Blarney Sisters Dry Irish Stout - Third Street Aleworks

cptierney

California

4.75/5  rDev +15.9%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 5 | feel: 4 | overall: 5

Lordy-loo I love this beer. I do believe they fire these off on a nitro tap sometimes, but I've only had it via cask.

The keyword here is balance. I used to have Dry Irish Stouts that met different tasting criteria, with preferential treatment being doled out depending on whether I wanted a sweeter or more bitter brew.

Blarney Sisters out of the cask pours with minimal head and leaves little lacing behind, but it is black as night and smells wonderful. Lovely notes of toasted malts are prevalent and a subtle smoky aroma tickles the nostrils.

The mouthfeel of this beer is superb, the limited carbonation really allows for a better tasting experience, and the smoothness with which this beer disappears is remarkable.

The balance of tastes is what sets this stout apart. Subtle chocolate and coffee-like notes play out against a traditional toasted malt background. There is a minimal bitter bite that alludes to the beer's nature as a dry stout, and really rounds out the whole drinking experience.

I adore this beer, and recommend it highly to anyone passing through Santa Rosa that wants to try a delicious beer not made by Russian River or Moonlight.

**Update
After having another go at this beer, I find its body to be significantly weaker than remembered. As this brew was one of my first reviews I am setting the mouthfeel score to a more humble 4.0.

Serving type: cask

06-20-2009 00:13:00 | More by cptierney

t0rin0

California

4.25/5  rDev +3.7%

03-02-2013 23:24:14 | More by t0rin0

northyorksammy

Ontario (Canada)

3.53/5  rDev -13.9%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

On nitro at the brewpub. Bitter sweet chocolate, dry though not too dry. Roasty with burnt toast in aroma. Coffee coexists with the chocolate. Hop presence is felt. Not bad for a nitro, but still a nitro stout. Could have been creamier mouthfeel for the serving style. Not bad.

Serving type: nitro-tap

11-13-2012 01:27:28 | More by northyorksammy

Beerandraiderfan

Nevada

3.58/5  rDev -12.7%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Dark brown pour, head was pretty thin, beige in color, didn't really do all that in terms of lacing or retention. Aroma was mild, almost nonexistant. You could search for roasted malt, oats etc. . . but really, you just got the impression or hint of such a thing, not actual verification. Trust, but verify.

Taste, plenty smooth, a tad watery, like made in the Guinness vein, but imparted enough flavor and unlike Guinness, kept it plenty dry mouthfeel wise, like it should be. Mild enough to qualify as an irish stout as well. I wish more of the chocolate and caramel came out.

Somehow it walked the line between silky, smooth and dry. At the same time, I like a little more of my chocolate malt pronounced if there isn't going to be actual chocolate additions, so while the beer is to style, it was more hitting there than it was my preferences.

I'd say this is definitely a good beer, but nowhere near as good as something like FFF's Black Sun Irish dry stout to earn the type of accolades those before me have rated.

Serving type: nitro-tap

10-15-2012 18:10:38 | More by Beerandraiderfan

avaldivia

California

4.38/5  rDev +6.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

On draft at the Pub.

I am not traditionally a fan of Dry Irish Stouts. I tend to find them too light and lacking complexity. This is one of the few exceptions. It has a wonderful roasty chocolate flavor that surprised me. Good head and great body. This is perhaps the best Dry Irish Stout I've ever had.

Serving type: nitro-tap

07-12-2012 15:23:32 | More by avaldivia

JupiterJesus

California

4.25/5  rDev +3.7%

06-13-2012 03:59:36 | More by JupiterJesus

RblWthACoz

Pennsylvania

4.38/5  rDev +6.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Hot dang. What a nice irish dry stout. Much more complex than I would have expected. Nice chocolate roasted tones on the flavor profile. Hearty and consistent. A bit thicker than I would think for the style, but damn, this is a nice beer. I don't want to comment on it too much; just want to drink it.

Serving type: bottle

04-16-2012 07:20:12 | More by RblWthACoz

rbrefbeerman

California

3.75/5  rDev -8.5%

03-20-2012 00:45:07 | More by rbrefbeerman

mhaugo

California

3/5  rDev -26.8%

12-18-2011 17:25:38 | More by mhaugo

litheum94

California

4/5  rDev -2.4%

11-16-2011 17:45:58 | More by litheum94

MasterSki

Illinois

4.33/5  rDev +5.6%
look: 4.5 | smell: 5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

On nitro-tap at the brewpub. Served in a 10oz pint-style glass.

A - Guinness-style black body with transparent reddish highlights when held to the light. The foam is a dark tan color that settles to a persistent cap and leaves behind sheets of lace as the glass diminishes.

S - Smell is terrific and pops way more than a lot of nitro beers I've had. Tons of chocolate, roasty dark bread, caramel, and light coffee notes.

T - The taste is a little more roasty and bitter, with a long lingering coffee aftertaste. This gets a bit astringent and burnt after two-thirds of a glass, but it's a fair bit more flavorful than many Irish Dry stouts I've had in the past.

M - The mouthfeel is not typical for a nitro beer. I think there might have been a little more CO2 in the mix than usual. (Apparently SacoDeToro noticed the same thing.) It's still pretty smooth, with a medium body, a dry roasty finish, and nice residual stickiness.

D - Easy to down, even on a hot summer day. Would like to try this on cask some day.

Serving type: nitro-tap

08-19-2010 03:52:16 | More by MasterSki

Offa

California

4.35/5  rDev +6.1%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

This has for some years been one of my favourites for the style. It's usually available on nitro tap or cask and I have had both, but cask is better. This is for nitro.

This is very dark with a creamy dark tan head that lasts , slowly diminishing to a foamy ring, and leaves some decent lace.

The aroma is fairly full-bodied even nitro, but less clear and aromatic than cask. It's lightly smokey, dark toast, with hints of chocolate and coffee.

The taste is similar, with lasting flavour, smooth, and nothing rough, sharp, or overly burnt or bitter. The body is not as heavy or full as some, but even on nitro it is still full and it has a nice, lively, engaging quality. It has dry chocolate and toast with hitns of coffee and prune. It's nicely balanced and well-integrated.

Serving type: nitro-tap

06-18-2009 16:31:34 | More by Offa

xhcadamx

Maine

4.13/5  rDev +0.7%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 5

A - semi translucent black with lots of ruby highlights when brought to the light. Thin head as expected from cask. Stuck around a lot longer than expected.

S - hints of roasted malt, chocolate, and some mild fruit aromas.

T - very subtle flavors just like the smell. very tasty

M - classic cask smoothness. stouts are one of my favorite beers available on cask

D - insanely high - love seeing this beer on cask.

Serving type: cask

01-16-2009 04:58:04 | More by xhcadamx

SacoDeToro

California

4.9/5  rDev +19.5%
look: 4 | smell: 5 | taste: 5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 5

On nitro tap at the source in Santa Rosa

Poured deep black with some garnet highlights and a small tan head that seemed a little loose for a nitrogenated beer.

The aroma was full of inviting roasted malts, hints of bittersweet chocolate, and mild fruits.

The flavor of the beer was rich with roasty goodness and chocolately accents. The maltiness of the beer was relatively mild and along with the firm bitterness, helped balance out the roasted end of things. Some mild fruitiness was there, which was nice. Very flavorful overall, but with a softened edge that's absent in some of the more prevalent versions, such as Guinness and Murphy's. There was a middle malt sweetness that I've not really gotten in other dry stouts. This seemed to fill out the flavors a little bit more, creating an incredibly satisfying beer.

The body was medium and the mouthfeel was incredibly creamy, due to the nitro and high percentage of flaked barley that was surely used. The beer was gassed with a nitro/CO2 blend, which gave the beer a nice loft, while providing a soft effervescence. The beer did seem to have a touch more CO2 than other dry stouts out there, which was fine.

This is an amazingly flavorful and drinkable session beer. It hit all the right notes and was true to style. I have trouble really finding points to criticize. Outstanding.

Serving type: nitro-tap

01-08-2009 20:19:19 | More by SacoDeToro

RoyalT

Ohio

4.03/5  rDev -1.7%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Appearance – This is almost pitch dark right out of the tap, but it doesn’t seem heavy at all. The head was a nice, light brown in color.

Smell – The nose has a nice, mild, roasty, milky malt aroma with some bitterness throughout.

Taste – The malts from the nose make their way rightly to the taste. There are some good coffee ground notes here as well that play nicely with the milky malts.

Mouthfeel – The body here is a bit lighter than medium, but boy oh boy that nitrous makes this super creamy and smooth in between the cheeks.

Drinkability – This is a great session stout, especially on nitrous-tap.

Serving type: nitro-tap

03-18-2006 02:10:43 | More by RoyalT

watermelonman

California

4.05/5  rDev -1.2%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

This arrived as a dark brown and black, with a minimal head. The lacing is minor but notable.

The smell is a little plain, with nothing but roasted malts coming up from the head. There's nothing really wrong with it, though. The taste is very nice, with hops hitting on all the right notes. The mouthfeel is smooth and helps complete this very drinkable beer.

Serving type: cask

10-28-2004 01:06:53 | More by watermelonman