Black Magic Stout
Empire Brewing Company

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From:
Empire Brewing Company
 
New York, United States
Style:
Irish Dry Stout
Ranked #96
ABV:
4.8%
Score:
83
Ranked #24,377
Avg:
3.63 | pDev: 12.95%
Reviews:
40
Ratings:
106
Status:
Active
Rated:
Jun 06, 2022
Added:
Dec 10, 2001
Wants:
  0
Gots:
  22
A traditional dry Irish stout, carbonated with nitrogen (it pours very much like a Guinness). Dry roasted flavors are prominent, with hints of chocolate and coffee on the finish.
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Rated: 4.02 by Danzifer from Ohio

Jun 06, 2022
 
Rated: 3.94 by TonyStarks2231 from New York

May 25, 2022
 
Rated: 3.97 by Neon375 from Ohio

Mar 08, 2022
Photo of Brutaltruth
Reviewed by Brutaltruth from Ohio

3.85/5  rDev +6.1%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
From the 16 oz can in a snifter. This nice stout pours a dark brown with thin
tea highlights and a decent head of khaki foam that settles to a thin ring and
light dusty layer. Nose of dark chocolate, nutty roasted malts, faint bourbon,
faint oak, and subtle char amongst vanilla and coffee notes. Flavors expand
on the nose with mellow dark coffee, vanilla, subtle cream, subtle bourbon,
faint oak, and dark roasted goodness amongst some dark fruit touches.
Decent mouth feel; medium body, light prickly carbonation, and a dark
roasted lightly bitter malt finish that is a touch on the sweet side.

Overall, a nice brew from a new to me brewery. A touch sweet but still
solid.

Cheers
Feb 23, 2022
 
Rated: 3.77 by Knapp85 from Pennsylvania

Feb 12, 2022
Photo of beerthulhu
Reviewed by beerthulhu from New Jersey

4.03/5  rDev +11%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4
Irish coffee stout with whiskey barrel blend.

A: Dark reddish Dr. Pepper tones outline an oily chocolate roast pour with backlighting. Beautiful saddle brown head is soft and cushy at two fingers high, leaving behind a full sheeting effect on the glass walls. Softly rising golden micro-beads of carbonation slowly make their way within.

S: Rich chocolate and milky coffee scents. Soft fresh roastiness is sweetened with vanilla and cocoa highlights. A finely tuned charred barrel woodiness adds some campfire minerality and soot like scents, was very polished and smooth on the delivery. A faint whiskey like oaky flair along with roasty chocolate and marsmallow. Things round out with a dark minerality ash like offering.

T: Silty ash and dark chocolate roast like flavor is fine and smooth much like the nose. Vanilla highlights along with dark sweet plums and some sugary figs sweetens things up a bit. A smooth refined charred barrel woodiness, whiskey oak and campfire minerality ash is rich and bitter, dark and brooding, yet refined and inviting really defines this drink the most. An eloquent like continuity throughout the drink with some whiskey oak and bourbon cubes to follow.

M: Eloquent and silky mouthful is what i would expect from the nose and flavor and lives up to the expectations. Smooth, rich with a wet silty ash and minerality with a soft backed carbonation.

O: Overall a silty campfire minerality is rich and very smooth, chocolate roast and some vanilla highlights really balances things out with a exceptionally drinkability and form for a rich experience. Dark fruit, creamy vanilla, bourbon oak woodiness, that just slides off the tongue with a perfect balance and harmony. Outstanding regards overall from me.
Jul 31, 2021
Photo of Steve_Studnuts
Reviewed by Steve_Studnuts from Pennsylvania

3.43/5  rDev -5.5%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.25 | overall: 3.5
Nice jet black pour. Can has been equipped with a nitro widget but fails to do the cascading thing which is a big letdown. Can isn't stamped, but I believe it's relatively new stock, if that makes a difference. Nose is roasted grains, peanut brittle and a little bit of a leathery component. Pleasant enough, but it's all a touch muted. Taste is heavy on the leather with further notes of semi-sweet chocolate and a fruity, bitter coffee blend. Very dry finish, which follows given that it's a dry Irish stout. A little thin, but I expected that, and it's got more body than Guinness. Perfectly pleasant beer even if I'm not exactly bowled over by it. And now that I've drank about half of this pint can I'll proceed to do a car bomb with the other half because I'm 40 and sure know how to act like it.
May 31, 2021
 
Rated: 4 by Maillard from Ohio

May 15, 2021
Photo of FBarber
Reviewed by FBarber from Illinois

2.94/5  rDev -19%
look: 4 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3
Canned 1/7/21

Pours pitch black - shiny and bright. Thick three to four finger mocha colored head forms on the beer. Head steadily dissipates until, ultimately, no residual head remains.

Aroma has notes of rough grain, roasted barley, stale coffee grinds and a bit of ash. The can claims this beer as aged in whiskey barrels but there is no evidence of that on the nose. The stout itself is not a particularly good example.

Taste follows the nose with notes of roasted barley, rough grains, some light coffee notes and some light Irish cream and cocoa notes. No whiskey barrel comes through in the flavor. Light earthy bitterness is present on the back end.

Feel is light to medium bodied. Fizzy, spritzy carbonation. Semi-dry finish.

Overall its a bit rough throughout. An intriguing concept that is not particularly well executed.
May 12, 2021
 
Rated: 3.71 by smithj4 from New York

Mar 13, 2021
 
Rated: 3.35 by BNoble4Life from New York

Feb 23, 2021
Photo of izraelc
Reviewed by izraelc from New York

4/5  rDev +10.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Pours very dark. Creamy tan foam. Dark chocolate aroma. Smooth cocoa body. Finishes dry and slightly bitter. Not too syrupy with the right amount of sweetness. A very good nitro.
Dec 27, 2020
Photo of Peach63
Reviewed by Peach63 from New York

3.5/5  rDev -3.6%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
Pours black with a one inch tan head. Moderate lacing.

Aroma of coffee, roast malts, ash.

Taste is coffee, roast malts, black malt, ash. Astringent.

Full bodied, light carbonation. Dry, astringent aftertaste.

An ok stout in spite of its astringency. Would be a good chaser after a shot of whiskey.
Aug 07, 2020
Photo of Tucquan
Reviewed by Tucquan from Pennsylvania

3.71/5  rDev +2.2%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
Had this on 2019-12-01 near Pittsburgh, PA from a 12oz bottle with no date (believed to be from 2019)

A - Almost opaque brown with a 1-finger tan head from an aggressive pour as recommended on the bottle due to the nitrogen.

S - Semi-sweet chocolate, dates, mild roasted grain. Mild.

T - Well-toasted brown bread with a lightly burnt crust (char) with a thin spread of Nutella. Earthy spice. Finishes dry with lingering roasted bitterness.

M - Light-medium body and light nitrogenation.

O - It's a tasty example of the style with plenty of flavor for a 4.8% brew. Would have this again.
Dec 01, 2019
Photo of a-mused
Reviewed by a-mused from New York

1.57/5  rDev -56.7%
look: 3.5 | smell: 2.75 | taste: 1 | feel: 1 | overall: 1
Absolutely horrid. Looked great, but forget the nitrogen cascade - or pretty much any significant head. The taste is indescribably unpalatable. Without the nitrogen, the feel was extremely flat, accentuating just how unpalatable this Irish Dry Stout actually is. Just say no. Seriously. I poured one at a reasonable 50degF, waited for some kind of head to form (which never really showed up), took a taste, and immediately poured the remainder of the glass down the drain and tossed the other five bottles in the trash. I suspect even the trash was offended.

**EDIT** While always wanting to give a second chance, I really wish I hadn't. Tried another that was also a capped bottle, like the previous one. As with the previous, it was all look and smell. Looked great. Smelled amazing. However this beer could not have been more flat if it were completely without nitrogen or carbonation. If it were any more flat, it would be concave. Zero head. None. Nada. Zip. Zilch. Zed. The upside is this let the actual taste of the brew come through. This is also a horror show of a downside. I fail to believe that anyone who has actually tasted this beer can give it more than a 1. If I could, I'd give it a SQRT(-1), as the flavor is absolutely imaginary - for values of imaginary approximating one's worst nightmare.

I honestly tried to like this beer. I love stouts. I love supporting local breweries. I cannot comprehend the thinking that went into letting this brew leave the brewery. If you're offered one, politely refuse. ...then run as if your life depended on it.
Sep 25, 2019
Photo of VoxRationis
Reviewed by VoxRationis from New York

3.23/5  rDev -11%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 2.5
Served on nitro tap into a conical pint glass at the Empire Brewing Company in Syracuse, NY.
A: Pours with typical effervescent activity from bottom to top, clearing to black, with a persistent 2 finger, light khaki head, impressive retention, and rings of lacing down the side of the glass.
S: Aromas light; blend into something like a black coffee/toast/almond milk/nouget. Maybe a touch of dark chocolate, again light
T: Dry. After initially tasting the roasted malt flavors, akin to the nose, noted a strong cracker or chickpea note which persisted throughout consumption. Bitterness solid.
M: Full, creamy mouthfeel despite relatively low alcohol content.
O: Really a bit of a disappointment. Tap was cleaned 8/19, so that's not it.
Aug 28, 2019
 
Rated: 3.69 by plaid75 from New York

Feb 19, 2019
Photo of Lucular
Reviewed by Lucular from Maryland

3.5/5  rDev -3.6%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
This is a fairly typical Irish dry stout. It pours nearly black but has very little head. Smell and taste are roasty with a hint of coffee. Slightly watery and moderately prickly mouthfeel.
Nov 26, 2018
 
Rated: 4.09 by rockonkg_17 from Texas

Nov 24, 2018
 
Rated: 3.8 by O-Meg from New York

Sep 02, 2018
Black Magic Stout from Empire Brewing Company
Beer rating: 83 out of 100 with 106 ratings