Christian Moerlein Stout: Stanky and Tasty Goes Together, Somehow.

I haven’t had too much luck with sampler packs over the past couple months, so as a testament to my own minor proclivities towards masochism, I picked up a Christian Moerlein “Discovery Pack.”  Moerlein, as you’re certainly aware, is Cincinnati’s “Craft Beer” giant.  The great majority of my experience with them, however, has come in the form of Burger Beer and not much else.  At any rate, they’re pretty much running the show when it comes to Cincinnati beer right now, and I figure they’re doing an okay job (brewing in WI aside), so I’m not complaining too loudly.

In the past, I’ve reviewed sampler packs together, and I’m not going to do that with Christian Moerlein’s solely because they’re a Cincinnati brewer.  Instead, I’ll split it into two posts.  The first will cover my favorite of the four beers that came in the pack (one of the four we’ve already reviewed), Friend of An Irishman Brewer’s Stout.

I haven’t much felt like pouring beers lately, for some reason, and this situation’s no different.  I cracked open the bottle, and as usual, stuck my nose in the bottle’s mouth for a big whiff.

Huge mistake.

CMFOAIBS (snappy, eh?) Smelled like a skunk’s twat.  This, as you might imagine, made me a little trepidatious about actually drinking the beer, but as the aforementioned minor issue with masochism and the drive to drink for your sakes forces me, I let the first drink fly.  Simply put: it tastes much better than it smells.

It’s a very smooth-tasting stout, lightish for its “class” (can you call it that?).  Good, solid coffee-ish taste, much more drinkable than most stouts, which is likely due to its lighter qualities.

CMFOAIBS has a dry, almost non-existent finish to it, which might be a draw for some beer drinkers.  This fact actually taught me a little something about the difference between Stouts and Imperial Stouts, which is nice–Imperial Stouts, they of a significantly higher ABV (often around the 9-10% range), tend to have just as much thickness and color as a regular Stout, but there are significant taste differences.  Imperials are much stronger, and this lends itself to a lengthy finish, which often tastes like black coffee with alcoholic overtones to it.  Regular Stouts give that malty coffee taste without the aftertaste.

All in all, Friend of an Irishman Brewer’s Stout is a really solid stout, and probably one of my favorites.  If drinking Cincinnati beers is important to you, I’d recommend giving it a try over Guinness at some point.  Taste-wise, you’re looking at a similar beer, though Moerlein’s offering doesn’t have that weird “velvety” quality to it, if you’re into that.  On TCM’s “Crap to Superb” scale, CMFOAIBS ranks a “Fantastic.”

Related posts:

1. Beer Review: Left Hand Milk Stout
2. 9,000 Years is a Long Damn Time: A Review of Guinness 250 Anniversary Stout
3. This Christian Moerlein Fella Might Be On To Something: A Review of OTR Ale
4. Vinnie Barbarossa–I’m Sorry, I Had To.
5. Breakfast in a Bottle: Anderson Valley Brewing Company Barney Flats Oatmeal Stout