McDonnell's Pub
Brookeville Beer Farm

Taster flight at Beer Farm. Dark brown, opaque pour, fine ring. Light roasty aroma, coffee-ish. Taste is roasty bitter, hint of sweetness and the requisite dryness for the style.

 

On draught at the brewery. Dark coffee colored pour, thin head and slippery lacing.
Dry malt, cocoa, subtle earthy smokiness, mild coffee hints in the background. Dry fruit, plums, raisins.
A lightly carbonated dry Stout with a tangy aftertaste.
I like dry Irish Stouts, but this one is a bit odd in flavor, and misses the mark a little.

Black with a thick, dense brown head, good retention, spotty lace
Dark chocolate, espresso, a certain minerality, touch of earthy hops
Dark chocolate, dark, dried fruit, hard water free of iron and sulfur, slight earthiness, very dry
Medium light bodied with appropriate carbonation, crisp
This sucker is dangerous. Like drinking chocolate flavored mineral water

 

 

 

Appearance:
Pitch black with ephemeral edges of midnight mocha. Billows up a massive head of tan froth that impotently comes crashing down immediately after reaching its apex—I really tried not to make that sound sexual and I think I failed.

Bouquet:
An endless horizon of bold, dark malts, drizzled in sugarless chocolate syrup.

Feel:
Lush and full-bodied yet light and aqueous all at once. Somehow so frictionless its heft never registers. The only thing that keeps it from sliding across the tongue like air is a low, gravely carbonation that applies enough friction to give you a sense of this stout’s fullness.

Taste:
Hearty malts, vigorously roasted black, then dredged through a mercilessly dark, French Roast coffee and given a consolatory pat of bitter, earthy cacao beans. Concludes on a low, steady, chestnut dryness.

Pours a very dark brown color with about a finger worth of khaki-colored head. The aroma is promising: lots of roasted barley, lots of chocolate, some cream, and a decent but not overly assertive hop presence. Its flavor profile doesn't quite match the nose, but still works nicely. Dark chocolate dominates the flavor profile at first, with a distinct one-two-three punch of roasted barley, cream, and tobacco finishing it off. It definitely tastes Irish, that's for sure. On the other hand, while the feel seems nice, round, and creamy when actively being swished around the mouth...it otherwise lurches across the palate with a slick wetness far more becoming of a porter. Carbonation is very low. All in all, it's far from perfect, but it's certainly enjoyable. Definitely worth a try.

 

Poured from the can into a nonik pint glass.

Fairly classic dark bodied, but definitely hanging out in the red deep mahogany brown here. Real nice tan colored head too, making a simple slightly bigger than two gfinger head, and spider like cascading lace on the sides. Solid looker.

Very nice sensing aroma. Light hits of dark malt, but an interesting fruity ester somewhat too. Hits with dark bitter chocolate accents, thick and biting actually too. This seems real bold and a step up.

Palate sort of gets lets down a bit. Light bodied but also hints at a wet backbone unfortunatley. Light ashen char of roast, that comes fleeting and slightly cigarette like smoke sensing. Faint touches of chocolate, but a sharp bitter and dark licorice aftertaste that while neat, comes off kind of jarring and weird.

Kind of an odd duck, but could be worse.