Black Raven cask report 01/20/2010 – Morrighan Stout
This week Black Raven featured their Morrigan Stout on cask. Usually they feature something a little extra special, but as the announcement stated “Morrighan Stout: No funny stuff… straight up… no really!”. I have to wonder if Beaux is a Big Lewbowski fan with the “no funny stuff” comment.
Unfortunately I have not had a glass of their Stout prior, so could not compare how it tasted on cask versus on tap. Never the less, I definitely enjoyed it.
Their stout follows the dry Irish Stout style, it is light in body and alcohol and extremely easy to drink.
The appearance is solid black with a beautiful tan head. Out of the cask the head was minimal, but I swirled the beer a few times to reintroduce a finger thick head. I was intrigued by the colors and texture, appearing similar to the crema of a perfect espresso.
It smelled wonderful, with chocolate and a sort of roasted caramel readily apparent. The smell would fade, but then a slight swirl brought it back.
The taste is not as strong as the smell, but that is ok as with this style it allows you to enjoy the beer without being knocked over by intense flavor common with American stouts. The taste of chocolate and what seemed like espresso were very good.
My next growler fill at black raven might be their stout, I definitely look forward to another glass.
