Rhoades Scholar Stout - South Shore Brewery

NekromantikMC

Pennsylvania

3.53/5  rDev +2.6%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

I give this a 3.5.- It smelled pretty good and had a good strong coffee taste but I felt like it needed a little something else. I know SS's Mint chocolate stout is basically this stout w/ mint so I am guessing that would complete the tirade. I would definitely order and drink it again, but I'm not sure I would go out of my way to buy more, unless I was in town visiting my sister again.

Serving type: on-tap

11-16-2012 15:18:18 | More by NekromantikMC

Atron67

Wisconsin

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

Had this on tap at The Old Fashioned in Madison Wi

A- arrived with a soft amount of head on top, inch or so that lasted a little while,

S- the scents i remember being pretty coffee'ish, solidly malty with a good amount of chocolate malt present with only a trace of roastedness

T- not as sweet as I would expect for a 'milk stout' but i didnt didnt know it was a milk stout then, but it was still pretty good, there was the coffee and chocolate flavors throughout that were pretty solid. smooth and quite tasty

M- a pretty good stout, well enjoyed, but not spectacular

D- fit well with the burger, and if i hadnt seen the smoke on the porter by new glarus woulda had another

Serving type: on-tap

12-02-2007 02:55:58 | More by Atron67

pweis909

Wisconsin

3.88/5  rDev +12.8%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Opaque, black, with a thin veil of coffee colored foam.

This greeted me with a slightly smokey aroma, and as I sipped it, there were elements of mint and licorice as well. The roasted malts are subdued. Hops do not play a strong roll, other than to keep the malt in check,

In terms of style, this is a bit of an inbetweener, as it seems a little dry for a sweet stout, a little sweet for a dry stout. But you could call that balance and not worry too much about the details. It's an enjoyable brew that goes down easy.

Serving type: on-tap

03-01-2007 14:56:38 | More by pweis909

DaPeculierDane

Wisconsin

2.6/5  rDev -24.4%
look: 3.5 | smell: 2 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

Pours a deep mahogony brown with ruby hues and a luscious brown head that runs away after only a few seconds in the glass.

Smells like burnt nescafe and raisons. Tastes bittersweet, over sugared but with a nice bitter finnish. Coffee and espresso flavors dominate. Carbonation is active but the body is very light for the style.

Drinkability is fine but there isn't much reason to repeat.

Serving type: on-tap

01-18-2006 03:36:46 | More by DaPeculierDane

HopHeadKen

Iowa

3.05/5  rDev -11.3%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

on-tap at the brewery this beer was dark brown black in color with a thin ivory head.

Smell was sweet and malty, taste follows smell; sweet and malty with hints of carmel and chocolate. since this is a sweet stout, I don't expect, nor do I find much hop flavor, bitterness or aftertaste.

I would have liked to had time to try other beers by this brewery.

Serving type: on-tap

09-18-2005 17:05:55 | More by HopHeadKen

RoyalT

Ohio

3.53/5  rDev +2.6%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Appearance – This one is very dark in color, almost black, with a beautiful foaming head that showed good retention.

Smell – The nose is light but consists of some roasty and toasty malts along with coffee and sweet cream.

Taste – The coffee picks things up at the taste. The sweet milky flavor is here as well, which offers a fair compliment to the roasted malts. Overall a very balanced flavor profile.

Mouthfeel – This one is medium-bodied with a hint of sour milk at the back of the tongue.

Drinkability – This is a good Milk/Sweet Stout that doesn’t deserve the bum rap it’s getting from some other reviews. In fact, I would be willing to bet that there are some bad bottles that have gone out in the past. It’s no “super-star” but no dud, either. I'm thinking maybe even that the style classification on the site has been changed since it was entered on the site???

Serving type: on-tap

01-17-2005 04:32:00 | More by RoyalT

tavernjef

Minnesota

3.9/5  rDev +13.4%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Deep black liquid with slivers of dark cherry highlights. Nice off-white tannish creamy head of foam about a finger high. Smell is faint of dark roasted malts and old-been-sitting to-long-coffee. Taste is nice coffeeish, roasted darken malts, lingering a bit in burntness and chocolate, ends in a moderate hop twinge of bittering dryness. Good soild full medium body with a earthy darkened dryness in the finish. Good stout offering.

Serving type: on-tap

06-01-2003 17:42:53 | More by tavernjef

ADR

Pennsylvania

2.28/5  rDev -33.7%
look: 3.5 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2 | feel: 3 | overall: 2

On tap at the Autumn Brew Review 2002, Minneapolis, MN...

Big creamy head, heavy and dark brown opaque color. Reserved aroma. A little oily acidity, mostly java but with some chocolate flavors as well. Decent body, lots of (too much) aftertaste. Finishes with a decided "burned" and acidic quality. According to the rep, its an Irish "style" Dry, but uses yeast strains more typical of Sweet Stouts. Seems like a poor quality Dry Stout with confusing up-front chocolate impressions. Not very good to me...

Serving type: on-tap

09-09-2002 07:21:09 | More by ADR

NilocRellim

Minnesota

3.28/5  rDev -4.7%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 2.75

Poured from the bottle.

VERY black in colour with virtually no head. Rich, malts, grains, roasted nose to it. It was very smooth and balanced. Roasted and bitterness to the taste with a slightly smokey/toasted aftertaste.

Would I buy it again? Sure.

Serving type: bottle

01-08-2013 20:56:44 | More by NilocRellim

b3shine

Ohio

3.73/5  rDev +8.4%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Bottle to pint. Looks pretty good; pretty heady for a stout. Pitch black. Smells decent. Malty. Tastes good. The lactose serves it well. Nice and smooth. Mouthfeel is decent, but very carbonated. Overall, a decent beer that I'd definitely have again.

Serving type: bottle

03-07-2012 22:48:19 | More by b3shine

bishopdc0

Maine

2.8/5  rDev -18.6%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

Poured into a british pint...the beer well overflowed into my lap not a good start...it is dark with a good head.

The aroma is flat and nothing to writing home about hints of choc and roasted malts

The taste is like a choclate coke starts with a big mouth of frothy carb but the the taste much like the aroma is meh. All around average roasted and choc malts but that's it

Serving type: bottle

10-23-2011 03:57:57 | More by bishopdc0

woosterbill

Connecticut

4.2/5  rDev +22.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

12oz bottle into a Duvel tulip.

A: The black body glows crimson around the edges when held up to light, sitting darkly beneath two fingers of coarse, frothy tan head; retention isn’t the best I’ve seen, but the lace left behind is nice and chunky. Good looking stout.

S: It smells sweet and heavily roasted at the same time, with huge chocolate malt presence. Chocolate, grain husk, coffee, molasses, caramel, and dark fruit. I’m torn between thinking that this aroma is magical, or woefully amateurish – it reminds me a lot of a couple (mediocre) homebrew stouts I’ve done, but in a good way. The maltiness of the malt is just so prominent, that it’s almost like smelling the grinder at a homebrew store. The longer I smell it, the more convinced I become that it smells great.

T: More dark fruits than the aroma suggested, but with all the chocolate, coffee, and molasses maltiness as well. Bitter, ashy, burnt finish. Intense and enjoyable, but the astringency of the finish keeps it from being top-notch.

M: Fairly thick, moderately carbonated body. A little sticky, but quite nice.

O: This was one of the first craft-brewed stouts I ever drank (maybe THE first) back in high school, and I love it as much now as I did back then. There’s just enough sweetness to balance out the supreme roastiness of all the specialty malts, and no hint of booze. The fruitiness reminds me a bit of something like the Nigerian Guinness Foreign Export Stout (sorry for the rather obscure comparison), but the prominence of the malt per se sets this one apart. Terrific beer.

Cheers!

Serving type: bottle

07-29-2011 23:34:03 | More by woosterbill

johnnnniee

New Hampshire

3.68/5  rDev +7%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 2 | overall: 3.5

Received in trade from azaaron, thanks for the opportunity. The bottle opened with a noticeably load pop, no foam over, but the first pour filled my glass with foam. It took a good 15 minutes from opening until I was able to sample this brew. Pours a solid dark brown color with faint ruby highlights when held to light. Aromas of light chocolate, caramel and tart fruit. Not a whole lot going on in the aroma. The taste has all the right players in the game. Roasted malts, coffee, chocolate and caramel with a modicum of dark fruits. The mouthfeel is ruined by the over carbonation every sip has co2 sharply piercing the front of my tongue and sometimes expanding bubbles fill my mouth. Medium bodied beer. Once the bubbles settled down this became quite a tasty brew. I'd love to try another of these sometime and re rate.

Serving type: bottle

05-24-2011 23:05:39 | More by johnnnniee

OddNotion

New Jersey

3.58/5  rDev +4.1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 4.5

Received as an extra. Thanks syrupjoe!
Poured into my Delirium Tremens bulb glass.

Appearance: Pours a black body with some red/brown around the edges. No real head to speak of but a nice khaki colored lacing around the edges.

Smell: Nice smell. Dark fruits, roasty malt, some slight coffee. Enjoyable.

Taste: Average taste for the style. Nothing really outstanding. Sweetness, light bitterness. Would like it to be more roasty. Honestly had a little more taste while it was colder from the fridge.

Mouthfeel: A little thin and low on carbonation.

Overall: Better than I expected, however nothing mind blowing. I give it a high "overall" score because it exceeded my expectations. I would not go out of my way for this but if you do get the chance, certainly go for it.

Serving type: bottle

04-18-2011 02:55:39 | More by OddNotion

ChopperSmith

Minnesota

3.45/5  rDev +0.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

Poured from a brown longneck bottle into a standard pint glass.

Appearance: Very dark brown, almost black and opaque. Had a foamy tan head that didn't last long but left a little lacing behind.

Smell: Dark caramel, sweet, and some coffee and black licorice scents.

Taste: Pretty much like it smells, sweet dark roasted malts, a little coffee and black licorice and a touch of smoke. Creamy and smooth.

Mouth feel: Medium bodied with lower carbonation, which added to the creamy mouth feel.

Drinkability: Overall, not a bad Sweet Milk Stout. Has good flavors and is a nice sipping beer. I'm not sure I would session it, but it's good if you're in the mood for a sipping stout.

Serving type: bottle

05-12-2010 20:51:32 | More by ChopperSmith

colts9016

Idaho

3.58/5  rDev +4.1%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

I got this bottle from stonequarrywest, this is one of top 5 favorite stouts. Poured into a pint glass at 42 degrees.

Appearance: A monster 2 finger light tan head that has semi poor retention. The head is creamy, foamy, and bubbly. The color of the beer is dark brown to oily black. The clarity of the beer is opaque. The head is leaving some lacing on the glass.

Nose: A mild roasted malt, light roasted coffee, white chocolate, oatmeal, cream, and wood. There is some hints of phenols and solvent.

Taste: A medium roasted malt, cream, oatmeal, bittersweet chocolate. medium roasted coffee, wood, and phenols. There is a fragrant floral bouquet and phenols in the background.

The mouth feel is creamy, coating, and rich.

Overall: The body of the beer is medium thick and the finish is medium. This milk stout is okay. The nose on it is just meh and the taste makes up for it. This is a descent stout.

Serving type: bottle

04-29-2010 05:35:25 | More by colts9016

shadow1961

Minnesota

3.65/5  rDev +6.1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

South Shore Rhoades Scholar Stout pours a ring of tan foam over a thick opaque black brew. Carbonation is hard to discern, but the nose is roasted espresso and dark chocolate. Up front the flavor mirrors the nose- espresso and baker's chocolate predominate, with notes of mollasses, with a bit of burnt espresso and grass off the back. Mouthfeel is round and smooth, and pretty true to style, with rich malts brought into line not with hop bitterness, but with sharp carbonized flavors.

Serving type: bottle

11-03-2009 09:02:05 | More by shadow1961

dfillius

Michigan

4.33/5  rDev +25.9%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Poured into a pint glass

A: Aggressive pour yields 1/4 finger of fizzy dark tan head (nice color) with very poor retention. Nearly opaque black liquid with small ruby notes at bottom. More head please.

S: Rich chocolate, almost like brownies. Vanilla, the coffee aisle at the supermarket. Mmmm! The best part about this beer.

T: Slight toffee, mostly bitter dark chocolate. Sweet front followed by bitter roasted flavors. A little tart/sourness at finish. Very tasty.

M: Quite bitter from roastiness. Smooth, perhaps oily. Full bodied.

D: Very good. A good winter beer. I would order another and buy a six pack of this.

Serving type: bottle

07-12-2009 21:06:35 | More by dfillius

botham

Illinois

3.75/5  rDev +9%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

12 oz bottle poured into a snifter. pours pitch black with no head after a hard pour, only a tiny tan rim that leaves light lacings.

aroma is roasted, with chocolate and coffee notes and a rich aura. the brew takes on a lightly sweet character overall, but it still is no sweeter than a typical stout. nicely composed, albeit rather simple in the nose.

taste is mildly roasted with the same chocolate note, and much less coffee than the aroma suggests. a subtle sweet/sour base accentuates the chocolate note while amttenuating the roasted malt (in a negative way). the sweet/sour character is reminiscent of the character a fruit-infused stout would take on, without a distinct fruit note. interesting on the palate, with an almost vinous character.

mouthfeel is full bodied and silky smooth. very easy-going on the palate with a satisfying smooth finish of residual light sweetness and a touch of black malt.

drinkability is good. the sweet/sour quality may take away from the roasted malts, but the overall presence of the beer is quite good on the palate. if one expects a dark and roasted stout, this is not it, but it is curiously well proportioned for a brew that steps out of the box a bit. cheers!

Serving type: bottle

07-07-2009 01:10:09 | More by botham

stonequarrywest

Ohio

2.85/5  rDev -17.2%
look: 3 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 3

12 oz bottle pour into Left Hand Milk Stout Pint Glass....

Dark brown pour....with absolutely zero head and Zero lacing.. Smell was very faint of some chocolate and coffee..
Taste is sweet and roasted malt..
Thin mouthfeel and not nearly enough carbonation for my liking.
Average drinkability and I didn't look for another on this night.

Serving type: bottle

06-16-2009 23:41:01 | More by stonequarrywest

cadenwhitaker

Minnesota

3.43/5  rDev -0.3%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

Pours a thick dark brown with a tan 1 finger head that quickly dissipates.

I'm getting lots of coffee, chocolate, brown sugar, molasses. It is a bit watery - I'm not a huge Stout drinker and I was able to notice this so heavier stout fans might be less impressed.

Overall I wouldn't say this beer is breaking any new boundaries in the Stout business, but a nice drink nonetheless.

Serving type: bottle

04-05-2009 20:22:28 | More by cadenwhitaker

SykDoc

Wisconsin

3.45/5  rDev +0.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

Poured from a bottle into a snifter. It pours a deep brown with next to no head and eventually results in no lacing. It is opaque when held to the light.

The smell is primarily coffee and the malted sweetness. Very mild semi-sweet chocolate and overall, it is just mild in intensity to me.

The taste is also somewhat weak. It seems watered down. The taste is also primarily coffee and some semi-sweet chocolate. A mild spiciness lingers.

The mouthfeel is fair. It is a medium bodied beer and could probably use an increase in the carbonation. It is not particularly sticky and goes down fairly smooth. A tangy feeling sits on the palate. It just seems watered down.

The drinkability is fair. It tastes good but doesn't have the intensity of a stout that would bring me back. It is worth drinking and I wouldn't turn it down, but it certainly could be better.

Serving type: bottle

03-14-2009 02:07:01 | More by SykDoc

akokandy

Illinois

3.25/5  rDev -5.5%
look: 2.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 3.5

A- 12oz brown bottle poured into an American pint. Opaque dark brown with a very small head. Bad retention. No lacing. Weak.

S- Mild aromas of caramel, roasted notes, and over-the-top sweetness. Hard to pick up on, weak aroma.

T- Pretty good. Mostly caramel and sweetness up front, and roasted notes and coffee on the finish. Tastes kind of alcoholic if it gets too warm. Above average.

M- Thin for a milk stout. No carbonation, not even really when disturbed. A real low-point for this beer.

D- An OK session beer. The taste is not bad and I don't think its very alcoholic. Light body makes it easy to drink a lot, and I wanted a second, but not really the third, and started looking for something else in the fridge.

Serving type: bottle

03-11-2009 23:16:17 | More by akokandy

KeefD

Minnesota

3.6/5  rDev +4.7%
look: 3 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 3

Dark brown, not nearly black, looked a little watery as it poured, no head and no lacing whatsoever. The aroma on this beer is much better than the look indicated. It's got a very nice milk chocolate aroma with light coffee notes and plenty of sugar. Some alcohol aroma comes out as it warms. Taste is pretty good. It has flavors of chocolate and cream, vanilla, some light coffee and light roastiness but the body is extremely lacking. It's very light bodied for a stout, thin, could really benefit from some more malt. In all, it smells and tastes pretty good, but why waste time on beer with this light of body. I will enjoy finishing it but will probably not seek it out again.

Serving type: bottle

03-05-2009 02:28:15 | More by KeefD

TheThirdFloyd

Illinois

3.95/5  rDev +14.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

A- Not quite black, extreme deep brown, opaque. Stiff pour into a standard pint glass rendered a finger of off white head, light lace
S- Sweet light vanilla, maybe a touch of chantilly lace, countered by a bit of the familiar roastiness I'd generally associate with an Irish Stout
T- I really like the balance here. Sweeter than its Irish cousin, but I thought it retained a good amount of roasted malt, high cacao count chocolate, and espresso notes that didn't really match the mouthfeel I'm about to touch on...
M- I agree with some of the other reviews claiming this to be a watery brew. While I am grading it down on not matching the style or its own flavors, really, it does work its way into the drinkability factor.
D- I think this is definitely a sessionable beer, I'd say a 5.8%ABV? The light mouthfeel makes it a beer you may be able to sit down and enjoy a couple more of than other beers of similar flavor profiles. I'd buy it again.

Serving type: bottle

02-28-2009 20:50:24 | More by TheThirdFloyd