Quilter's Irish Death - Iron Horse Brewery

maximum12

Minnesota

1.6/5  rDev -57.7%
look: 2 | smell: 3 | taste: 1 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 1

Thanks to a, ah, unnamed but generous BA who dropped this bottle in as an extra to a winter-time trade. A brewery I hadn't heard of before, always a good thing. Nice bottle!

Pours flat, oily, dead black. No hint of carbonation, which is a bit disconcerting. Smell is lactose & sweet, like a milk stout, not strong.

Sadly, this is not a good beer. I'm not sure if the lack of carbonation is the sign of a bad bottle or if this is just naturally putrid. There's a touch of sweet, but the overwhelming taste is of burnt, acrid, dirt-stomped coffee grounds. The taste is only slight sub-average, but the aftertaste this leaves with your normal beer drinker is appalling. Makes me want to go brush my teeth with steel wool & ice cream.

Drinkability not good. Drain pour, for both myself & the wife. Too bad.

Serving type: bottle

04-25-2009 00:51:13 | More by maximum12

waldowin

Washington

2.05/5  rDev -45.8%
look: 3 | smell: 2 | taste: 2 | feel: 2 | overall: 2

I'm not sure what to classify this beer as, but Imperial Stout is most definitely wrong. It's closer to a super-sweet scotch ale, by far.

Pours a slightly translucent amber so dark as to be nearly brown. Light shining through the sides comes through as merely slightly lighter. Certainly not a black beer by any measure.

No head on the pour, extremely thin white ring forms, no lacing. Smells of sherry, taffy, and candied sugars, with a hint of saltwater. Taste is of conflicting sweetnesses, almost no hops apparent. Aftertaste is slightly sickly-sweet, sticky, and unbalanced.

I'm not sure I'll make it through the 22oz, to be honest. And I've finished some pretty awful beers.

Again, this is certainly not a stout by any measure, and I don't just mean in termsof quality. I'm not sure where the style label came from.

Serving type: bottle

02-06-2009 07:27:24 | More by waldowin

harrymel

Washington

2.3/5  rDev -39.2%
look: 3 | smell: 2 | taste: 2 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 2.5

On tap at the brewery.
Hazy brown ale with a slight caramel hue. Done sweet Esters or banana and clove. Smells of smooth milk chocolate and hints of molasses malts. Nice brown ale flavor is then upended with some sweet what I think are off flavors in the beer, but this is the flagship beer so must be their intention.medium body and low carb and semi dry finish.I don't really care for this one.

Serving type: on-tap

03-18-2012 22:09:37 | More by harrymel

PEBKAC

New York

2.3/5  rDev -39.2%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 2 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 2

Bottle from LetsPour. Ommegang chalice to try & keep everything compact.

Cream-colored flimsy head. Muggy, dark brown body. Light sleeping sediment; I tried.

Smells like a like a brown ale with some cacao nibs & cherry juice added. A bit medicinal.

Some toasty grain on the taste, but it honestly tastes how it smells. Some licorice. Curious nuttiness on the trail end. Not really all that sweet, just sloppy.

Frothy tongue. Really low carbonation, barely a tickle. Rough alcohol. This is not 7.8%.

At least the shipping was free.

/shrug

Serving type: bottle

10-11-2012 03:50:38 | More by PEBKAC

dnichols

Washington

2.53/5  rDev -33.1%
look: 2.5 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

I was poured a pint from the tap at the Town Crier in Richland, Washington on St. Patrick's Day. It was marketed as "Irish Death" by the bartender and we were told it had an ABV of 8%.

A: It poured a blackish brown body that when back lit appeared more like a Doctor Pepper (black body with reddish tints around the edges). The head was nearly non-existent (there was a thin ring around the collar by the time the drink arrived at out table) as was the lacing.

S: The aromas were very thin with whiffs of chocolate and sweet roasted malts dominating.

T: It tasted more like a thin Porter than a Stout. It was very sweet (to its determent), thin, and hopless. The sweets on the front end tasted more like brown sugar diluted in colored water than a robust porter or Irish Stout. There was not bite or coffee bitterness or flavors of fruits or spices. Surprisingly the alcohol was well hidden.

M: It was thin bodied and sweet. It finished clean and had no aftertaste. If this were a black lager I would be impressed.

D: For an 8% ABV brew it was easy to drink. It was refreshing and light-bodied.

Serving type: on-tap

03-17-2008 20:36:39 | More by dnichols

woemad

Washington

2.53/5  rDev -33.1%
look: 3 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 2.5

22oz bomber purchased at the Rosauer's up the hill from me for $3.69. No freshness date. I tried this once on-tap about a year ago.

Poured a viscous-looking black, with a tan head that was so thin and brief I'm not sure it was ever actually there.

Vague dark fruit and brown sugar odor. Nobody else home.

Weird acidic taste to this. Very mild raisin-like flavor that does not stand up well at all with the brown sugary thing, which isn't too strong on it's own but dominates by default. There's some metallic notes in the mix as well.

Coating, kinda dead mouthfeel.

Truly a lousy beer. Grimly drinkable. Seems like this brewery has gone quality skydiving.

Serving type: bottle

12-21-2008 08:07:39 | More by woemad

yaegerje

Minnesota

2.53/5  rDev -33.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 1.5 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 3

A - A beautiful dark stout, creamy tan head, glorious tiny bubbles.

S - Coffee McCoffeestein, how are you? Yah, a little bit of coffee coming through, just a little sarcasm too.

T - Honestly, it tasted like old coffee grounds and some random stout, just way too much coffee coming through, sorry Jim...

M - Pretty good, really heavily carbonated, belching storm ensued.

D - I kinda tried to ignore the taste, it was just so darn strong... otherwise pretty enjoyable!

Serving type: bottle

08-03-2009 01:54:24 | More by yaegerje

LieutenantWort

Washington

2.55/5  rDev -32.5%
look: 2.5 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 2.5

Drinking from a 22oz bomber, poured into an imperial pint glass. Color is very dark, chestnut brown. Not much head, just a thin ring that hangs on all the way to the end of the glass.

Taste is um... interesting. Very sharp, stabbing sweetness quickly followed by a medicinal tang. No deeper notes in the aftertaste. Mouth feel is quite thin. Not what I'd call a stout, exactly (I expect a heavier mouth feel and more body to the taste).

Serving type: bottle

04-05-2009 10:36:44 | More by LieutenantWort

Kevin73

Washington

2.83/5  rDev -25.1%
look: 2.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 2.5

Pours a partially transparent ruddy brown with a very thin head that disappears quickly with almost no lacing. The smell is dark chocolate and indistinguishable fruit that was not quite orange citrus which, darn it all, would have been nice. My first sip tasted distinctly like green olives, that put me off a bit. Fortunately the flavor changed and I was able to savor the sweetness of the bready malts balancing the high ABV. Still it's a thin ale with a watery back end. I guess you would classify this as a malty porter, where as porters are normally hopped, but definitely not a stout.

Serving type: bottle

12-25-2012 23:33:14 | More by Kevin73

RJLarse

Washington

3.05/5  rDev -19.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 2.5

On tap at the Pastime in Ritzville. Served in a pint glass.

Pours a black walnut color with very little head. It looks like a cola.

Smell is faint and non-descript.

Taste is sweet malted grain flavor with a mild bitterness along side.

Mouthfeel is smooth, maybe a little thin for the style. No cloying at all, but there is a little alcohol heat.

Drinkable for a taste and mouthfeel perspective, but a little high on ABV to be sessionable. Still a couple are nice.

Serving type: on-tap

03-29-2009 18:18:46 | More by RJLarse

bum732

Maryland

3.35/5  rDev -11.4%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3

S: slightly fruity, some coffee and chocolate, a lot of alcohol.

L: Very dark brown with ruby highlights, light tan head that dissipates to a ring of foam.

T: Slightly fruity esters with a coffee backbone. Some toffee with some alcohol. Medium bitterness followed by a touch of caramal sweetness.

M: Medium-bodied, medium-low carbonation, alcohol very noticeable.

A pretty messy beer. I would hardly call it a double stout, more like a big Irish stout. A lot of alcohol is present which really distracts some of the other aromas and flavors. Not a fan.

Serving type: bottle

01-16-2011 03:57:29 | More by bum732

KTCamm

New Jersey

3.35/5  rDev -11.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

Poured from a 22 oz bomber into a pint glass.

Pours very dark brown, very little foam. Some tan spots start out but fizzes out. Very malty nose. Some milk chocolate. Opens a sour malty taste. Very light carbonation leads to a creamy malt. If there is a hop in here, its buried in the thick wash of the malt. Ok.

Serving type: bottle

07-04-2012 11:54:13 | More by KTCamm

KajII

North Carolina

3.43/5  rDev -9.3%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

[Suggested Glassware: Nonic Pint]

The pour was a murky dark brown with a small (less than 1 finger) light brown fizzy head that diminished in a matter of seconds, down to just a small collar with fair light lacing.

The aroma was somewhat mild with a roasted chocolate malt and a light doughy yeast with notes of dark fruit (raisins and dates), coffee, cola, molasses and a mild alcohol tinge.

The taste was a bold malty sweet with a good strong dark fruit presence and a hint of molasses and maybe chocolate from the beginning, and then took on a nice bold roastiness with a touch of coffee and a nice mellow alcohol ending. The flavor lasted an average time after the swallow, and what was left behind is still somewhat of a tasty mystery to me.

Mouthfeel was just about medium in body with a thin dry texture and a fizzy carbonation.

Overall the brewer is correct, I just can not put this one into any one style category. All I know is it is damn tasty and I like it...

http://www.facebook.com/KAJIIsBeerReviews

Serving type: bottle

11-27-2012 18:33:03 | More by KajII

bluemoonswoon

Illinois

3.48/5  rDev -7.9%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Finally got around to sampling ThristyHopHead's last extra, thanks much for the opportunity to trade.

Pours out smooth but nothing thick and with a robust, creamy head the climbs up and over the edges of the glass, which I quickly vacuumed up with my mouth. Dark and clear brown (almost black) with deep blood red highlights. Little bit of lacing forms above what's left of the ring like head.

Not really like any Double Stout I've ever encountered. Considering that this comes from the west coast it is incredibly malty in the sense that there is basically no hop character, not sure if this is a sign of age or just how the beer was manufactured. Instead there seems to be a much stronger focus on the malts. Slightly herbal, slight cinnamon spiciness. More focus on roastiness, but the sweetness cuts though and sort of melts together with the roasted notes to form an aroma that can only be described as beer-like.

I was certain this beer was not a Double Stout as soon as I sipped it, really seems more like a Scotch Ale, or Baltic Porter, no real characteristics that stick out to categorize it as any American Double Stout that I am familiar with. Very roasted, almost burn malt flavors mix with a complex interplay of mildly estery yeasts and alcohol. Finish leaves a slightly grainy taste i the mouth and is not smooth at all, softly carbonated in the start and dry and loose in the finish. Not as bad as I am sort of building this beer up to be, as I like that this beer is not an over-hopped monster and does not rely on gimmicks like coffee and chocolate to present itself. A pretty good malt centric beer that I feel suffers in being considered a Double Stout. Worth a shot for malt fans.

Serving type: bottle

01-20-2009 04:03:44 | More by bluemoonswoon

msubulldog25

Oregon

3.48/5  rDev -7.9%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

I remember being wowed by this beer at Oregon Brewers Festival last year. At the time, it seemed a strange entry for a mid-summer festival, a malty stout amidst a sea of wheats, pales and IPAs. I recall going for at least 3 tastes before the taps ran dry sometime on Saturday. Found this bottle in the beer case at 'By the Bottle' a couple weeks ago, had to snatch one up to see it compares with my fond recollections; 22 oz. poured twice to a pint glass.

Straight from the brewery's website: "Quilter's Irish Death is what we call a dark, smooth, ale. Any attempt at classifying it just ends up sending beer geeks into a style guidelines diatribe. So forget style guidelines. Is your pursuit of micro beer about tasting copies of a style that fit guidelines anyways? (Neither is ours) Irish Death is a malt bomb. We lovingly refer to it as beer candy."

A: Deep mahogany with a glimmer of ruby. Vigorous pour yields a heady tan creamy topping 1-finger. Ebbs slowly, replenished by tiny carbonation creeping up the glass. Translucent in strong light, shows a little more carbonation a a fine siltiness. Lace is fairly subdued, a patchwork of amorphous shapes.

S: The brewer's self-assessment, 'malt bomb', is absolutely correct. Aroma of brown sugar, caramel, sweet berries and raisins. A tickle of alcohol fumes.

T: First sip is liquid candy, but a spiced/sugared kind of candy. Raisins galore, brown sugar and cinnamon. Molasses, ginger snaps or Fig Newtons(?). Sugar and spice get balanced by a fair roastedness, there may some hops in there providing a bittering, but they're indiscernible. 'Cocoa' flavor builds as it warms.

M: Sweet, without being overbearingly thick or syrupy. In fact it's rather thin-feeling, TOO smooth, perhaps. Carbonation is soft, a little tingling spice. A cool sensation down the throat; lip-smacking maltiness sticks around.

D: Tempting to have more, once the palate gets used to the malty sweetness. The need to categorize this beer leads me to disagree with the 'Double/Imperial Stout' that the first reviewer settled upon...Strong Ale (a catch-all term if ever there was one...) could work...were there a little more peat/smoke I could be swayed toward 'Wee Heavy' (and what with a name like 'Irish Death' perhaps a sideward glance at the Scots?). Heck, my wife even thought it 'tasted' like a quad', but much thinner. Suffice to say, this beer won't appeal to the hop-lovers, but it's one of the more intriguing and -yes- style-defying beers I've had in a while. I liked it well enough and give it a nod for a try - not quite the ringing endorsement, but so be it.

Serving type: bottle

06-16-2009 03:55:25 | More by msubulldog25

hopdog

Pennsylvania

3.5/5  rDev -7.4%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

22oz bottle shared courtesy of Josh.

Poured a dark brown color with an averaged sized off white head. Aromas of roastiness, earthy, chocolate, and some nuttiness. Tastes of roastiness, earthy, chocolate, caramel, and toasty. This one was roasty all the way around.

Serving type: bottle

01-09-2009 18:46:17 | More by hopdog

jdense

Oregon

3.53/5  rDev -6.6%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

On-tap at Uncle Sam's, Kennewick, WA, in non-frozen shaker pint glass, $4.25, 1.29.11.

Full pour, minimal head and significant lacing. Medium brown almost opaque darkness, no visible carbonation. Tan head what there is, significant lacing. Nose is faint milk chocolate and even more faint floral hops. Taste is on the sweet side, chocolate is more prominent than nose, floral hops are well hidden on back end, a bit of roast not coffee, more carafan-ish than roast, hops subsumed by big malt mill. Mouthfeel on the light side of medium, medium effervescence. Drinkability above average, served too damn cold despite room temperature glass. Overall not that great, lacking in hop and roast character.

Serving type: on-tap

01-31-2011 03:50:57 | More by jdense

Beerandraiderfan

Nevada

3.55/5  rDev -6.1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Pours out a mix of brown and black, brown winning the appearance war, with a creamy texture to boot. But seriously, who in the world would ever confuse/call this a double/imperial stout. This is more like a strong ale or a strong brown.

Aroma had a little bit of peat to it, as if a red or brown. Taste, very smooth, hid the alcohol well, toffee malt feel for it. I liked it, drank this with over a year of age on it, nice and rich. Advertised as smooth, and I would agree. This one went great with enchiladas, covered up the spiciness well.

Serving type: bottle

12-25-2010 04:14:47 | More by Beerandraiderfan

Franch

New York

3.55/5  rDev -6.1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

billed as a "stout" incorrectly by the bar i was at, it was instead a strong dark ale. hides its ABV deceptively well, very drinkable, but very forgettable. VERY sweet through a cherry/plum/raisin-y note. where its ABV is hidden by the lack of heat, perhaps it comes out in this sweetness. the sweetness, however, was not accompanied by a thick or syrupy mouthfeel - it was rather thin.

Serving type: on-tap

06-16-2011 05:34:33 | More by Franch

snaotheus

Washington

3.58/5  rDev -5.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

I had missed my chance to try it at a beer festival in Portland because the sampler line was about forty-five minutes long. I'm glad I didn't wait, because a couple ounces of this beer wouldn't be nearly worth it.

They had run out of it by the time I got to the Fremont Oktoberfest (Washington). I finally ended up getting a bottle at Bottleworks.

Anyway, the beer is very sweet, with some cherry flavor coming out. Not hoppy at all. Too sweet and sticky in the mouth for me.

Serving type: bottle

10-11-2008 19:27:39 | More by snaotheus

Spikester

Oregon

3.58/5  rDev -5.3%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Pours black with a large tan head and fair amount of sticky lacings. Aroma is fine just not very robust. Taste is sweet, dark, with a fair hop load. Never would have guessed this was an Impy Stout. Tastes more like a strong ale. Decent drink and the alcohol is well hidden.

Serving type: bottle

05-18-2009 01:33:40 | More by Spikester

kawilliams81

Illinois

3.58/5  rDev -5.3%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Poured from a 22 oz bottle into a Half Acre tulip.

A- pours a dark burgundy, with a 2 finger tan head. Small waves of lacing remain.

S- sweet dark fruits, toffee, caramel, some roasted malts.

T- sweet figs, roasted malts, some faint bitter chocolate.

M- medium body and carbonation. Easy drinkability with a slight acidity at the finish.

O- meh. Just an average beer. If you like sweeter beers with some roastiness you will enjoy this beer.

Serving type: bottle

05-09-2012 03:00:03 | More by kawilliams81

beerandcycling88

Washington

3.6/5  rDev -4.8%
look: 3 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Had this from a cask at the micro-pub in downtown Ellensburg.

A This beer is dark in color as you would expect with a slight reddish tint, however it is still a little translucent so nothing spectacular. The head was fairly short lived but there was a good bit of lacing.

S The nose of the beer is faint, there are hints of coffee, fruit and malt but nothing strong enough to stand out.

T The taste of this beer is pretty good. The 7.8% is hidden pretty well by massive amounts of malt, a hint of coffee and a slight fruity background which kind of reminds me of cherry cough syrup but in a good way, like if cough syrup actually tasted good.

M This beer is very smooth but kind of light for a darker beer.

Overall I say this is a good beer that is quite unique and well worth trying, it is an enjoyable drink and at 7.8% it will put you in a good place. So if you are in Ellensburg it is worth getting a bottle.

Serving type: cask

03-22-2011 06:43:30 | More by beerandcycling88

ClavisAurea

New York

3.63/5  rDev -4%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

Consumed in a pint glass.

Appearance: black with a thin yet firm head

Smell: milk chocolate, flowery from the hops

Taste/Mouthfeel: thick, chocolate, sweet beginning, milk chocolate in the middle finish was a spicy hop bite that lingered

Started out like a porter but finished up a stout. Strong from the alcohol but very drinkable.

Serving type: bottle

09-07-2008 23:33:21 | More by ClavisAurea

flagmantho

Washington

3.63/5  rDev -4%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Poured from 22oz bomber into a pint glass.

Appearance: extremely dark brown in color with not much in the way of translucence. One finger of creamy tan head. Looks pretty good.

Smell: roasted malts, coffee and a little tart character. Pretty good; smells a lot like and English porter.

Taste: quite a lot of bitter, tart roastiness up front. Starts off kind of astringent but mellows in the aftertaste. Flavor drifts off into chocolate notes toward the end. A nice dynamic experience, if a bit bitier than I'd like.

Mouthfeel: medium body with a nice level of carbonation. Creamier than I normally expect an imperial stout to be.

Drinkability: this beer is not bad but not exactly a session brew.

Serving type: bottle

12-13-2009 23:52:12 | More by flagmantho