McGuires Irish Cream Stout

Aroma: 6 | Appearance: 6 | Mouthfeel: 5 | Flavor: 4 | Overall: 5

Once again, it's been few weeks, but I do remember it well. I think this would've benefitted from a large pour, as the sampler doesnt afford much chance of a head, as it were. Apparently THAT'S where the cream part comes in, because I certainly didnt find it 'creamy' in taste. It wasn't as bad as the rest of my party thought, to my taste, but the word 'refined' didn't come to mind either. It was brutish in nature, not that i object to a a rough exterior, as long as the inside makes me warm and fuzzy. This was too dry for me. I just didn't feel the love. BUT, because I believe in second chances, I will have a full mug next CHristmas in Destin, and give it yet one more chance. As for taste, think burnt coffee and bittersweet chocolate.. :)

Aroma: 6 | Appearance: 6 | Mouthfeel: 2 | Flavor: 2 | Overall: 3

If you took a log burned it to a crisp, then soaked it in water for 5 days, threw in some yeast you will have had this stout. It appeared like the BP spill off the Gulf coast. You really have to love stout to remotely enjoy this.

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

Aroma is dark and coffee-like with chocolate and slight bitterness in the nose. Appearance is a robust charcoal black in color with a full, tan head on top that remains throughout consumption. Mouthfeel is robust and full with good malty complexity with muted hop character with a palate that is coating. Flavor is chocolate, coffee, burnt malt with some smokiness on the aftertaste with a finish that is full. Overall, second best brew from McGuire's on my opinion but I agree with ECB that this one is not so much an Irish Stout but more along the lines of a decently hopped, West Coast stout; maybe that is why I liked this one so much.

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

Nice pour, served on nitrogen. Chocolate head and great lacing. Chocolate start to this one, but it turned to a choco-coffee balance as it warmed. Hops started to show up half way through, moreso than others from this non-hoppy Irish ale category, and I actually enjoyed it. Finish was notably dry, but not with overdone hops. Mouthfeel was moderate for the style, heavy overall. Nice job, competent brewing.

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

For a long time, the weakest link in the McGuire's empire nee-brewpub was the fact that they did not have their own stout. I can remember walking in one time about ten years ago at the same time a group of Irish tourists were walking out, and overhearing their conversation. "...mighty grand food and tunes and all..., but no stout?!? Gads...". I think the place later on may have had Guinness on tap for a while, which may be more appropriate, but still doesn't bode well for a brewpub to be seemingly forced to carry a relative simple to produce style like stout. So I was pleased to see that a Stout was included in the taster set in my latest visit to the Pensacola brewpub location.

Poured off a combination CO2/Nitrogen tap, resulting in the standard visual show of the tiny bubbles rushing to the top, and the standard creamier/smoother finish. While that unto itself doesn't make it any better than standard tapped beers (Caffery's, for example, is a boring beer no matter which way it is poured), it does add a little something to a beer that is in it's own right a pretty decent stout.

Beer menu write-up talks about the roasted barley (of course), but also mentions using Chinook hops - a hop choice that is bound to raise a few eyebrows. After all, Chinook is one of the most popular bittering hops on the West Coast, and it is a staple in the hop monsters from Stone, Rogue, and Dogfish Head. While it is true that the copper hops in a Stout need to be big in AAU%'s, they still need to be delicate enough to let the roasted barley and malt to shine. Subtlety isn't one of Chinook's high points, and I went into this sample of the Stout with a few doubts that the head brewer could pull it off, and still be able to call it an Irish Stout.

Not Dry or Creamy in the least, and reminds me more of the Bear Republic Black Bear Stout, or Rogue Shakespeare Stout, than anything from the Emerald Isle. While I love those beers, I was kinda hoping for something a bit more refined from a decidedly Irish place like McGuire's. Not bad at all, but seemed out of place. Still, worth a pint or two.
//TB