A Holiday for Stouts
Tomorrow is St. Patrick’s Day. As is the tradition of Nissa and I, we will be having breakfast at Bull Feeney’s tomorrow morning. They serve a fine full Irish breakfast, and the large pours of beer taste even better when consumed before noon. Nissa will have to head to work, whereas I have a few hours in the Old Port before I must go pick up Emmett. I’ll probably check out the new porter that will be poured at Gritty’s, or go get a pint of the recently rereleased Bourbon Barrel Aged Lake Trout Stout at Sebago. Normally I finish up with a chalice or two at Novare, but day care is closing at 3 tomorrow, so I’ll have to skip the bier garden this year.
To get myself in the mood, I’m enjoying a few stouts tonight. First up is the classic Cadillac Mountain Stout from Bar Harbor Brewing Company. If I review any others tonight, I’ll add them to this post.
Bar Harbor Brewing Co. Cadillac Mountain Stout
A- / 4.03
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Poured from a cellared bottle into my Beamish Imperial Pint. This bottle has been in my cellar since May 2009.
Caddy is a very dark beer. The opaque black liquid fills my glass. The head is foamy, brown and thick. As it settles good lacing is left behind. A little bit of film and foam coats the sides of the glass as I swirl the beer about.
Sweet roasted malts greet my nose as I inhale this beer’s aroma. Milk chocolate covered caramel comes to mind.
Dark malts with a slight roasted quality is the first thing I taste as the beer enters my mouth. As I swallow, the taste of hot fudge syrup is present, but it is only the slightest bit sweet and not syrupy at all. I’m not sure if that quite makes sense; it is chocolately, but not like normal chocolate, hot fudge sauce is the closest thing that I can think of to describe it. There is a sherry-like quality to the beer, but it isn’t too strong.
The carbonation level isn’t very high, but there are still some bubbles to this beer. A coat remains after I swallow, although it is a bit watery and not too flavorful. There is just enough of the beer in it to make me want another sip.
Overall, I am a fan of this stout. This aged bottle doesn’t quite live up to the once legendary status of this beer. I would drink it again, most likely fresh and certainly nothing older than a year old. I had samples fresh at the brewery, and I remember liking it more, but the time and place could have been a factor in that memory. People will tell you that the beer isn’t as good as it used to be, before the brewery changed hands and (supposedly) the recipe changed. I can’t really comment on that, as I wasn’t much of a beer geek back when I had the original recipe and I don’t remember how it tasted. Still, it is a very good stout that is worth seeking out.
