7.8

Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 8

12 ounce can into pint glass, canned on 2/5/2019. Pours crystal clear nearly opaque dark brown color with a 1-2 finger dense and rocky khaki head with awesome retention, that reduces to a nice cap that lingers. Nice dense spotty soapy lacing clings on the glass, with a fair amount of streaming carbonation. Fantastic appearance. Aromas of dark chocolate, cocoa, coffee, roasted nuts, caramel, brown sugar, toasted biscuit, and dark/brown bread/crust; with lighter notes of molasses, licorice, raisin, plum, fig, date, smoke, charcoal, wood, herbal, grass, pepper, and yeast/roast/toasted earthiness. Nice and pleasant aromas with good balance and complexity of roast/bready malts and light-moderate earthy hop/fruity yeast notes; with solid strength. Taste of big dark chocolate, cocoa, coffee, roasted nuts, caramel, brown sugar, toasted biscuit, and dark/brown bread/crust; with lighter notes of molasses, licorice, raisin, plum, fig, date, smoke, charcoal, wood, herbal, grass, pepper, and yeast/roast/toasted earthiness. Light-moderate herbal, woody, grassy, peppery hop; and roast/charred bitterness on the finish. Lingering notes of dark chocolate, cocoa, coffee, roasted nuts, caramel, brown sugar, toasted biscuit, dark/brown bread/crust, molasses, licorice, dark fruit, smoke, charcoal, wood, herbal, grass, pepper, and yeast/roast/toasted earthiness on the finish for a good bit. Great complexity, robustness, and balance of roast/bready malts and light-moderate earthy hop/fruity yeast flavors; with a great roast/hop bitter/sweet balance; and no acrid/astringent flavors after the finish. Light-moderate increasing dryness from lingering hop/char bitterness. Medium carbonation and body; with a very smooth, moderately creamy/bready/grainy, and fairly crisp/sticky/chalky balanced mouthfeel that is great. Zero warming alcohol as expected of 5%. Overall this is a delicious Irish dry stout. All around nice complexity, robustness, and balance of roast/bready malts and light-moderate earthy hop/fruity yeast flavors; very smooth, easy, and fairly crisp to drink with the modestly bitter/drying finish. Very clean and nicely rich English malt complexity, balancing earthy English hops, and restrained fruity yeast notes. A very enjoyable offering, and spot on style example.