Southport Black Rock Stout - SBC Restaurant & Brewery - Southport

rsgcwhite

Connecticut

2.4/5  rDev -10.8%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 2 | feel: 1.5 | overall: 3

On tap at the SBC-Brewery, Hamden.

Dark Brown (nearly black) Pour with a lingering, persistent head.

The aroma was the most pleasant feature of this beer - strong chocolate and gingerbread aromas made me expect something complex and balanced on the palate. Well, was I in for a surprise.

The initial taste was strongly coffee and roasted malts, but the finish was creamy, even fatty. The buttery finish, combined with an odd licorice taste, seemed inappropriate for this beer. The aftertaste was reminiscent of having something that was 'in a tube' for a long period of time - sort of an off-plastic bottle taste. It's probably something to do with unclean lines at the Brewery - I feel that would be responsible
for a lot of these off flavors.

The mouthfeel was thin, creamy, greasy.

Overall, this is a watered down-stout; but this is also nothing like a porter (also note: all good porters are nothing like 'watered down' anything) Add two scoops of butter, some molasses and leave in a jar of Tupperware for three weeks, and voila - black rock stout.

Good beers have tastes that follow you - but so do bad ones. Hours after I scribbled down these tasting notes, I can still recall this beer flavor, and it still has me rushing for water to cleanse my palate.

Serving type: on-tap

12-06-2010 00:51:43 | More by rsgcwhite

alpinebryant

Connecticut

3.73/5  rDev +38.7%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Happened to be out for dinner and asked if they had anything that was not on the beer menu. Turned out they had casked their stout and I thought I would give it a try. After being disappointed on a different occasion with their sampler, I thought their casked brew would do them some justice - didnt know that they casked beer here.

Appeared a thin stout - looked more like a watered down porter than stout - I am sure some of the body died when it was casked, but tasted pretty good. Taste of roasted malt, barley, some wild yeast getting into the mix from the barrel.

Not a bad beer, I am surprised someone gave this beer an F, although depending on when the beer was served I have definitely encountered issues with the lines at SBC a few times. I think the general tendency at SBC is to drink what everybody else is drinking because of what I have interpreted as bad sanitation in the lines.

Serving type: cask

10-04-2009 18:43:35 | More by alpinebryant

KTCamm

New Jersey

2.53/5  rDev -5.9%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 2 | overall: 2

Jet black color with 1 finger creamy foam. Smell is a chocolate malt roast, with mild hop.

Not the best stout I have had - it was ok. Taste is think and cramy, a little watery and maybe a little bitter in an "off" kind of way.

Not terribly drinkable - my second order would be a different one of their choices.

Serving type: on-tap

03-07-2009 23:19:20 | More by KTCamm

bewley

Rhode Island

1.45/5  rDev -46.1%
look: 3 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 1 | feel: 1.5 | overall: 1

I had read a lot of the poor reviews a while back on this brewpub's beers in general, but decided to give it a go out of curiousity. I wish I hadn't. This was the most disgusting crap: overpriced, thin, musty--I couldn't believe they would actually charge money for this. It tasted like weak coffee brewed by water that had been sitting around in a dank basement in a rusty old bucket. On the beer menu it says that one should "compare this to Guiness." I would compare it to a lot of things, but beer is not one that come to mind.

Serving type: on-tap

10-30-2004 19:37:34 | More by bewley