Brought to you by:
BrewTools Homebrewing iPhone App

Latest Reviews

Double Dry Hopped pseudoSue
Toppling Goliath
Modus Vivendi
Wild Beer Co.
Spaceman
Brewfist

Recent Articles

Shameless
Craft brewer sellouts become as tone-deaf and underhanded as their new overlords. Great Taste Eve
Check out the burgeoning Madison beer scene the night before the best fest in country. Good Beer Makes Good Conversation
The effects of drinking beer worth talking about. The Beers of Walmart
The largest retailer in the world now has its own line of beers. Our Take on the Lagunitas-Heineken Deal
Fuck Lagunitas. archives »

Beer Reviews

Captain Swain’s Extra Stout

Cisco Brewers
Nantucket Island, MA
USA
http://www.ciscobrewers.com/

Style: Dry Stout
ABV: 8.0%

Rings’s Rating:
   (Outstanding within its style.)


Comments:
Now that we’re back to American craft beers, for the most part, I’ll “importing” another brew from Nantucket. I mentioned briefly a bit of Cisco Brewers tale in my review of Grey Lady Ale a few months ago. I’d been saving their Captain Swain’s Extra Stout as a winter warmer, so today seemed like the day.

Named after a whaling captain ancestor of one of the proprietors, this dry Irish stout contains a blend of thirteen different malts in the grist bill. It pours dark, thick and black, with low carbonation and rather like used motor oil. There’s a lovely milk chocolate head that unfortunately lingers for only a few moments before settling into a thin circle around the edge of the glass. It has a lovely roasted, woody aroma and the initial body is a full toasty, roasty malty assault that jumps quickly to a firm, dry bite and lingering hoppy finish. A beer like this is actually a good reason for my pessimism at Guinness Foreign Extra reviewed in February, because this is what that could have been: firm, full and nuanced.

This is an above average effort.

Reviewed by Rings on May 2, 2011.

Drinkin’ And Thinkin’

Beer Dorks News

BA creates label to distinguish true, independent craft beer from faux, corporate-owned "craft" beer. Cheers to that! The aptly named Tenacity Brewing seeks to emerge from the disaster that was the water crisis in Flint, MI. Chicagoans hopeful a recent announcement from Three Floyds will bring a much-desired brewpub to the city. Sam Calagione's brilliant response to the news that an AB/InBev subsidiary is now a part-owner of RateBeer. Wisconsin's Gestapo, the Tavern League, looks to tighten rules that will hurt small brewers. One of the original craft beer stalwarts of the Upper Midwest, Summit, ceases distribution in 6 more states, leaving only 5 from their peak of 17. How much does psychology play into perceptions of craft beer? An incredibly interesting case study by this Estonian brewery indicates it's a major factor. AB-InBev controls South African hop market, not allowing craft brewers access. Sounds like the actions of a company that "advocates for craft brewers". Dirty fucking liars. Denmark brewer creates "Pisner", brewed with human urine. As opposed to Bud/Miller/Coors, which is just straight up urine, human or otherwise. On the heels of the Wicked Weed sellout, Lagunitas announces it's sold the remaining 50% to Heineken. We've said it before... this is not going to end well.