Carlow OHaras Celebration Stout

Brewed by Carlow
Style: Dry Stout
Carlow, Ireland

Very dark head showing that semi truck loads of malt were used in the brewing process.Flippy .75 ltr bottle.A mixture of coffee and chocolate made in heaven:) This is now my benchmark for dry,Irish stouts.Very well balanced,under-rated and under-priced.Guinness is 40 oz. quality compaired to this,a masterpiece dry stout from this brewer.

Very black with a big brown head and heavy lacing. Aroma and flavor of roasted malt, mild coffee and chocolate. Very good and drinkable.

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.

Pours fantastic with a rich creamy head. Aroma of roasted malt, with coffee undertones. A dry finish leaving a pleasant chocolate after note. A very drinkable stout at 6.0 ABV. Think Guiness without the syrupy, velveteen coat.

Bottle from Pauly’s in Lowell. Pours a viscous black color with a reddish-brown head. Smells and tastes of toasted malts, toffee, milk cocoa, and irish cream. Much more aggressive and dense than i was anticipating, which was a pleasant suprise. Good stuff.

swing top bottle (750ml). -at Tolkien’s Pub, Zagreb, shared with Doggythedog.
Black coloured, medium to big tan head, chocolate malty nose. Roasted malt and dark chocolate taste with few fruity hints. Strong bitter chocolate finish and lingering bitter aftertaste. Very nice brew, like light imperial stout.

I really like this stuff, so much so I picked up another bottle and drinking it right now. It pours beautifully; black color with some brown tints. The head is very nice, large and brown and turns to a surface covering lacing. Long story short, this is the perfect quaffable Irish Stout (a bit stronger than the traditional I guess). Aroma is lightly milky and prominent dry ashy roast. There is also a leafy/airy aspect, making this light and give it s bio-natural appeal. It’s not strong but pleasantly there. The taste is very nice as well with coffee and a long burnt/roast/espresso bean aftertaste, really lingers. And all the time its just so light and easy to drink with no off flavors at all. I think I am going to down this whole awesome bottle myself, at 6% why not?.
750mL flip top, standard Scotch glass.

Bottle @ Beer Exposed, September 2008.
Pours an impressive translucent black with a small, creamy, beige head. Elegantly roasted aroma, chocolate and just the right amount of smoke. Great mouthfeel, dry and creamy. Flavour is roasted, some smoke and chocolate. Extremely well-balanced beer - with an incredible amount of flavours for only 6 % ABV. Truly recommended.