Carlow OHaras Celebration Stout

Brewed by Carlow
Style: Dry Stout
Carlow, Ireland

Swing-top bottle purchased at Liquor Max in Loveland, CO. Pours opaque with a large, frothy, dark brown head, lasting with excellent lacing. Aroma is heavy malt (cookie, chocolate, coffee), light hops (grass), average yeast (leather) with notes of prune and wood. Medium bodied, sticky texture, lively carbonation, and a bitter finish. Average duration, light sweetness and acidity, moderate bitterness.

Bottle. Poured a nice black body with thin head. Aroma is some smoke, coffee. Flavor is light smoke, coffee, choclolate and some toffee. I love the smokiness of this beer. Not strong but enough to give it a little flavor in each sip.

Very dark brown with a medium tan head. Coffee and tobacco tones. Roasted, malt and bitter. Medium body with a dry finish.

750mL bottle, BB 5/28/09. Poured deep brown with a very nice cap of creamy tan head... stuck to the glass a bit. The aroma picked up dry, sweeter chocolate and coffee notes with caramel rounding it out.. quite well balanced and welcoming. The flavor had semi-sweet chocolate and caramel at the core with light coffee and hay-like bitterness on the edges.. semi-sweet chocolate again on the warm, cake-like finish. Dry on the palate especially on the back.. medium-bodied.. excellent flow on the palate and very desserty in nature. Great brew!

completely blacck, nice lasting cafe a lait head, major notes of liquorice and hard roasted malt, minor of coffee, dark chocolatte and hops . Sweet and bitter in the long dry aftertaste.

Poured from a 750ml swing-top bottle and served in an English pint glass. This beer poured a deep, dark brown with a one-finger thick head of tan foam that lasted forever. Heavy lacing covered the inside of the glass. The aroma of the beer was made up of heavily roasted malt, coffee, and a hint of bittersweet chocolate. The flavor consisted of burnt malt, coffee, licorice, light chocolate, and a touch of citrus hops. The mouthfeel was medium-bodied and velvety smooth. Moderate carbonation. A dry Irish stout with a touch of sweetness. Pretty tasty.

THOUGHTS: Way better than Guinness. Opened with a huge pop as the cork was pulled, but had a little too much carbonation. It would have been nearly perfect with a little less carbonation. I’d love to try this one cask conditioned. TECHNICAL: Bottle. Poured a dark brown that was black in the glass with red highlights and an average-sized, foamy, light tan head that kept a nice sheet and left fair lacing. The aroma was moderate to heavy toasted, roasted, burnt and mild coffee malt. The initial flavor was lightly sweet; while the finish was moderately sweet and heavily bitter with an average duration. There was lots of roasted, burnt and coffee malt then all coffee and burnt bitterness. Nice balance though. The medium to full body was creamy and slightly oily with very fizzy carbonation and a light to moderate astringent finish.

25.4 oz bottle. Dark brown with a craggy tan head that recedes leaving a foamy ring. Nose is dusty coffee with hints of citrus and licorice. Smooth body with a faint tang. Taste is watery dark roast and Baker’s chocolate.