McHugh's Irish Stout
Great Waters Brewing

From a half gallon growler.

A thin bubbly brown head adorns the top of this nearly black brew. Soon, all that exists is a bubbly colar. The lace left is negligible. The aroma is pretty nice. Nutty and roasted and cocoa and bittersweet. Good stout nose. The mouthfeel is lacking. Watery and thin. Maybe a medium body at best. And carbonation is almost absent. The taste is pretty good. Nice roasted malt character. Chocolate and coffee. Not bad. With a better mouthfeel, I'd enjoy this one a lot more.

On cask: Color is awesome with the huge cascade of dull yellow making its way up the sides of the glass, finally settling to a very, very dark brown, nearly black with ruby red highlights around the edges, head is creamy and frothy tight about a finger high, creamy/tan in color and leaves large sheets of lace.
Aroma is mild roastyness and milk chocolate with a slight tang of bitterness from hops in the back. Taste is more of the same with a solid dose of mild but bittering milk-like chocolate with a sweet roasty nut-like note darting in late in the finish with a touch of burnt coffee as well. Feel could be smoother, its a bit textured in a uneven sense, but the serving on cask makes for a nice milding effect. The dryness is nice and mild as well, very calming and easy with a nice light cottony feel fading into the mouth making you want another sip; if this was cold it would probably be disturbingly astringent and unpleasant alot like some of the other brews offered here. The cask does help it out alot I think. Even with that said, it has pretty good drinkability. Reminded me alot of the Pot Hole Porter with a bit of a different finish.

Cask conditioned, very dark black...head is creamy and settles at 1/4 inch. Deep malty aroma. This tasted like a very fresh cask (not always the case at Great Waters), nice intense coffee flavors with a solid bitter chocolate tone as well. Definitely enough burnt and roasty java characteristics to meet the Dry Stout style. Slightly off sweet and sour sauce astringency, but not fatal. Could use just a little more mouthfeel. Nice to drink a fresh Stout at the proper temperature, nice change of pace from nitro pushed Guinness at so many taverns...