Dark brown color with an earthy, smokey/char aroma. Tan thin head that dissipated quickly. Flavor is burnt coffee, reminiscent of a fire that’s been out for awhile. Somewhat flat/low carbonation. Not at all one of my favorite stout samplings.

dark brown, coffee with cream head. aroma is coffee and sweet roasted malt. flavor of coffee and chocolate, not as sweet as i feared. medium bodied with a slightly bitter finish. the bartender said it ’is like guinness’, but i didn’t find it half as sweet.

On tap at Harrison’s. I think like most small brewpubs they want to appeal to the Guiness drinker. So here is their dry stout. Pours a dark brown with a frothy light brown head. Nose is surprisingly smoky and a touch of spice with all the roasted chocolate grains underneath. Mouthfeel is creamy. Chocolate roasted flavors are present but kinda weak and fading quick. Meh. Not good beers, but this huge place was full for a freezing thursday night. So I guess you don’t have to make good beers to survive sometimes.

Had this one on draught at the brewpub in Orland Park, Illinois. Opaque, dark brown pour with a thick, medium brown head, soy sauce and smoky nose, bitter chocolate and more smoke throughout. Nice dry close. Outstanding example of the style!

On tap at Goose Island Stoutfest. Poured a deep mahogany with almost no appreciable head. Nose was oddly soapy with lighter fruits, some roasted chocolate, and it had a grainy aspect to it. Some dark, roasty malts were muddled in the flavor (fruits and coffee primarily)... with oddly-placed bitters. Astringency was rather high, and alcohol made its presence known. Palate was lighter-bodied with sharp fruity notes around the edges. Carbonation was low, resulting in a flat cola feel. I really got nothing good out of this one.