Tarbox Cream Stout
The Liberal Cup Public House & Brewery

 

 

Big 20 oz. pour in a house pint at Liberal Cup in Hallowell.

Appearance: Pours a dark brown with a big two-finger tan head that sticks around forever. The pour is Guinness-like in that tidal layers of stout kind of way.

Aroma: Chocolate, roasted malt, dark coffee. Nice, classic stout nose.

Taste: Follows the nose. Classic Irish stout profile. Reminds me of Guinness.

Mouthfeel: Creamy and smooth.

Overall: Great, faithful interpretation of an Irish stout. Hits all the notes.

 

 

 

On tap at the source.
Comes to the table a solid dark brown/black color with a decent sized foamy tan head. Aromas of roasted coffee and earthy hops with just a touch of chocolate and caramel. The flavor is lightly bitter with roasted grains and countered with a bit of earthy hop and just enough caramel and chocolate to keep it interesting. Medium to light body with a moderate level of carbonation, and a creamy mouthfeel. Pretty good sessionable stout.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Poured on-tap and served in a Liberal pint, the beer is a very dark, solid, ruby-highlighted dark brown with a dense, solid, creamy light tan head. Aromas of roasted meats, light milk chocolate, mocha, and a touch of charcoal. Flavors are dark and smooth, with a deep roasted coffee flavor riding a light, dry body. Smokey tones impart some depth to the backbone, with a touch of cream to keep things light. The aftertaste is slightly bitter coffee and sweet cream. Dry, light finish with a slight bitter linger. Very good.

My 100th review!

20oz. Imperial pint at Liberal Cup.
Dark black with thick creamy tab head. The head coats the pint more than laces! Roasted dark malt nose. Sweet creamy vanilla too. This is pretty much a straight ahead English style stout. Very smooth and creamy, with roasty malts. Some bitterness in the back, along with a little coin flavor. Very thick and drinkable, with a dry finish. Well made and enjoyable, not over the top.

 

Poured into a half pint glass at the Pub.

Boy is this thing DARK. A great creamy no go anywhere head that is a wonderful light cocoa brown and super creamy, looking nitrous but not sure (might have asked). Body is pitch dark walnut black and solid and a puck that is really solid keeps sitting throughout the drink while finishing.

Nose is a little sweet cream, with a mild hop presence. Tobacco, light roast and char.

Taste brings the creamy milk sensation, along with a little bit of cream texture but it's also a little thin. Char roast comes out soft soft in feel.

Overvall rich, but subtle, light and airy, creamy if a little wet, real nice stout.

From a nitro-tap into a pint glass.

A: Dark, dark, dark, with two fingers of leathery nitro bubbles cascading down the sides of my glass.

S: Dark roasted malts, coffee, chocolate.

T: See above. This is very much a stout served on a nitrogen tap. While it doesn't break any new ground for this style, it serves quite well for what it is.

M: Creamy, slick, super smooth. A bit on the thin side, but then again I tend to think that about most single stouts (and especially those served on nitro).

D: Another please!

A- very black appearance. could not see though it at all with the dim table lights. nice tan one finger head. head remains, but gets gradually smaller as you drink. very attractive looking beer.

S- coffee, creams, hint of chocolate. my friend said it smelled like a starbucks coffee.

T- rich, mocha, coffee, with hints of creams and chocolate. a burned quality to the taste. a very tasty beer

M- very smooth. enjoyable. it was easy to savor each mouthful before swallowing

D: goes down as smoothly as it tastes. a great beer all around.

Off the nitro-tap this beer was an opaque black, onyx-like color with a tight cap of tiny, tan bubbles. The lacing, as would be expected, was in sheets. The aroma was dry, woody and light with roasted malt being dominant. The flavors were quite good, maple, roasted malt, heavy coffee, hints of chocolate and cream. But it was so heavily on the roasted side I had trouble thinking of it as a "Cream Stout." The mouthfeel was silky, the body full and the carbonation perfectly soft. Enjoyable, but it's really an American Stout contrary to the label at the bar.