Keefe’s Irish Stout

Keefe’s Irish Stout comes from Toronto’s Granite Brewery & Tied House. It’s a 4.5% brew sold in generic 473mL cans. The beer is an attractive dark ale with caramel highlights under a fluff of tan head.

Keefe’s has mild, malty aromatics. It has a nose that displays sweet chocolate elements and more than a hint of coffee. The flavour is a bit more bitter, with coffee notes and well-roasted malt vibes preceding a modest, bitter finish.

A low-ish alcohol dry Irish stout, Keefe’s is a tasty and vigorously flavourful offering that steers true to style, with ample Old World character. It has a mild but agreeable flavour profile and a nice mouthfeel that exudes mellowness with an uptick of earthy, slightly metallic bitterness at the back end that suggests a slightly higher APV. Other than a faint presence in the front end, there is little sweetness—rather the beer is relatively dry and modestly bitter, with the faintest hint of smoke. 

Rating: 8.5 out of 10.

Junction Stout

Junction Stout is a low ABV stout from the team at Toronto’s Junction Craft Brewery. The 4.3% ale comes in Junction’s nondescript 473mL cans that always make me think of a ballot. The beer inside is near black and almost opaque, under a slim layer of off-white foam. According to the copy on the JCB website, the beer is a “Nitro Dry Irish stout”.

J.S. has an opulent aroma, built around notes of roasted malt, chocolate, and good quality diner coffee. The mouthfeel is thin, but smooth, though not as creamy as the best dry Irish stouts tend to be—given the nitro delivery, I’d have expected a more gentle effervescence and a correspondingly velvety texture. The flavour profile begins with rich malt and progresses to a surprisingly robust bitter finish that pairs coffee elements with a hint of cocoa.

I dig Junction Stout. I think it is a pretty good interpretation of a classic style, and I’ll gladly buy it again. I’d have liked a creamier, fuller texture, but I think the flavour profile is spot on, and substantial for such a low-octane ale.

Rating: 8.0 out of 10.

All's Welly That Ends Welly: Shadowy Pact Irish Dry Stout

Wellington Brewery's Shadowy Pact Irish Dry Stout comes in incredibly eye-catching 355mL bottles with a cool yellow and black colour scheme and an awesome Illuminati theme. Low-octane like a classic Irish-style stout, SP contains just 4.4% alcohol. It’s an oil black brew with amber highlights and a durable cover of creamy head. With a rich and enticing scent, SP has notes of roasted malt, brown sugar, molasses, and chocolate. Its flavour is a bit less robust than the nose, though it contains many of the same elements: roasted malt, brown sugar, and molasses, supplemented with some toffee, too. The finish is dry and quick, while the mouthfeel is a bit on the thin side.

 

Shadowy Pact’s execution didn’t quite live up to its awesome packaging and excellent aroma, but it was still a pretty good little ale. I’d have liked a richer flavour and a bit more body though.

Rating: 7.0 out of 10.

Brooklyn Dry Irish Stout

All the way from the hipster mecca of Brooklyn, New York comes Brooklyn Dry Irish Stout. This NYC brew has Irish leanings, featuring both orange and green elements on the label of the 355mL bottle. It's built by the Brooklyn Brewery and contains a low-level 4.7% alcohol. It's a nice looking ale, coloured like black coffee and topped with a quaint little tan head--though I was a tad disappointed by the head's staying power. Its aroma is sweet, malty, and well roasted, with a twist of mocha, too. The sweetness in the nose had me expecting sweetness on my tongue. However, what I found was a faint gust of molasses early on, and other than that, sweetness was minimal. The flavour was very mild for a stout--grainy and then a bit bitter toward the back end. Roasted malts were the predominant taste trend.

Not a bad little stout, it was very easy drinking, mellow, and more. It was nice, but not exciting.

Rating: 7.0 out of 10.

Street Brawler Stout

 Buffalo, New York's Pearl Street Grill and Brewery offers a nice stout known as Street Brawler. I had occasion to sample one late one evening during a trip to the Buff, and found it quite to my liking. Street Brawler was billed as an Irish-style oatmeal stout. It contained 4.5% alcohol and came in a plastic cup. S.B. arrived a very dark brown, almost black, topped with a creamy head.  It has a roasty malt aroma, with tobacco notes and a touch of cacao. The flavour is relatively bitter, with pronounced tobacco notes. There are elements of roasted dark malts and some molasses.

 This is a pretty nice stout.  It has an interesting flavour, but a bit more booze would be nice.  A fine brew worth sampling if you find yourself in Buffalo.

Rating: 7.5 out of 10.

Lava Smoked Imperial Stout

Lava is a bold pint brewed by Ölvisholt Brugghús, out of Ölvisholt, Iceland. It's a smoked imperial stout, which is a pretty badass style--definitely not for the faint of heart.  It is sold in 500mL bottles and is a virile 9.4% alcohol. 

The brew pours very black with about an inch and a half of thick tan head.  It has a highly smokey aroma, underscored with rich molasses.  Lava comprises a strong combination of flavours.  It starts with a malty and sweet initial taste of brown sugar and molasses.  The body, however, is extremely smokey.  There is also a pleasant dose of bitterness and a slight flavour of anise.  There is also considerable alcoholic kick. The aftertaste remains highly smokey.

Lava is definitely not easy-drinking--it's big, robust, and smokey as hell.  Chalk full of character, this beer is definitely worth a try.

Rating: 8.0 out of 10.

Hockley Stout

Hockley Stout is the progeny of the Hockley Valley Brewing Co. out of Orangeville, Ontario.  It checks in at a lean 4.2% alcohol and comes in a 473mL can.  According to the can, this brew "pours like liquid midnight."  Sounds good.

The stout does pour black and opaque.  It is topped with a cap of brown head.  It looks like thick, still root beer.  It has an exceedingly rich aroma of molasses and brown sugar.  For all of the richness of the aroma, the actual flavour is quite mild.  It's heavy on molasses, with notes of coffee, but, by stout standards, tastes quite light.  The aftertaste is relatively bitter.

Hockley is pretty drinkable for a stout.  I'd like a bit more alcohol content and a bit bolder a flavour, but its a pretty good pint.  Worth a look.

Rating: 7.5

Amsterdam Brewery-Two Fisted Stout

When I ordered the Two Fisted Stout, I didn't realize that it was an Amsterdam Brewery product.  It was a "guest tap" at a local pub and the name sounded cool, so I decided to give it a whirl.  In fact, I didn't find out until days later that Amsterdam was the responsible party.  This is noteworthy, because I haven't found myself terribly impressed with Amsterdam's products.  The ones I've tried are all drinkable and modestly enjoyable, but none of them has shown a lot of character.  Therefore, this was as close to a blind taste test as one of their beers is apt to get on my blog.

The Two Fisted Shout pours a dark colour with faint reddish highlights when held to the light.  There is a modest amount of dark tan head, though not a lot of lace.  The aroma is that of roasted nuts.  It is toasty and slightly smokey.  According to the Amsterdam website, the TFS measures in at 4.3%.

The beer has an oddly thin mouthfeel for a stout.  Unlike many stouts, this one is not thick and creamy.  In short, it doesn't drink like a meal.  The flavour has the requisite molasses taste, but also a slight smokiness that feels a bit out of place.  Still, none of these elements are unpleasant.  In fact, were they the only constituent elements, this beer would get a considerably higher rating as a unique variation of the stout format.  The problem is the aftertaste.  It is disagreeably sour.  This is not what I am looking for in a stout.  I want something that finishes smoothly and sticks around for breakfast.  Assuming that the keg I sampled from wasn't skunky and was actually representative of the TFS, this brew needs to take some aftertaste lessons.

Still, all told, Amsterdam has exceeded my expectations by creating a beer that takes some risks.  I appreciate that.  It's a stout with a lot of flavour and probably worth a shot.  I would try it again if the opportunity presented itself.

Rating: 7.0 out of 10.