Elsie's Irish Coffee Milk Stout - Papago Brewing

GNWBC

Washington

3.75/5  rDev -10.9%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Had on tap at the Thirsty Lion Pub in Tempe AZ,
P: pours a creamy dark roast coffee color with a thin white head that leaves a good lacing

S: brown sugar, malt, coffee very sweet nose on this one

T: very chocolatey, some nice toasted brown sugar, and a smooth creamy finish.

MF: had it on nitro tap, went down cool and clean

OA. Not to bad, pretty sweet though so you could only prob have 2 in a session.

Serving type: nitro-tap

03-15-2012 00:49:08 | More by GNWBC

baseball1976

Arizona

4.28/5  rDev +1.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

This is one of my favorite beers when I visit Papago Brewing. I always hope it is on tap when I go.

A - Jet black, with little noticeable head on it.

S - Unbelievable! Irish Cream Coffee aroma fills your nose.

T - As advertised. Rich coffee, with a hint of Irish Cream. Some dark chocolates in there as well.

M - Seems a little thin, but does not distract.

O - Great beer! I wish they would Nitro it sometime though. That would be amazing! Worth the try if you are in the pub.

Serving type: on-tap

10-24-2011 19:15:44 | More by baseball1976

Beerandraiderfan

Nevada

4.5/5  rDev +6.9%
look: 4.5 | smell: 5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

Pours a standard milk stout, plenty dark, but not ris pitch black. Aroma is as good as it gets. Uber coffee choco, ever so rounded by lactose sugar and creamy feel.

What a meld between ample coffee aromas paired with the smoothest mocha feel of the chocolate and cream. This is heavenly. I was here earlier, hopped around tops, papago, 4peaks, and have come back now again, same night.

Seriously, some guy out there prolly gets to kick it at home watchn his team in HD, his arm around that cute curly haired brunette red lipstick n sexily loud n tight bodied waitress from here, drinkin growlers of this shit.

Now THAT is a lukcy basardt!!!

Serving type: on-tap

03-12-2011 03:55:54 | More by Beerandraiderfan

Retsinis

California

3.93/5  rDev -6.7%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Review from notes. Had this on tap over the new years holiday.

Poured into a standard Pint glass. Pour is black, with a small dark tan head. The beer was not on nitro tap, nor was it overly carbonated, which was a nice change for the style since it allowed the subtle flavors to come through more.

The aroma is of Irish cream, roasted coffee, toast, as well as chocolate.

The taste matched what the aroma's previewed. Sweet cream, roasted malts, light coffee, dark chocolate, and a milky creaminess. Not overly sweet. Drinks quite nice.

The mouth feel is a bit thin for a milk stout (from experience, milk stouts shine when on nitro tap) but it did not detract from this one. Lightly carbonated, but still present. Light to medium body overall. Not sure on the ABV, even the site has a "?" but whatever it is, it is well masked, and I would venture a guess at about 6.5% or so.

Of the three beers I tried form Papago while there, this one was the highlight. Brought home a Growler off it, which was shared amongst friends at a recent gathering, and was liked by all. The Growler was sealed well, and lasted a month. Flavors matched the above notes.

Serving type: on-tap

02-01-2011 19:23:24 | More by Retsinis

nickd717

California

4.22/5  rDev +0.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Trying to update my ticking stats, and even though I've ticked many AZ beers, looks like I was missing any reviews on this site. Busted out my notes for this one to fix that. Consumed on tap in 2009. This stout was really, really good. Nice surprise.

Darkest brown in color with a small tan head and some lacing.

Aroma is chocolate, coffee, vanilla, and roast.

Flavor is amazing and fairly sweet with coffee, Irish cream, vanilla, chocolate, and bourbon or rum.

Palate is smooth and creamy with medium-full body.

Excellent beer! Tiiick!

Serving type: on-tap

10-21-2010 23:26:51 | More by nickd717

northyorksammy

Ontario (Canada)

3.53/5  rDev -16.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

The second of three, and ranked accordingly, of Papago contracted out stouts and porters. This one is opaque black with a brown head. There is roasted aroma. Medium mouthfeel. Very coffee, and still some coconut in here, lactose and the three may not go so great together for me.

Serving type: on-tap

02-07-2010 22:47:05 | More by northyorksammy

Phelps

Arizona

4.18/5  rDev -0.7%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3 | overall: 5

Poured from a growler from papago into my Sam Adams perfect pint glass.

Pours black as the night. A mocha head froths but quickly dissipates, leaving just a thin ring.

Like Bailey's? Then you'll like this smell. Dark roasted coffee and sweet Irish cream. Also a hint of sourdough breadiness.

The taste follows through with the smell. Deep roasted malts with notes of coffee and Irish cream. It's like an Irish car bomb in my mouth!

The mouthfeel is the only downside to this beer for me. Almost no carbonation, and a much thinner mouthfeel than I want from a milk stout.

The drinkability of this beer is dangerous. I downed this pint in about five minutes, and I could probably finish off this growler if I had a little less self-restraint. My favorite milk stout, and my favorite from Papago by far.

Serving type: growler

02-03-2010 05:36:44 | More by Phelps

BretSikkink

Mexico

3.4/5  rDev -19.2%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 3.5

Dark brown color with a ash-gray/tan head. Highly carbonated, especially the first few pours. Nose is muted significantly by the head, but roasted malt notes and hints toward coffee and molasses are overwhelmed by a cocoa-powder aroma that lasts into the tasting. The flavors are mostly the same, with a metallic hint that does further harm to my ability to want to drink another glass. Just a little to sweet for my taste, although the mouthfeel is spot-on for style and size.

Serving type: growler

01-07-2010 07:27:36 | More by BretSikkink

jampics2

Ohio

4.63/5  rDev +10%
look: 4 | smell: 5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 5

On tap at Papago. Appearance is nice - dark stout with nice small head.

And then I smelled it.

Holy Shit! This is one of, if not THE, best smelling beers ever. OK, sure, it doesn't smell like beer, but it's 100% Irish coffee and a nice coffee roast and sweet cream. Wow. This is SO amazing, I could smell it all day. Picked up a growler based on the smell alone ;)

Taste is exceptional as well. No stout characteristics come through the coffee and Irish cream tastes, though. A tad more malt in the mouth will make this an A+

Mouth is good. A bit thin, but it works for this style.

Drinkability is amazing. No one is to even look at me growlers at Thanksgiving tomorrow. It's mine I tell you, mine, and I will drink it until my heart is content :)

Nice job Papago peeps!

Serving type: on-tap

11-26-2009 00:14:49 | More by jampics2

barleywinefiend

Washington

4.33/5  rDev +2.9%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Poured a deep brown with a nice brown head. Nose is dry and sweet, roasted malts, coffee. Taste is roasted malts, coffee with such a good creaminess. Mouthfeel is nice, creamy and ABV is on the lighter side. Good beer. Excellent blend and so smooth. My growler from previous trip did not do it justice. The fresher the better on this one for sure! Excellent brew.

Serving type: on-tap

10-27-2009 16:24:16 | More by barleywinefiend

taxguyjase

New Mexico

4.03/5  rDev -4.3%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

This beer just sounded tasty and it definitely was. The beer is dark with a rich chocolate colored head, which did dissipate pretty quickly. Lots of roasted coffee and chocolate aromas to be found. The beer's name is fitting as it has a milky consistency, lacking a bit of the thickness I come to expect with a stout. The coffee and dark chocolate flavors blend well with the malt. It's not really that sweet, which is good. You'll get a little bit of bitterness at first, but then it mellows out pretty quickly. No aftertaste to speak of...the beer sorta "cleans" itself and leaves a fresh palate. A pretty solid beer, so if you like stouts, I would suggest you give it a try!

Appearance - 4.5/5.0 - dark with chocolate colored head, head lost quickly
Smell- 4.0/5.0 - rich coffee and chocolate aromas
Taste - 4.0/5.0 - roasted coffee and malt flavor, hint of chocolate, more bitter up front then mellows out, beer isn't as thick as I would expect with the style
Feel - 4.0/5.0 - Good mouth feel, no funny aftertaste - sorta cleans your mouth after itself
Drinkability - 4.0/5.0 - Solid beer

Serving type: on-tap

10-23-2009 19:31:13 | More by taxguyjase

aewinte1

Arizona

3.95/5  rDev -6.2%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4.5

A- pours pitch black as a stout should.
S- Smells strongly of coffee and chocolate
T- Taste is very creamy with strong coffee flavor. Tastes milky, could definitely be lactose infused. Not terribly complex but very sweet and tasty
M- Mouthfeel is average. Carbonation is appropriately medium. Very thin for a stout IMO. Lacking that viscosity that I really like in stouts
D- Drinkability is off the charts on this one. Alcohol isn't even remotely detectable. Coffee washes out most of the flavor, but still ends up very sweet and very light tasting for a stout.
Overall, a good beer, not earth shatteringly good, but good enough to drink on a regular basis. Pity they don't bottle it.

Serving type: on-tap

08-22-2009 18:42:40 | More by aewinte1

yemenmocha

Arizona

3.83/5  rDev -9%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Poured very dark brown to nearly black with brown head. Nose was chocolatey sweet with some roasty elements. Palate was very sweet, almost like a Young's Double Chocolate stout - there was a clear presence of milk chocolate, perhaps with some nougat filling in there as well. Gateway beer for the ladies... perhaps best with a dessert.

Serving type: on-tap

05-10-2009 15:11:24 | More by yemenmocha

DoubleJ

California

4/5  rDev -5%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3 | overall: 4

On-tap at the brewpub, on to the beer:

Served at 50 F, this beer is pitch black in color, the head retention is okay. The smell is a dream come true for my sweet tooth. Cream, coffee, chocolate syrup. Very pleasing. Taste-wise, it still pretty sweet, but astringent roasted coffee is more intense and balances out the sweet creaminess and syrupy chocolate. Medium bodied, but with too much carbonation.

This is a good flavored beer. Coffee and cream, the drink you would normally have for breakfast, but this one is beer.

Serving type: on-tap

03-09-2009 06:38:41 | More by DoubleJ

bigbelcher

Arizona

4.83/5  rDev +14.7%
look: 4.5 | smell: 5 | taste: 5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Below is my first review, Papago recently had someone else start making their beer for them and this is the first one they put on tap. The beer is way different from the previous version. Gone is the sourness and the coffee flavor is simply huge now. The strongest coffee flavor I have had in any beer. I tried New Belgiums Gidde Up that has espresso in it after drinking this beer and the Gidde Up had no discernable coffee flavor whatsoever because the Elsies wiped out my taste buds. If you like a good cup of strong joe, try this beer.
---
A really nice combination of coffee in a Milk Stout. Really full bodied, huge coffee aroma, some hints of vanilla and baileys Irish Cream. A slight sourness but not too bad. Very black, tan head. Not a lot of alcohol. Lots of different flavor components to this beer. Another nice job by the owner Ron. The beer is named after his dog so you know he likes it.

Serving type: on-tap

07-18-2008 19:27:46 | More by bigbelcher

Stoneman78

California

4.35/5  rDev +3.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

On tap at O'Brien's

Appearance is a dense dark brown hue, a small amount of tan bubbles on the surface, watery lacing

Smell is super sweet molasses, coffee, dark fruits, caramel malts, brown sugar, hint of booze

Taste is dominated by sweet coffee malts, opens up to dark fruits, molasses, hints of grassy hops, dark bittersweet chocolate, finishes bitter

Mouthfeel is medium-bodied, super creamy and velvety texture, moderate carbonation

Drinkability is high, a nice sweet stout with good malts/hop balance and taste profile, nice punch of flavors compared to standard stouts; from the internet: "This is named after Ron Kloth's dog. It is a milk stout made with Irish cream flavoured coffee beans."

Serving type: on-tap

06-25-2008 06:39:28 | More by Stoneman78