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Very dark cola brown approaching black in most light. A sliver of amber penetrates the bottom. Small, lightly puffy yet densely spongey packed cap of tan foam sits briefly before splipping to an always present skim and lots of chocolate milk bubbles along the edge. Some very thick boney fingered lace is flung about the glass and sticks well.

Solid aroma of mild roasted malt, with a tenderly sweet and creamy sense to it with a touch of ash and floral hops notes. As it warms it lowers its intensity by quite a bit, however, stays appetizing and oaty sweet.

Nice taster too. Roasty, smokey, lightly sweet underneath but barely present with the oat malt. Drys out nicely with a smokey ash and burnt malt mildness. Stays smooth and fairly creamy for the most part as the dryness only flecks about with the taste of burntness more then the actual burntness itself. Interesting balance to say the least. Well done on that account.

Smooth, creamy, and mixed in with a nice smokey ash-like dryness within. Stays mild and fairly crsipy overall and quite easy to deal with. Body is about medium with only a slow start to hamper its character. Finish is all about the burntish dryness. Which is quite acceptable and borderline porter-esk if not one altogether.

A solid Oaty stout here. One of the better offerings from Arcadia and well worth trying out.

Served In: Pint Glass

When they starboard, do they mean right or left? Or does that matter on which way your facing?

Well face it Arcadia Starboard Stout is a pretty nice dry stout. Although listed as an oatmeal, I’m not calling foul. The color is like looking at the bottom of the deepest part of the ocean in the middle of the night and no moon out. Even tipped there is very little color displacement. There is a nice tan head but quickly dissipates and little lace. The smell is strong roasted barely. If it wasn’t so black I would wonder if that is the only grain they used.

The taste for Starboard Stout is not a stronger roasted malt flavor that I expected but more of a burnt coffee. Black Patent anyone? Although it is not real dominate, there is a sweetness on the aftertaste that gives this beer a sort of tartness knock to it.

The flavor lasts a little in your mouth. Slowly the tartness goes away but the burnt roasted flavor stays. Nice lasting flavor. In my opinion this is more tart than sweet and not really what I like in oatmeal stouts. The body is more of a mid level characteristic which holds the beer back. Well wherever starboard is, I sailed to a decent tasting stout.

Served In: Pint Glass

*Uploading my old reviews, this one has a review date of: 11-15-07. If I can acquire the beer again I will re-review it*

SPLITGRIN was kind enough to throw this one in as an extra in our latest trade, thanks buddy.

Pours a dark brown color with a huge 2 fingers of mocha colored head. A mass of tiny bubbles, compact, and soft; I had to wait a few seconds for this to recede and proceed to empty my beer bottle. The head stops at about one fifth of an inch and retains a nice layer throughout, very presentable beer.

The aroma is roasty, with a bit of anise and oddly enough I’m getting some yeast aromas that are characteristic of hefe-weizens; mostly a bit of dry banana-chips comes through and a slight hop presence. In the back I can detect some caramel and oats. Also some milk chocolate and again some chocolate covered frozen bananas. It’s not a big banana flavor at all, it’s quite subtle but that’s what I’m getting from the aroma.

The taste is of roasted malts a bit of roasted barley, grains, and very little chocolate and very little coffee. Not too much after that, a little bland. Mouthfeel is average with a slightly numbing sensation instead of being silky and smooth. It’s a fairly easy beer to drink, always good to try new beers.

Served In: Pint Glass