Porterhouse Wrasslers XXXX Stout

750ml bottle, MJ Rare Beer Club, marked as 7% ABV: Black as night pour with an incredibly thick and creamy tan head. Wow, this is hoppy for a dry stout. The nose is orange and lemon juice and zest, pine and perfume on top of a soft, bitter chocolate note. Roasted coffee and dark chocolate dominate the body. Finishes a bit chalky and dry on the tongue.

Courtesy of Degarth. Thanks Joe. Was nice to see I hadn’t rated this one, I had it at a previous tasting but must have never taken notes on it. Oh well, stoutie ratings rule. Brown body with a light tan head. Very fluffy, nice lasting power and lacing. Smell is a bit odd, some detergent or soap powder, also some fruity esters, licorice, chocolate, coffee and some charred malts. Flavor is similar, but thankfully dropping much or all of the detergent note, and leaving just a pretty good dry stout behind. Body is appropriate to style, drinks very easily. Finish is short to medium in length, a bit bitter or astringent with some coffee and chocolate notes.

Keg (Porterhouse, Dublin) Black, nitro head. In the most recent one I had, nitro kills the aroma, but some darkly roasted malts detectable. Rich roasted malty taste - sweet but bitter chocolate. Dry, punchy and bitter - an excellent Irish stout. Had previously with more aroma - much improved the experience, and old higher rating preserved. Let this warm, and swirl some of the gas out of it to appreciate it best.

Roasted coffee and chocolate with hoppy aroma. Hoppy and bitter aftertaste with a beige head. Mouth feel is very silky smooth. A very nice stout.

Draft @ Porterhouse, Coven Garden. Deep brown with creamy off-white head. Taste is rich dark chocolate, coffee and malty. Aroma is roasted malts, dark chocolate and caramel. Finish is slightly dry.

Dark brown with large creamy head. This was a very good beer with huge roasted flavors throughout. smooth and creamy on the palate. Puts that other famous Irish stout to shame.

This is a huge beer, expecially for its strength. Dark brown, thick creamy yellow head. It looks fantastic. It has a really strong burnt taste with a huge bitter finish. The best Irish stout I’ve tasted.

Bottle Shared with Hogtown Harry and Blankboy, courtesy of Hogtown Harry (thanks Swoopjones!!) Wow, big thanks to Harry for sharing this one, I’ve always wanted to try something from these guys. With a label that claims that they’re modeling their beer after the stuff Michael Collins and crew used to drink, well, that’s pretty neat too, here goes. Dry dry dry aroma - dusty, sweet with some chocolate - good start. Pitch black, medium brownish head. Very dry taste - great full body, molasses, chocolate, some hops. Milky. Very drinkable. A wonderful session dry stout that exceeded my very high expectations.