North Coast Black Hart

Brewed by North Coast Brewing Company
Style: Dry Stout
Fort Bragg, California USA

How this beer is off the radar screen is beyond me. Perhaps because it isn’t barrel aged, or have a cool name. But the beer inside this plain looking bottle is really tasty, and a helluva price ($6 for a sixer). A fairly straight-forward aroma of dark chocolate, some coffee. Roasted malts, coffee, bitter chocolate. Some hoppy bitterness towards the end (perhaps it’s just the roasted coffee, almost espresso like). Fantastic beer for an incredibly low price.

12oz bottle. Pours an almost black, dark brown with a big beige head. Roasty, sweet chocolate, and slightly acidic aroma. The flavor is roasted bitter,coffee, and dryness. Medium body with medium carbonation. It’s a pretty drinkable stout, but I’m not loving it.

Poured black with tinges of ruby on the glass. It had medium lacing with medium, tan head. The taste was of espresso and dark chocolate with slight creaminess. It had some sour bitterness like other Irish dry stouts I’ve tasted, such as Guinness. Overall, an excellent example.

From bottle. As beautiful a stout in a glass as I have seen. Deep tan head that lingers. Aroma of poached pears. Flavor very roasted, with occasional hints of bitter chocolate. Smooth transfer of flavors from chocolate to earthy hops on most tastes. Touch of tartness on others. Well done, nonetheless.

mystery 2.0. Got a large fizzy tan head on a black/brown body. Poured a bit loose? NOse was great. Roasted chocolate and coffee. Nice coffee and roasted malt. Nice dry finish. Good solid stout.

12oz...I found this beer at Trader Joe’s about six years ago. I had no clue who the brewer was, as the packaging didn’t state. If memory serves me right, it was under $5.99 a 6k. Do I hear bargain? A great find if you don’t want to pay for the similar Old No. 38 Stout that N Coast also makes.

12 oz bottle from Trader Joes. Pours an opaque black with an ample tan head that showed plenty of lacing. The aroma was light with molasses. The flavor was rich with molasses, hops, coffee, and roasted malts. The mouthfeel was medium full. The Finish was long and slightly biter. Overall this is a very session-able stout. Recommended.

Dark brown amber color with fluffy tan head. Fantastic roasted dark chocolate aroma. The taste was the same with light coffee notes throughout. Smooooth and creamy with just the right amount of sweetness. Very good beer.