Watchstander Stout
Ghostfish Brewing Co.

Watchstander Stout (2025) from Ghostfish Brewing. 16 fl oz can, purchased 26/02/26 from Franklin Beer, Franklin, PA. $ 5.75/$ 0.359/fl oz. In reefer at distributor, stored at 40 degrees F at home. Reviewed 13/03/26, review 3705. Note that I use DD/MM/YY protocol.
Stamped on bottom rim “BORN 12/29/25.” Served at 48.7 degrees F in a hand washed and dried Jester King snifter. The final temperature is 53.9 degrees F.
Appearance – 4. Very stout-ish with an excellent, if temporary, head. The ruby body balances out the lack of lacing.
First pour – Amber Brown (SRM 18), clear.
Body – Ruby Brown (SRM 24), opaque. Under direct light, same. When rear-lit, glows ruby.
Head – Large (Maximum 5.2 cm, aggressive center pour). Brandy, high density with rocks, short retention; the head rapidly drops to a 0.1 – 0.15 cm crown fed by carbonation, and a rocky partial cap. The cap eventually breaks into smaller circular islands resembling mold.
Lacing – None.
Aroma – 4 – Roasted grains. No hops, no alcohol.
Flavor – 3.25 – Moderate, slightly sweet roasted grains, a bit like toasted multi-grain bread. No hops, no alcohol (6.5 % according to the label). No dimethylsulfide or diacetyl. Just noticeable gastric warming. Ends unpleasantly bitter.
Palate – 3.25 – Medium: Just edging from watery into creamy: Soft carbonation.
Style: Fits BA description.
Final impression and summation: 3.5 Uncredited label art. The body is a bit light for a stout, distinctly porter-ish. The bitterness remains on my palate long after the beer has been swallowed. Gluten free and apparently lactose-free. One and done – drain pour.

 

Poured from a 1 pint can.
Pours a very dark brown/black with a thin tan head.
A nice nose of Toffee and caramel.
Taste is chocolate ,toffee and malts.
Somewhat of a thin mouthfeel.
An ok Stout overall.

 

 

Poured in a no-nic at Ghostfish Brewing, with a finger of tan head. Smell is a bit malty/marshmallow, very interesting. Deep cola-brown color, not quite opaque. Taste is a very good balance of chocolate, malt, and marshmallow, but not too sweet. Light to medium bodied with moderate carbonation. Pretty solid stout, even compared to glutenous options.

 

 

 

 

Can from the Packie.
Dark brown with garnet highlights and a frothy off white head that persists. Coffee roast and toffee maltiness with hints of earthy hop to counter. Really nice for a gluten free brew but seems to lack mouthfeel and has an odd flavor I cant nail down.

From a 16 oz. can sampled Dec 4, 2021.

The appearance is dark brown to black underneath a mocha head.

Aroma of roasted caramel malts, maybe coffee, a vague dark fruit character, and earth.

The mouthfeel is low-medium.

The taste is sweet and roasted but the coffee bitterness is really apparent. Smooth though. Not excellent but it is decent.

Decent head, brownish purple body. Smell is sweet, caramel malt, hints of vanilla and chocolate. Taste is sweet and toasty malt. That sweetness is kind of plain, a bit syrupy. Hints of chocolate, marshmallow, and caramel follow. Feel is a bit watery. Overall it drinks more like a porter than a stout. It’s a bit light for my taste, but if I was gluten free I’d be perfectly happy to drink. Not a bad beer, but far from great.

From the can, it pours a dark brown/black with a modest head that soon reduces to a small ring. The nose gets chocolate and not much else. The taste is roasted and black malts. Mild aftertaste. watery.

Nice black color, pleasant tan head, low head retention (probably because it's gluten free?)
Mild smell, not much like a stout.
Mild roasted flavor, slight chocolate.
Very watery.
I didn't realize it was gluten free. It was drinkable but I wouldn't purchase it again.

Poured from a 16 ounce can into a snifter.

Look- Black, medium brown head, below average head retention and lacing.

Smell- Super undesirable funky/earthy smell, toasted buckwheat, slight chocolate.

Taste- Very earthy, toasted buckwheat, weak desirable flavors, slight chocolate.

Feel- Thin body, water like feel, low bitterness.

Overall- I almost had to dump this one due to the putrid bouquet, but I really hate being wasteful. The flavor was not good, but it was much better than the nose. My father-in-law has celiac disease, so I try to find him new gluten free options, but this was a disappointment.

Canned 2020/12/03
Pours a small fizzy off white head with very little retention very dark molasses brown color

Nose brings some chocolate, an earthy like caramel sweet thing, hint of roast

Taste brings more chocolate, weird earthy syrup character, a bit of paper thing and maybe sand?, little roast, med bitterness with some herbal spicy hops, dry finish med to a bit higher bitterness

Mouth is med to a little thinner bod, med to lighter carb

Overall eh, not that great

DATE: January 21, 2021... OCCASION: another night, another basketball game to watch on TV--this time, Penn State and Rutgers... GLASSWARE: Samuel Smith tulip pint... this pours a pitch-black body whose brownish fizzing head dissipates into roiling bubbles... roasted oats, a bit of peat, licorice, faint coffee bean, raisin, and bread malts--this smells the part... a strong, textured start, and alive like cola... slightly chewy, appreciably long on its finish, and a presence that is--almost impossibly for a GF stout--medium-bodied... the roasted oats make for an agreeable start, with coffee bean, licorice, and vegetable providing the roundness for a stout that could pass as a rougher oatmeal version... it pervades cola as well, which leads 3easily from sip to sip... I was excited about this one--Ghostfish has done a nice job with their ales, and my hope is this will be among the few substantial gluten-free stouts or porters... this does the style justice, and will be one I seek out again on gluten-free evenings...

 

Awesome look, feel and flavor for a gluten free beer! My first ever stout and it was memorable if not a bit heavy on the coffee flavor. The feel was thick and glorious.