Alpine Beer Company Captain Stout

Aroma: 9 | Appearance: 8 | Mouthfeel: 10 | Flavor: 9 | Overall: 9

Taps rich coffee brown with a nice tan head. Aroma presents roast malt, coffee, chocolate and molasses tones. Flavor pleases with roast malt, caramel, chocolate, coffee, earthy, and subtle molasses tones. Mouthfeel has firm, velvety smooth body yet plenty of fizz. Fit for a captain!

Aroma: 8 | Appearance: 8 | Mouthfeel: 6 | Flavor: 7 | Overall: 7

Got this courtesy of a trade with hamilton23. Aggressive pour of a 22 oz. bottle revealed a dark brown with a huge 3-finger coffee-colored head. Lacing was thin but lasting. Nose was coffee, roasted vanilla, some dark chocolate and grains. Taste was coffee, cocoa with some citrus, milk and a notable nutty taste.. Finish was somewhat bitter and dry. Mouthfeel was kinda' thin and not overly carbonated. If you had given me this blindfolded, I would have guessed this was a stout by looks but a porter by taste. Liked it, but with so many great offerings from this brewery, I wouldn't kill for another. Decent, but not thrilling.

Aroma: 8 | Appearance: 7 | Mouthfeel: 8 | Flavor: 7 | Overall: 7

A reasonable pour into my 25cl tulip glass produces a three finger thick, fluffy, cocoa stained, darkish tan colored head that produces some textured surfaces and spotty lacing on the sides of the glass as it slowly subsides. The beer is an opaque black color, that displays some clear, ruby hues around the edges if held up directly to the light. The nose has quite a chocolate note to it that is noticeable as I am pouring the beer. A more direct inspection of the aroma tempers this sweet chocolate note with a touch or roast coffee, a burnt tartness and ample toasted bread aromatics. I definitely like the balance between sweet, yet dark malt notes on the more roast notes; it doesn't hurt that overly burnt and acidic aromatics from the dark grains are fairly muted either.

Light and creamy up front, but a carbonic bite adds some acidity and sharpness to this brew. A quick swirl of my glass reduces the carbonation (which wasn't overly brisk to begin with) and softens the carbonic acid note. This still has a sharp acid note to it though that is produced by the ample roast malt character. This is also probably accentuated a bit by the fact that this beer is fairly dry and quite light. The light mouthfeel is nice in that it makes this a more quaffable stout. While somewhat dry, there is still a noticeable, dark-grain influenced sweetness here that accentuates flavors of chocolate.

As the beer warms it becomes a bit smoother, it never quite loses the burnt acidity, but it becomes much more in balance with the rest of the beer. This is a bit more enjoyable than it's components taken individually; it can be a bit too burnt-grain leaning at times, but for the most part the other flavors and the quaffability help to balance this out.

Purchased: South Bay Drugs Pharmacy, Imperial Beach CA

Aroma: 9 | Appearance: 9 | Mouthfeel: 9 | Flavor: 9 | Overall: 9

One the best Dry Irish-style Stouts that I've had in quite a long time. In fact, each and every time I have a Stout this nice (whether it be homebrew or commercial), it just reminds me why Guinness is such swill in comparison. Maybe Guinness is so much better in Ireland, but Stouts like the Captain's Stout just straight-out blow away whatever Guinness sells in 55-gallon drums during St Patrick's Day blow-outs.

Nice roasty presentation through and through, with hints of chocolate in the mix, as well. And the ever mysterious coffee notes, that only about half the people I've talked to seem to be able to detect. Either way, this Stout is really excellent, and well-worth driving out to Alpine to get it right from the brewery itself...!
//TB

Aroma: 8 | Appearance: 6 | Mouthfeel: 8 | Flavor: 8 | Overall: 7

This stout pours with a dark brown body topped by a very thick head with lots of lacing. The aroma is slightly sweet and malty with a touch of sourness and a slight roastiness. Not very impressive. The flavor is mostly bitter with some sweet malty notes, a touch of licorice and roasty coffee notes. Full bodied and smooth.