Daedalus Irish Stout
Elysian Brewing Company

 

 

 

 

 

 

Appearance: Looks just like a Guiness on nitro; great lacing

Smell: Nice roasty aroma with just a hint or sourness

Taste: Roasty up front, with a developing sour flavor that is more prominent than a Guiness; after the swallow the roast takes over; dry finish

Mouthfeel: Medium t full body with gentle nitro carbonation

Drinkability: Out Guinesses a Guiness; very nice

Ah, the things you learn at brewpubs. I didn't know Daedalus was Irish.

Daedalus begins with a perfect dry stout aroma of casual roasted elegance. This aroma whet my appetite for the beer behind it, as did its ideal presentation as a black ale with a compressed, nitrogenated head of sand-colored velvet. But Elysian allows this dry stout to "sour" in some way during its production. I'm not sure what that means exactly, but the effect is notable in the taste, which is more tart than a dry stout would ordinarily be. The sour element is workable though somewhat conflicted and certainly untraditional. There's also a frail note of peppermint adrift in the finish.

But it's Daedalus' dilute body and flavor that drove me away from greater appreciation. The taste strays from dry finesse to one of unfocussed ambivalence, and the mouthfeel gains nothing from the nitro infusion, which would appear to have bolstered the head at the expense of the body. The effect is one of restrained flavor and timid dimensions that just didn't work for me. If the rest of the beer delivered as much zest as the aroma, it would be stellar. But that just didn't happen.

The first of a new brewery for me. Pours pitch black with a thick light brown head. Flavor has almost a berry sweet thing to it. Smooth and even, though not complex. Typically smooth feel. Easy to drink, but nothing crazy. Nice enough, though I have had better of the style.