Shaughnessy Stout
Brewsters Brewing Company & Restaurant - Eleventh Avenue

Pours inky black fading to brown, not much head, maybe half a finger of coffee colored foam. Aroma is strong coffee with a tinge of smoke that recalls hickory bacon. No discernible fruitiness on the nose. Palate starts a bit smoky and acrid but quickly mellows out, revealing considerable sweetness and a silky smooth milkiness that combines with the strong coffee, burnt and smoke flavors to yield a cooked cafe latte effect. Not terribly bitter or dry. Really quite well-balanced English stout with some added acidity. Sessionable for stout lovers.

 

 

500ml bottle poured into pint glass feb24 2010

A not quite jet black with a thick fingers width of tan head that has great retention and left lots of lace. this was a pretty nice looking beer

S some milk chocolate with a little coffee and some tobacco

T not far from the smell perhaps with a little raisin

M a little thin but still not to bad, not as full as the color would leave you to believe

D a decent beer much better then I expected, would be good for a session or two

I rather liked Brewster's and found their take out prices pretty good at 20$ for 6 500ml bottles (5 of them barley wine) so ya I'm happy

500ml bottle poured into a 20oz nonic.

A - Pours an ink black color with a thick mocha head on top. Decent head retention, minimal lacing.

S - Roasted malt and mild coffee beans. Slight creamy sweetness in the malt that just feels distinctly Brewsters to me. A touch of smoke. It's got a sweetness, but it's not chocolatey.

T - Follows the nose fairly closely. Roasted feel overall, but still kept relatively mild. Coffee-like bitterness floats around in the finish, but doesn't add much astringency. The flavor never really comes to fruition with this.

M - Medium bodied feel, slightly creamy. A little smooth, but it could be more so. Carbonation is kept quite low.

D - A decent local stout but nothing spectacular. This was the last from the Brewsters six-pack, and they were all pretty good. Certainly a no nonsense brewery and a welcome addition to my list of locally available brews.

A - black with a short mocha head with average retention
S - dark chocolate, light coffee, licorice and roasty malt
T - cocoa powder, mild coffee, cola syrup, a musty flavour with roasty malt throughout
M - relatively thin with a quick carbonation kick that quickly gives way to a bitter and slightly chalky finish
D - with a nice mix of classic stout flavours and a relatively light feel this is very drinkable, although I think I prefer the pints i've had at Brewster's over the take home bottle option

pours a jet black, with a tan head. Served on nitro, so, typical nitro appearance. Smells of some light fruity malts, and a decent roast character. No burnt-sugar smells. Flavour is much the same - it's got a rich feel to it, with an unusual raisiny fruitiness. Not much noticeable hop character. Drinkability is about average.

A nice stout from one of the few brewpubs in Edmonton (by that, I mean there are two locations of Brewsters).

Black-ruby appearance with a very thin, cola-like head. Even held up to the light, this is more black than ruby.

Roasted malts, low hop profile and coffee and chocolate on the nose. Slightly bitter burnt malt, coffee and suggestions of toffee and chocolate in the taste. Slight hop bitterness.

Nice carbonation, but this comes off as a little thin. A stout with this colour and flavour should be thicker, but its not.

This should be more drinkable considering its thin body, but as this is a stout, the thin body is a bit of a turn off. I could probably put away a few of the these, but it would only leave me wanting something more substantial.

20oz pint at the Oliver location. Named after the dull boulevard in south Calgary?

This beer arrives to the table appearing a deep black hole of 'colour', with ever so slight red cola edges, and only when jammed right up to a light source, and a few fingers of silky, puffy, and decidedly creamy beige head that displays stellar retention, eventually leaving some crazy limestone layered lace around the glass.

It smells of bitter coffee, cafe au lait (yeah, there's crossover there, I mean complexity...), roasted caramel malt, and a pleasant oily nuttiness. The taste is much drier, with lightly roasted coffee beans, bittersweet medium chocolate, a further pithy nuttiness,a gently toasted bready malt, and a faint notion of earthy, herbal hops.

The body is quite smooth and creamy, with a sturdy medium weight, the carbonation just right - not too bubbly, and not flat, as dictated by the style. It finishes just a little on the sweet side, with some char, cocoa, and nutty notes lingering.

A good dry stout, nowhere near the extreme American style, much more on the subdued side, but replete with the preferred flavours, and nicely drinkable.

Bought a 650 ml bomber from the local Brewsters. Looks nice and creamy on tap, but out of the bottle there's very little of the brown head. It's a solid black and looks ok.

Milk and sugar aroma with a hint of hops underneath and a bit of chocolate. It's alright but nothing fancy.

Watery, light body that detracts from the mild flavour. Faint roast with caramel, skim milk, slight sour, some toffee and coffee.

Drinkable, but underwhelming. The thin body is pretty ghastly in my opinion, however this is very light and easy going. Good introduction to stout if you haven't had it before, and falls in line with the selection at Brewsters.

Thanks Orrshow! From BIF Canada 2006. Half liter or so plastic bottle.

Pours an opaque black, some red edges, almost no head forms, what does though is tan, some spots of lace. Smell is sweet, chocolate and toffee, licorice and cherries. Taste is roasty, with chocolate and coffee notes, toffee, but a watery and weak finish. Mouthfeel is light bodied, carbonation is basically nonexistant, almost flat. The carbonation was wonky but other than that a decent stout. Thanks Mike!

Appearance – Black as can be. About 1 centimeter of tan head floated on top for the majority of the time I was drinking it. Nice looking.

Smell – The smell of this beer was quite faint. Roasted malts and coffee present. Hints of chocolate but not much. This beers smell didn’t entice me a whole lot.

Taste – Some bitter chocolate present. As well this beer has an effect similar to a campfire, smoky flavor all over the place. Somewhat of a coffee aftertaste. Although the flavors were nice, they were not very robust. Nice but nothing special.

Mouthfeel – Good body, fairly creamy. Carbonation was a little high as the beer felt prickly on the tongue. Still smooth despite this.

Drinkability – Shaughnessy is drinkable enough. This type of beer goes down easily for me and since this one had no real kick to it, I found it quite drinkable, but not as enjoyable as most.

This is a good looking stout, it is black with a creamy beige head. The head had all kinds of staying power, in fact there was a little left in the glass when I finished.

The smell was a little on the light side, perhaps because the beer was served a bit too cold. It smelled faintly of coffee and had a bit of ash in the aroma. As it warmed, the overall smell became a bit chocolaty, however the base smell of coffee and ash remained.

The taste is basically that of burnt coffee beans, making bitterness the dominant quality. The beer is a little watery on the tip of the tongue. The finish is a bit smokey and has a faint bitter chocolate taste to it.

This stout could use a touch more body in my opinion. There is a fair amount of carbonation for the style. Overall mouthfeel was rather average.

Not a bad beer at all, but I rarely call for another when I've finished the pint.

From notes, consumed 9/27 during trip to Calgary. Had this at the Eau Claire location (at least that's the general location, near the Eau Claire Market, by the Eau Claire Sheraton).

Appearance: Served in a pint glass. Black, almost no light will travel through. Served with a good head, at least 1/2 inch. Nice thick lacing.

Smell: Roasted malt, aromas of chocolate, coffeee, and a hint of toffee (sweetness). Somewhat one-dimensional, but that's how I like my stouts.

Taste: Somwhat like the BV Brown, but turned up a little. There is a touch of bitterness here, reminding me of a subdued Sierra Nevada.

Mouthfeel: Fuller bodied than the brown, rich and creamy.

Drinkability: I'd be happy to sit and quaff these all night, but I must be on to more.

Best beer in their lineup (Barleywine not yet on). This is worth going out of the way for if in town. Came back here for a second the enxt day. Nice colour, head. Nice lace. Bittersweet, coffee good. Not a dry stout as the Irish name might confound you. Active carbonation. Medium mouthfeel.

Pint served on-tap at Brewster's South Regina in a pint glass.

Opaque black with only a little light coming through the edges giving it a walnut brown tinge. Foamy beige head is 1/4 inch and actually has decent retention. Nice lacing down the sides.

Aroma is of roasted malts, burnt sugar and chocolate.

This is a true stout taste. Basically the textbook stout flavour. Roasted malt at the start with burnt highlights. Some coffee and chocolate aspects pop up through the middle. A nice mildly bitter finish and aftertaste. This is very good, but lacks a wow factor.

Mouthfeel is full bodied and lightly carbonated. Nice and smooth.

It's been awhile since I've had their stout and I'm really glad that I re-acquainted myself with it. These babies were really hitting the spot and going down smooth and easy. Luckily the alcohol content is reasonably low so that you don't get a big boot in the head from slugging these back. Definitely recommended.

Review made from notes.

Clear black with ruby highlights and a thin foamy ring. A light caramel and burnt nose, with hints of coffee. Kind of a thin aroma for a stout. The flavour was lacking as well, with very little bitterness or graininess. Some molasses tang, but overall disappointing. Smooth medium body with little carbonation.

Another poor victim of "Stout Lite Syndrome", I'm afraid.