hints of dark chocolate, coffee, & burnt brown sugar. Cheers! B

North coast brewing no38 not bad! At all… but nothing like the creamy goodness of the cinnamon nitro stout that thing is nuts good!
Closer to guiness foreign extra stout tbh… has a lil more carbonation in it… not a fan as much as the cinnamon dolce brew

Puffy lumpy taupe head over ruby black; raisin, toast + ash nose; Raisinettes, Fig Newtons, char, espresso grounds; clean, dry, lt-med.

4 3.75 3.75 3.75 3.75

Smells and tastes more British than Irish - there's a ton of dried fruit, almost like a heavy Special B hit.
A lack of roasty notes to clean up hurts drinkability, too - there's chocolate, but it's milk, not Bakers.
This might've been special when it was one of a kind 20+ years ago, but there are many better options now.

OK, but shows its age.

My 3500th review, so it's at least appropriate for it to be an old school brew in a non-trendy style.