O'hara's Irish Stout

Hello beer brethren. Welcome back, it has been a long time again. Instead of focusing on another seasonal, I decided to go towards another Stout that I had actually never tried. It was highly recommended to me by a few customers, so I figured I'd give it a shot. It's a 4.3% abv stout that currently sells for $4.43 for a 500ml bottle.

What can we tell from O'Hara's Irish Stout? It pours very nicely, yet is clearly thinner than Guinness or Young's. It's still a very, very dark stout, with a little bit of an opaque, tan head. It has a lot of the burnt malt aroma and it really comes into full effect once you taste it. Definitely some mocha taste in there, but not that much. Just enough to say "Hey, coffee tomorrow morning would be a definitely good idea!"

Though it definitely is a little drier than most stouts, it still retains some creamy qualities to it. It's definitely a repeat buy, it's a good middle-of-the-road stout as well for people that haven't really gotten to Guinness yet. Cheers!

Young's Double Chocolate Stout

Young's Double Chocolate Stout is a gem of nature currently being sold for $ 4.15 for a 500ml bottle. For all of you that have already tried and enjoyed this beer, you know how difficult it is to get a hand on it in the province. It's been stocked out 4 times in the past year and a half, disappearing for close to a year the first time around. (As of this time, it is stocked out at warehouse, the only stock left is the one currently in stores... and in my apartment :))

Now for those who have never tried it and what to know what is this Young's. Well, it's a personal favorite of mine. Seeing "Stout", a lot of people will immediately dismiss it. Seeing "Double Chocolate", a lot of stout purists (See: Guinness) will also think nothing of it and will not look at it twice. But Young's manages to bridge the gap between "light stout" and "thick stout".

What does that mean? It's NOT Guinness. It does not have the same thickness, the roasted malts of Guinness are not as present in the Double Chocolate. And it is definitely NOT a light, tasteless Stout either. It brings something different to the table. . . If someone has tried Dark Ales and wants to get into Stouts and Porters, this one is a good one to try to get a use to the consistency of the category.

Young's pours very dark, but with a lighter consistency than Guinness, with a nice thick opaque, caramel-ish head that stays. The smell is very similar to the taste. Dark chocolate (not milk chocolate, it's not candy) and even some caramelized malt. It's extremely smooth, very creamy and very agreeable as a "once in a while" treat.

For those wanting to get into something different for the Holidays (Or whenever, you know, cause this beer is delicious), pick one up, enjoy it a while after a meal because it is filling and appreciate Young's for this wonderful brew!

Cheers!