Great Lakes Wolfhound Stout

Brewed by Great Lakes Brewing Company
Style: Dry Stout
Cleveland, Ohio USA

Date: 07/23/2007
Mode: Draft
Source: Brewpub

black, thin fine beige head, dry roasted malt aroma, creamy oily oatmeal body, lots of roasted flavor, well tempered bitterness considering the amount of roasted malts,

Aroma: 6/10; Appearance: 7/10; Flavor: 6/10; Palate: 8/10; Overall: 12/20
Rating: 3.2/5.0
Drinkability: 8/10
Score: *4

On draught at the brewpub. Pours pitch black with a thick and frothy light tan head. Sticky rings of lacing. The aroma is roasted malt, coffee and chocolate. Medium-bodied and very creamy, with a nice roasted coffee character. Dark chocolate, malt and hops flavors are nicely balanced. The finish is dry and lightly hoppy. I have had 2 excellent Dry Stouts recently (Cadillac Mountain being the other) that have reminded me what a great beer style this can be. This is a keeper.

Malt aroma. Creamy white head. Dark brown, though could be darker. Chocolate flavor. It tastes better than it smells. Chocolate is dominant; malt taste is #2. Not “roasted.” Bitter finish. A bit thin, but still tasty. Overall, an ok stout. Neither “dry” nor “creamy.” Just ok.

My mouth watered when I saw waitress bringing this one - dark black with a milk chocolate froth head. I wasn't disappointed - full bodied and full of flavor. Thick curtains of lace. While the typical roasted flavors were in there along with a hint of licorice, it seemed that the sweetness was more dominant. The finish was very dry and short - no loitering in this glass! The most interesting thing to me was that my wife stole more than a couple of sips - she usually doesn't like beer and especially dislikes any bitterness or coffee notes. Hmmmm, very unusual.

On draft at the brewpub. To me, this is about as fine an example of a dry stout as one can expect. I believe this is my first 5 for appearance. It was just so sumptuous looking - opaque, thick, oily, with a perfect inch of cafe au lait head sitting contentedly on top of the brew. Strong but not overpowering roasted barley in the nose. And the taste lasted forever, with the roasts coming in initially but rounded by a nicely complex malt flavor, thick and chewy oatmeal, and a superbly creamy mouthfeel. Truly enjoyable.

On tap at GLBC. Darkest brown/black pour with a huge creamy tan head. Dry malt and coffee aroma that is faint at first (friggin’ nitros!), but comes out more as the beer warms. Creamy malty flavor up front with a bitter coffee finish. Flavor is also more pronounced as the beer warms. Pretty darn good for a nitro stout.

Black pour, great almond nitro head. Roasted malts in the aroma. Flavors are roasted malts all the way, chocolate, some coffee, almost smokiness to it, maybe some oats in the silky mouthfeel. Dry but not too dry because of the great mouthfeel form the nitro and even lightly hopped. This beer was perfect for it’s style.

Had this at the brewpub while visiting Cleveland last weekend for the Disturbed concert. The waitress told me the was "to Die for" and she wasn't far off the mark. Nose of anise, toasted malt, caramel and oats, and Irish cream. The brew is solid black. The thick bone NoS head is of course ultra creamy, fully lasting and has good lacing. The flavor is sweet and roasted. The full body is syrupy, almost flat and finishes dry. Excellent.