Old No. 38 Stout

Brewed by: North Coast Brewing Company

Style: Dublin Dry Stout

ABV: 5.5%

IBU: 53

I would like to say that I am always pleased by what North Coast Brewing has to offer. They consistently show that they know how to make a good beer and this one is no exception.

The Old No. 38 Stout is identified as a Dublin Dry Stout. The reason that Dublin is before the type is simply because dry stouts were traditionally made in Ireland. In fact, an Irish stout is interchangeable with the term Dry Stout. The big name in this style of beer is of course Guiness….but Guiness also sucks, unlike this beer!

As you might be able to tell from the bottle, the Old No. 38 is named after a steam engine that used to run on a track through the Redwoods. Fort Bragg was on the line and that is where North Coast is located. In fact, you can still take train rides down the line and while you’re there, you might as well hop into the brewery for a few samples!

On to the beer!

Look – The brewery calls the color of the pour “Onyx.” I can’t really agree with that. It poured more of a very deep, dark brown. In the right light, I could see through the glass, which is definitely not Onyx. The light tan head was fairly thick and once it dissipated, a very thin head continued to sit on top of the beer for most of the drinking.

Smell – There was a very heavy chocolate smell right away with the expected coffee and roasted malt scents in there as well. As with most dry stouts, I couldn’t smell too much more than that.

Taste – Love the initial taste of this beer! Unfortunately, it doesn’t stick around for long and it leaves a rather dry aftertaste (though I guess that’s one way to get people to keep drinking). That first taste is strong with dark, roasted malts and barley and very light with the chocolate. It doesn’t taste very hoppy because the other flavors kind of take charge in the whole mix of things. I was eating pizza while drinking this one and found that food seemed to bring out the hops a lot with each drink. I think the beer goes great with food because it kept the taste interesting and brought out more aspects of the beer.

Conclusion – It’s a solid beer for sure. Good taste, good smell and a lot better than some other dry stouts that I’ve had. If you don’t like Guiness, you should definitely try this beer to give Irish stouts another chance.

I would give this beer a solid B

Thanks for reading, come back often!

Happy Drinking!