North Coast Old No. 38 Stout

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

I do enjoy this beer, although the numbers calculate lower than I would like to suggest. This stout I could drink for days...unlike the Old Rasputin, which is my favorite. It’s a quality stout with balance and I like to use it as an introductory stout to folks that don’t get on well with Guiness.

Been awhile since I’ve seen a North Coast brew... and I’m glad to have this one in my hand albeit horribly overpriced. Poured out a mid sized brown head that is on the foamy side. Ok retention with slippery lacing. Dark dark brown brew. The aroma is of roasted malts, chocolate, orange and wet coffee grounds; none of which are strong. This has a nice soft demeanor. The flavour is very nice and mild with a toffee / chocolate / roast coming out first, touch of hops, fruit and astringency in the middle and finishes with chocolate and coffee. Mouth feel is excellent as this beer put my mouth through a rollercoaster of experiences: smooth, average carbonation, tart, dryness and a coffee bitterness that has some pretty decent legs without ruining the next sipping. As much as I like this I don’t find myself drawn to get more. Still, it’s a very enjoyable beer.

Never judge a book by its cover. I’ve had this bottle sitting in my fridge for close to 2 years because nobody was ever eager to try it. Pours a pitch black body. Aroma is light notes of malt and coffee. The taste is smooth, flavor of coffee and some roasted notes.

bottle. nice solid intriguing dry stout.... Old No 38 really feels like a toned down version of Old Rasputin... nice licorice and sweet malt presence. feels stronger than 5.6%. pours a mild black with an average tan head. wonderful licorice, coffee and sweet aromas. light to medium body. really nice flavors throughout... this offers more than your typical dry stout... nice one.

12 oz. bottle. Pours a thick lasting tan head, with extensive lacing, over a dark blackish brown (SRM 25) clear body....nose redolent of the usual suspects, coffee, chocolate, molasses, soy.....taste initially is slightly sweet then in come the heavy roasted tastes of coffee, cocoa, finishing with a nice hop bitterness....mouth feel is rich and chewy, but not as smooth as an oatmeal, carbonation medium. A thoroughly enjoyable American Stout.

"Black body with a small brown cap, lacing is very slippery. Aroma is very mild and slightly sour, coffee, cinnamon ( very hard to detect) along with a made up word I’ll call roastedness. I guess the aroma is not bad it’s just mild and average. Chalky coffee taste, chocolate comes through and the brew finishes dry and smoky. Ok beer very drinkable its just average at best and not worth the insane price I paid for it up here in Canada (25$ for a sixer)"

Tap. Pours black with a brown head. Aroma is quite malty with an underlying chocolate aroma. Flavor is again malty with nice underlying flavors.

Pours a dark mahogany color with traces of crimson shining through. A foamy blanket of mocha colored foam shows decent retention, leaving minimal, skinny rings and flares of lacing behind. The aroma shows sweet burnt caramel and scorched sugars, dark fig and various other dark fruits adding further earthy sweetness. Hints of earthy, smoky molasses adds excessive sweetness. Flavors focus on big, sweet, dark cocoa with vanilla and caramel. Mild earthen notes fail to balance out the sugary flavors. Medium bodied and sugary, the palate resembles a sweet stout more than a dry. Eh, not impressed.