Captain Swains Extra Stout

Ever been angry at a beer? No? Then buy this one. Aroma was great, roasted malt, coffee, and oddly, a hint of cantaloup. Then I poured it, all head. I’m not sure if it was the bottle, the carbonation or the beer, but the head kept foaming out and over the bottle for 20 minutes after opening. It foamed on the counter, in the fridge, in the sink, everywhere. Pouring more of it made no difference, head kept foaming. I’d say by the end, I was lucky if I got 30% of the bottle. Flavor was strong, nutty, roasted, coffee and strong. Finish is heavy and oily. The overall score suffered because of the drinking experience. Look out.

Pours nearly opaque with a massive, rocky, tan head - very dry, vinous, almost tart aroma, with hints of dark fruit - very dry and tannic, with just a hint of malty sweetness on the back end - a bit of sourness, combined with earthy, musty undertones - some roastiness, figs and dried cherries - a bit of coffee and cream in the finish - a very unique stout.

2003 or 2002 bottle (not sure). We start out with the typical drill: open, let breath for about 5 hours, pour in glass, stir for a minute or so. . .Yes, it does get old. Yes, Cisco beers are overcarbonated, but it is not fair to judge them as so. If you just let it breath for a while, you can see the wonderful qualities these unpasteurised, unfiltered beers possess. Huge yeastiness on this one. You can feel it seep from the aroma. Oily, astringent roast, bitter black malt. Dark, opaque black beer, with dark mahogany brown tinges on the edges. Mountains of off-white foam. Bitter, with huge dark chocolate and yeasty wininess. This beer is a monster of bitterness, oiliness and unrelenting yeast. I appreciate that, but all the same, I could use some sweetness. Light coffee, dry barley roast, unmalted roasted barley, it’s all here. A slow sipper and a huge, uncompromising beer. Ultimately too dry, and without the vinousness and smooth chocolate that the Moor porter utilizes. Still, a wonderfully made beer, just needs some work.

Thanks to my Secret Santa and ClarkVV who both sent me bottles of this. This needed to be poured into a pitcher to settle down, nothing but head for a long while. Black with lots of lasting tan head. Roasty aroma comes through after a bit of warm up and the flavor is nicely roasty with a spicy almost licorice quality. Smooth and medium bodied. Good average Stout that hides it’s alcohol rather well.

Pitch black body with a dense off-white head. Aroma of paint (as jon mentions), roasted malt, cherries, coffee and a bit of chocolate. Medium-bodied; Strong roasty malt flavour up front with a cherry tartness-wierd! Very light bodied for the style, and the flavour lasts only a short period of time. Aftertaste is mild and roasty, also sweet and tart from the cherries. A wierd and complex beer, but not the best fo the style at all. Overall, good to try, but i’d rather have Whale’s Tale instead of this. I sampled this 75 cL bottle purchased at Chevy Chase Wine & Liquors in Washington, D.C. on 14-November-2004 with good friend jon[r888710].