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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

Want to know how healthy the craft beer industry is? As always, look to Portland. Craft pioneer Bridgeport announces sudden closure, adding to a growing list of PDX casualties. Did Anheuser-Busch Chicago offer their shit beer to Cody Parkey before his missed field goal? Because that may explain why he "accidentally" biffed it. Chicago now has the most breweries of any city in the country. Other things Chicago has the most of: murders, mobsters, and Ditkas. Trying to spin it positive, BA releases end of year graphic. Only 5% growth in the craft sector when nearly 1000 new breweries opened? That's a collapse waiting to happen. R.I.P. Tallgrass... another casualty as the regional/national craft beer market continues to get squeezed. Wait... Constellation Brands cut all of the Ballast Point and Funky Buddha sales staff? They merged it with their Corona/Modelo staff?? We're SHOCKED!!! Pizza Beer founder crying about failure of company, blames everyone else. Reminder, the beer tasted like vomit. Try having better ideas or making better products so you're not a failure. It's Bud Light so doesn't really matter, but we expect this beer to be sitting around for awhile. Indiana brewery to open with controversial beer names to "get the conversation going". Translation: taking advantage of serious issues for free publicity. Hundreds of amazing beers in Wisconsin and the Cubs took back the one everyone drinks just because it exists and people have heard of it. How fitting...