Mike Duggan #07 Stout
Duggan's Brewery

On tap at the brew pub. Pours pitch black with a couple fingers of thick tan head. Some spotty lacing down the glass. Smells of mild roast, coffee, and a bit of an off sour note. Flavour does a very mild sour tinge, I wonder if tap lines have been cleaned properly. I seem to remember this being better previously. Carbonation is pretty aggressive for a stout. This is usually an ok good beer, but not a fan tonight.

On Tap @ Duggan's Brewery

A - Dark black with two fingers of creamy espresso coloured head

S - Mild nose of roasted malts with a hint of coffee. Not an overly strong nose.

T - Roasted malts with a slight hop presence. Some chocolate and coffee flavours are mildly present but not predominant flavours. An unexpectedly light palate for a stout.

M - Creamy at first but slightly watery in the finish

D - A decent stout. I would order it again but don't see myself ever going out of my way for it.

On tap at the brewery of course.

A: Looks much like a guiness. head seemed to be even more creamy and have even more stick "aroundedness"

S: Nose is a little lacking, very much like a guiness in this respect as well. a little more sharpnes and tobbaco suggestions

T: Again I think it follows guiness flavour profile, except that there is a little more complexity. Although its still not one to sit and ponder over - its a simple drink but a tasty one at that.

M: I know its supposed to be smooth and velvety on the nitro, but I did find it a little too flat and coating of the mouth. perhaps not a great summer stout option

D: I finished my pint in record time and I would have loved a few or more additional pints, but I had to get back to work :). A very easy drinker despite the lack of great mouthfeel.

In conclusion - not bad. definitly better than guiniess, but not by a huge margin.

On-tap at Duggan's Brewery, in Toronto.

Jet black liquid and snow white foam make for a fashionable zebra-striped beer. The stout is opaque, not 'ocean in the middle of a winter night' opaque, but enough so that its dark ruby hue is made hardly ever visible, even when held up to the afternoon sky. Its head looks like something that's come out of a soft-serve ice cream machine.

The aroma is everything you'd ask from a beer of this style: a slight coffee-like element of roasted barley and lots of chocolaty, grainy roasted malt. The heaviness of the roasted barley is smothering with regards to the more reserved, lighter toasted malts. Hops, unless a lot of them, wouldn't survive in this kind of harsh, roasty environment.

It took the blink of an eye for this glass to empty out by half; the beer is nothing if it isn't a treat for the taste buds. Nuances of chocolate and coffee compliment the roasted barley, together making a rather full-bodied flavour. Despite the roastiness, the beer is by no means astringent; its flavours are not only ample but quite sumptuous.

Initially I was sure the beer was poured from a nitro-tap, but alas, its ultra creamy, lush mouthfeel is accredited to nothing other than the brewer's skilled hands. This texture is smooth, I mean remarkably smooth, but unlike unauthentic nitrogen, this natural creaminess fully allows the flavours to breath. I hum a sigh of pleasure after every sip.

I may not be a professional brewer but I have drank a fair share of stouts in my day, enough, I feel, to have developed a sense for what succeeds as being well-crafted beer and what not. This, like everything from Duggan's Brewery, definitely succeeds. Stout drinkers be warned: this is the kind of drink you could spend an entire night with.

Excellent nitro beer, when had at the brewpub.I found it drinkable and creamy, full bodied. I also had this at Volo Cask Days 2009. There it was only a serviceable stout with a significant 40 IBU. The aroma is OK for a stout, the roast is there. C hops. Average mouthfeel.

This beer pours a solid black, with a tiny red tint at the base, and one finger of thin creamy beige head,which leaves a thin ring of lace around the glass as it settles. It smells of dry roasted malt, and a bit of sweet chocolate. The taste is bittersweet roasted malt, dry chocolate, and a bit of coffee. The carbonation is soft, the body smooth, fruity, but a bit thin toward the end, and it finishes clean, the fruity malt really keeping this out of dry stout territory.

The bartender's favorite, and I can see why - the best of the beers I sampled at the brewpub - a tasty and drinkable stout.

Nitro tap at the brewpub.

Pours pretty black, some clear reddish highlights show at the bottom of the glass, nice thick and creamy light tan head forms, retains a solid layer and drops some decent lacing sheets on the glass.

Smell is nice, light and roast, oats, dry nuttiness, some light chocolate and grains, a bit of biscuit, nice roast, pretty typical dry stout but well done.

Taste is similar, very light and dry, nice roast middle with a bit of caramel sweetness, some toast and biscuit, lightly fruity, chocolate in the finish, nice and dry, good bitterness.

Mouthfeel is medium bodied with low carbonation, goes down easy. A pretty solid dry stout, light and flavourful. Bigger body than most, I can dig it.

This is now classified as an Irish Dry Stout, and like Guiness is served on nitro. Due to the tweaking I expect its considerably different to past versions, and certainly was a different beer to the one I had on cask at Volo.

The pour is beautiful and that horrible perfect way that only nitor can achieve. A jet black body with ruby highlight supports a perfectly demarcated tan head. Lacing is in sheets and retention is perfect. As expected the nitro numbs the aroma, but it still manages to be pleasant with mild chocolate, coffee and oat notes. The flavour follows suit, and has the profile of a decent dry stout. Lots of chocolate, light roast coffee, tobacco and oat. Smooth, light and drinkable. Extremely smooth body due to the nitro, with minimum carb. Kicks Guinness in the ass, though that doesn't say much.

Could become a go to stout if needs be, though it could do with a flavour boost here and there. be interesting to try it off nitro.

From notes taken at Volo Cask Days 2009.

Pours with a thin, frothy covering of head with no lacing. This stout is black and opaque.

Smells mostly of dark chocolate, molasses and smoke...all great things for a stout to smell like. A bit weak but still nice.

I'm a bit disappointed on the taste, it tastes pretty watered down. A good amount of smoke, molasses, ash with a sweet creamy aftertaste. Not bad but not great.

Too thin and watery. Light bodied with no carbonation. These are not good attributes for a stout.

I think this could be a really great stout if a couple things were tweaked, most importantly the feel. I like the smoky thing they were going for but don't think this was a complete success. As is, although drinkable I wouldn't order it again.

I expected a little more from this brewer (and the 40 IBU). But this followed the Great Lakes Morning Glory, which was packed full of flavour.

A: Black with a tan head, thin ring of retention & slight lace from the cask.

S: A mild coffee roast with hints of nut & molasses.

T: Same as the aroma, mild coffee with hints of nut & molasses. A touch of cocoa & American hopping. Balanced bitterness (it doesn't seem like 40 IBU).

M: Moderate body has an off-dry finish.

D: A good drinker like an average dry stout.