“We’re not sure any other beer variety quite matches its name the way that ‘Stout’ does – a full, flavoursome brew that’s almost a meal in itself! The Blackhorse Stout here at Blackrock is indeed a ‘brew’ with its coffee aroma and exceptionally smooth biscuit-like finish. You can’t miss the colour – dark and full, hinting at the chocolate tones throughout. Red meat is a Stout’s best friend, as is chocolate and dessert. So it makes sense that its aroma and flavour make it the perfect way to end a meal”
This dark and mysterious beer is the 4th and final instalment to this breweries core range. Served in a beer tulip the jet black pour whipped up the biggest head of the 4, but unfortunately it quickly fizzled out to a patch of foam on top. Mild lace. A firm swirl of the glass arouses some head to return but again it disappears instantly. The dank and earthy aroma is giving off us some lovely wafts of coffee, oak, whiskey and brine but the presence of salt has us a little worried as it’s not usually a fragrance that accompanies stouts. The mouth feel is too thin and watery, the beer seems to be slipping off the tongue way too easily. Carbonation is low with mild-moderate body. The front palate is detecting this unsavoury salty sweetness we were picking up earlier off the aroma while some roasted amber malts in the mid offer a little malty solace. The finish is the only part of the palate that resembles a stout with a nice, yet slightly muted espresso roastiness. Not much of a stout, if anything it’s more like a watered down porter and the 5.2% ABV doesn’t help as it is quite low too. Needs a bit of tweaking this one.