Handsome Mick's Irish Stout - The Vermont Pub & Brewery

tobelerone

New Jersey

3.48/5  rDev +0.6%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

An opaque black beer with a decent tan head that falls quickly. Lacing is adequate. Aroma is mostly roasted malt, fairly mild. Coffee in the background. The taste is both roasted and slightly smoky, with very restrained hop bitterness. Slightly sweet, faint coffee and chocolate notes. Supersoft mouthfeel; creamy, with low carbonation. Too low, I think. Very thin bodied. Extremely easy drinking and decent tasting but certainly not anything outstanding or particularly memorable.

Serving type: on-tap

10-31-2011 13:17:02 | More by tobelerone

Rifugium

Pennsylvania

3.5/5  rDev +1.2%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

First had: on tap at their brewpub

Pretty standard stuff here. Poured brown-black with a small tan head. Roasty aroma with coffee notes, and not much else to speak of. Roasty malts in the taste, dry, with some coffee bitterness. A little bit on the thin side for a stout, but still not too bad. Medium-bodied and fairly drinkable. An average dry stout.

Serving type: on-tap

09-01-2011 17:36:50 | More by Rifugium

Brad007

Vermont

4.28/5  rDev +23.7%
look: 5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Pours a rich black color with a tan one-finger head into my glass.

Aroma is strong and rich with coffee being the dominant aroma followed by a slight hint of cream.

Taste is dry and full of nicely roasted notes. Coffee once again is the dominant flavor with that hint of cream to follow.

Finishes dry with lingering roasted coffee and very light cream. Nice.

I swear that I've had this before. A nice reminder of how a stout can be highly drinkable without needing tons of hops or alcohol.

Serving type: on-tap

04-20-2010 01:10:40 | More by Brad007

kingcrowing

Vermont

3.48/5  rDev +0.6%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

I had this out of a Caske (I've also had it on tap) and it's really cool how a caske can change the flavor. I think it's a decent Stout from the tap but it totally changes it to have it from the caske. It's got a woody/oaky taste to it. I personally think it's a bit smoother and heavier as well. It's still got a really nice head but a little less carbonation to it.

Serving type: cask

05-26-2009 14:41:11 | More by kingcrowing

jmz62565

Connecticut

3.53/5  rDev +2%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

This pours a jet black with a foamy tan head. The smell has some roasted scents,but it's not too aromatic. The taste is very sweet, with a creamy silkyness to it. The m/f is surprisingly light,not watery,but not like other stouts. This is a decent stout,but if you want a dark beer at the Vermont Pub and Brewery try their smoked porter.

Serving type: cask

03-18-2006 22:27:04 | More by jmz62565

northyorksammy

Ontario (Canada)

3.23/5  rDev -6.6%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

In a word, dry, bitter and black. Too carbonated, a bit mediocre for style. A Somewhat burnt and roasted, nutty, thinish mouthfeel. Certainly dry.Some coffee, all not holding greatly together. But quaffable and better than most of the offerings here.

Serving type: on-tap

11-11-2005 01:25:16 | More by northyorksammy

Stimack

New York

3.48/5  rDev +0.6%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Had this brew on cask last evening. It was pulled to a deep black color with a light tan head that did not have much retention and left slight lacing at the top of the glass. The aromas where of roasted malt, caramel and a bit coffee. The flavors are mostly of roasted malts as well as coffee and chocolate flavors that go well together. Over all this is a nice brew, not my favorite for this night but not bad.

Serving type: cask

02-13-2005 14:17:09 | More by Stimack

woodychandler

Pennsylvania

3.68/5  rDev +6.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 4

This is beautiful stuff! It arrived with a light bit of a tan head over a an obsidian-colored beer. I got notes of chocolate, licorice, and a smoky/charcoal on the nose. Because it is cask-conditioned, the mouthfeel tends more watery than creamy, as the brewery description says of the nitro pour. I did not find this to be a negative, however. The chocolate and charcoal are the prevalent flavors, but unlike a couple of stouts that I have had, which shall remain unnamed here, it is not an unpleasant charcoal. An excellent beer!

Serving type: cask

07-20-2004 19:01:26 | More by woodychandler

UnionMade

Colorado

4.2/5  rDev +21.4%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

The beer pours an opaque black, unfiltered, with a thin layer of beige head. Largish bubbles float amidst smaller ones, with an uneven, gravity dispensed look. Not a bad thing at all, just very natural. The head thins to a light mist, with a swirl in the center, leaving cobwebby lace down the glass.
The aroma is nice and solid. Robust, mocha-like roasted malt dominates, leaning slightly towards the coffee side. Faint woodiness, like it was conditioned in oak, or with oak chips, adding additional depth and complexity. A bit of sweetish, bready yeast and very, very faint earthy hopping. It's mainly roasted malt, a bit one dimensional, but very nicely done.
The flavor starts with a surprisingly smooth roasted malt flavor. Very nice, with many more layers than the aroma suggests. Some burnt toffee, with plenty of coffee and slightly husky chocolate malt. A bit cereal-ish, not husky as in fat kid's clothes. Some yeast adds smoothness and body, contributing a lightly bready sweetness that compliments the malt excellently. Some cocoa flavor moves through the middle, with some very mild plum and currant fruitiness. Light herbal and earthy hoppiness creeps into the finish, balancing any malt sweetness well, although burnt malt contributes most of the bitterness. A bit of woodiness right in the end, maybe a little nutty, finishing impressively dry, leaving a lingering burnt malt flavor on the tongue. Medium bodied, oh so smooth, with silky carbonation.
A really, really nice stout. Possibly their best beer. Simple and understated, but carrying a casual elegance in it's simplicity. A hell of a session pint, especially casked.

Serving type: cask

02-15-2004 06:04:04 | More by UnionMade

scottum

Vermont

3.2/5  rDev -7.5%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 3

Served a very dark brown with a very short tan head. Mouthfeel was a touch too thin. Roasty, but not as nice in flavor as I would like to taste in a stout. This beer could certainly benifit from more malt to make the flavor stronger and the mouthfeel thicker. A drinkable stout, but not above it's game.

Serving type: cask

11-11-2003 23:20:59 | More by scottum

Todd

Massachusetts

2.4/5  rDev -30.6%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 2 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 2.5

Black with a patchy two-tone head -- tan and off-white. Roasted nose, touch of molasses and caramel. Smooth, roasted, leafy, astringent. Pretty light-bodied, with was surprise, but it also had an unusual near milky consistency / feel. Touch of sour and paper. Mild chocolate.

I could only have one, and one was enough. A boring beer IMO. Not too tasty.

Serving type: cask

02-10-2002 20:19:12 | More by Todd