Gritty McDuffs Black Fly Stout

Brewed by Gritty McDuffs
Style: Dry Stout
Portland, Maine USA

Dark brown , with small white top . Brown sugar , candy , fruity base . Dark , black roast , dry black and bitter coffee. A bit acidic .

Sample at DougShoemaker’s 2005 December gathering - bottle courtesy of Sammy. Dark brown colour with a wuby tint and a small head. Aroma is nice - roasty and sweet with a hint of smoke. Body is thin, and the flavour lives up to the dryness promised in the description. Nice, but needs a bit more body.

Bottle at Doug’s Christmas 05. Nice mild roast aroma. Black, small tan head. Nice mild roast taste with a hint of smoke. Almost like a dry porter (which is not a bad thing) as it is thin. Taste really lingers. Good.

bottle. deep black with a thin ring of mocha head. aroma has coffee roast, oats, cream, and raisins. hmm, there is some sour roast flavour and the body is somewhat thin and watery. bitter finish.

Bottle at ’December at DougShoemaker’s 2005’ -- courtesy of Sammy. Pours a dark brown, almost black, with a small light-brown head. Aroma and flavour of smoke, coffee, roasted malt and caramel. Thin palate. It’s O.K. but it doesn’t really stand out in any way.

Thanks to Sammy (?) Cherry/chocolate. A little inky tar. Quite watery body. Burnt malt, inky/oily malt. Very bitter cocoa finish.

Good initial head on black, lace. Smoke and coffee aroma. Taste of wood, smoke, coffee, chocolate malt,a spot of fuitiness, drying finish. Licorice on aftertaste. Good for its style, well malted but in a word balanced and very quaffable. Medium mouthfeel.

ORIGINAL (tap): Not a bad stout. I had it in Portland at Gritty McDuff’s where they make it. It was a little bitter, but rich and delicious, I felt. Definitely worth your while. I only wish it were more readily available in bottles, or that there was a Gritty’s closer to where I live. REVISED (10-20-06): Opaque black body with few-fingers thick tan head that dissipates a tad quickly and leaves a fair bit of lacing. Smells mostly hoppy with some roast. Bitter anyways. Hops dominate the flavor, while roast or burnt malt play a big role too. Flavor is not overwealmingly strong. Not watery per se, but not as robust as some porters and stouts. A little more hop bitterness than I generally like in a stout. Fairly heavy-bodied. It’s an okay beer overall though, worthwhile to try and have once in a while from a very worthwhile brewery. To be fair, the bottle might be a little old, though not expired.