Gritty McDuffs Black Fly Stout

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

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.

Brewtopia 11-12-05. This poured a very dark brown, ggod tan head. Aroma was typical stout, roasted chocolate and coffee. Nice finish, after taste was bitter and dry.

Bomber poured an opaque black with a long lasting brown head. Aromas of bittersweet chocolate, licorice, roasted malt and mocha. Palate was medium bodied and dry. Flavors of bitter coffee, bitter chocolate with a dry lingering finish.

April 2006 Bomber. Black body, small creamy khaki head. Moderate ashen roast aroma. Flavour is dry ashen bitter roast, and not much else flavour finishes very dry and unpleasantly bitter. Thin. Better than the sample I had at the brewpub (which should really not be the case in my opinion) but still ill suited to my taste preferences. 5/3+/5/2/10 - 2.6<P> November 2005 Draft @ Gritty’s. Black body, small creamy beige head and decent lacing. (3+) Dilute roasted aroma. Watery roast malt is the flavour without much else going on. Smooth but thin palate. Weak. 4/4/4/2/7 - 2.1

Bottle. First off ... no. Nothing should ever be named after black flies, especially not with THAT bottle art. Very fizzy pour and a big bubbled head that dissapated quickly. Good aroma of chocolate, roasted malts and peanut butter. As it warms, it picks up a dustiness in the nose. When chilled, the flavor is almost unbearable. I don’t know what it is, but there’s something not right about it. Let it warm and it gets more like a dry stout, but nothing special. Dry roasted malts and maybe a slight hoppiness. I just can’t get over that black fly thing.

Pours darlk brown with a light brown muddy head. Smells of chocolate and slightly roasted. Taste is of roasted malt and watery.

19AUG05 On tap at the Freeport location. Pours almost black with small, thin, beige head. Very weak taste and thin body feel.

Black pour with a small head. Aroma is coffee, roast, and nuts. Interesting aroma. Flavor is roasty nutty with coffee, but also chocolate and hints of caramel. Finish is bitter and sour. Kinda weird... can’t really decide if I like this or not. I definitely couldn’t score this a 4/5, but I could see it being a 3/5. For now it’s good.