Cisco Captain Swains Extra Stout

A deep, dark stout with lots of rich and hearty roasted barley flavor, and even some notes of dried fruit if you've got a discerning enough palate...

3.4

233 reviews

Nantucket, United States

Community reviews

3.7 Nice dark brown/black pour. Smaller head. Aroma and Taste are virtually the same. - rich milk chocolate, slightly woody, dark roasted nut, cocoa, boffee - fairly bitter. Very creamy mouthfeel. Would make a fantastic dessert beer. Apleasant surprise from this brewer .

3.8 Thick beer, chocolate up front and coffee and lots of roast in the finish, someburnt parts. Appearance of a chocolate ice cream soda. Much more bitter than sweet, consistent with the style. Spot of wood.Big mouthfeel. Good drinking.

3.4 Pours dark brown with a 2-finger brown head. Smells of spruce, hay, citrus, bread. Taste is bitter and mildly sweet - fairly hoppy, citrus, spruce, hints of other fruit, chocolate.

3.6 22oz bottle in an English pint. Pours black with a thick, light tan head. Aroma of roasted malts and a little dark chocolate and coffee, a little dough, plus a good amount of floral hops. Flavor the same. Smooth texture. A good stout.

3.3 its kinda deep and kinda dark.some dark bitter chocolate and you really don’t need a super palate to get the dark fruit. but it is pretty good. some sugary sweetness and a middleweight body at best. i found some pretty good ppine hop flavor. alcohol not noticeable.

2.5 Pours black with a slightly more than a film head. Smells of dark fruits, coffee, roasted malt, and booze (more than I would have thought for 8%). Tastes much of the same but with a very bitter bite right up front that was not one of those pleasant bitter bites. The fruit came back towards the end but not enough to balance this out. Medium to heavey bodied and not very drinkable at all in my opinion.

3.7 This beer pours a dad brown to black color with a good sized tan head. The smell is roasty with a hint of chocolate there is also a good hop presence. The flavor follows suit with a good hop and roasty bitterness and a wonderful medium mouthfeel with a little sweetness to it bthe carbonation is medium

4.4 Strong, smoky aroma has firm notes of molasses, caramel and quality coffee. It pours a rich, warm, opaque sable with a thick, fine-bubbled, light tan head. Rich flavor has molasses, roast coffee, caramel and charred wood notes plus a hint of semi-sweet chocolate. Full-bodied texture has a good amount of fizz, and leaves a nice smoky tingle.

3.2 22 oz bomber shared by Jimmie. Poured a slightly thin dark black with an average sized foamy light beige head. Aroma of lightly burnt toast, dark malts and a hint of dark chocolate. Body is average with light bubbly carbonation and a quIck fading aftertaste. Flavor is similar to the aroma with some wet burnt toast additions and hint of milk. Drinkable.

3.0 The aroma is very toasted with coffee, chocolate, and acidic fruit. The appearance is black with a tan head. The taste is like the aroma. The palate is smooth. Overall this is a pretty good stout.

4.3 The aroma is dark and really worth the time of dark cocoa and coffee. palate is not as thick as you would expect. the taste is super strong with chocolate and espresso. very strong all the way. a winner among stouts.

3.7 Had this on a Cisco booze cruise in Plymouth. Coffee, chocolate, and some dark fruit in the aroma. Sweet taste with some roast and coffee bitterness for balance. Really good--I will try this again.

2.7 aroma of burnt malts and chocolate slight alcohol earthy, pours dark with tan head, taste strong of bitter bakers chocolate, light citrus, apricot ,almost burnt flavors. palate medium body slightly sticky. finish is bitter and dry

3.6 Bottle... Poured black with a frothy, khaki head. Lots of brown floaties in there. Thin, moderate bodied. Roasty, coffee, with some floral hops. Very green, mild sweetness for balance and a hint of bitterness.

1.7 Bottle. Head is initially average sized, frothy, brown, mostly lasting. Body is black (non-opaque, flashlight tested). Aroma is moderately malty (chocolate, roasted grain), lightly hoppy (grapefruit, flowers), with notes of cardboard and vanilla. Flavor is moderately sweet, moderately to heavily acidic, lightly to moderately bitter. Finish is lightly sweet, moderately to heavily acidic, moderately to heavily bitter, unclean. Medium body, watery texture, lively carbonation, moderately alcoholic.Bottle. Head is initially average sized, frothy, brown, mostly lasting. Body is black (non-opaque, flashlight tested). Aroma is moderately malty (chocolate, roasted grain), lightly hoppy (grapefruit, flowers), with notes of cardboard and vanilla. Flavor is moderately sweet, moderately to heavily acidic, lightly to moderately bitter. Finish is lightly sweet, moderately to heavily acidic, moderately to heavily bitter, unclean. Medium body, watery texture, lively carbonation, moderately alcoholic, moderately to heavily astringent. Truly awful. Extremely sour in the mouth, but there are no other obvious signs of infection (gushing, odor, etc.). Overly bitter, dirty aftertaste, highly astringent, you name it, the mouth experience is absolutely repulsive. And I’m not exaggerating, this is kinda shocking since while Cisco is not a good brewer, they usually aren’t THIS bad. The nose is quite oxidized despite this being a rather new appearance in local stores. But of course age alone would not create the repellent sourness and astringency, so this is apparently just a bad recipe or poor execution. It looks very nice, but that’s it. Scary. And wow, is the condescending comment in the commercial description ironic or what? My not-so-discerning palate (nose) couldn’t find the dried fruit due to all the wet cardboard, I suppose.

3.9 From the 22 fl. oz. bottle with no expiration or bottling date shown. The pour is deep, dark, and black with an incredible mocha, fluffy head that lingers for the long haul. This is loaded with aroma as the dark malts filter up first and the earthy, piney hops burrow their way through the middle. A little plum or prune in there as well. The body is medium. The taste is lot hoppier than other dry stouts with a dry satisfying finish.

3.7 22 oz bottle. Really cool label, I like it. Pours dark black/brown with decent tan head. Pretty good....has a very sweet flavor throughout. Very easy to drink too. Nothing crazy here.

3.3 Bought from local food co-op. Poured dark brown, not quite black, but very dark. Had a slightly chocolaty, yet surprisingly hoppy nose. Very typical extra, or imperial stout characteristics. Taste: has definite bitter, yet dark chocolate flavor, with dark fruits, and finally a long lasting hop bite that lasts for quite some time. Overall a nice brew, with a rather low ABV for the style.

3.5 22oz bottle thanks to exiled. Black pour with some off-white head. Nose is anise, chocolate, roast, and coffee. Flavor is bitter with a good amount of chocolate.

3.7 22oz bottle. Very dark black color with fairly thick head. aroma is earthy and almost beef broth mixed with a none sweet chocolate. a real funkiness to this stout with some hops peeking through. some light astringent alcohol notes in there. taste is very toasty, earthy with some hop bitter coming through. wonderful slight cream mouth feel with light carbonation peeking in.

3.6 The beer pours a dark brown to black color with a tan head. The aroma is heavy on the chocolate with a little bit of roasted malt mixed in. The flavor is chocolate, roasted malt and the alcohol flavor is well hidden but it hits you. Medium mouthfeel and medium carbonation. I enjoyed this.

3.6 Very rich and roasty both in aroma and flavor. The aroma is deply burnt smelling. I taste somthing similar to bitter bakers chocolate in the flavor notes. The dark redish brown foam is tenatious. I am drinking from a yard glass, and half way done, and the head is 8 inches tall. Very stiff head, almost like a merangue. Just a little more bitter forward flavor than I would choose, also not a lot of hops comes through the roastie aromas. I give it an overall thumbs up, but probably would not drink two 220z. in a row.

3.7 22 oz. bottle purchased @ Smiley’s, Dover, NH. Used English style pint glass. Thick, fluffy, tan head that sits on top. Nose of roasted barley and pine hops. Taste is lots of roasted notes, (malt but mostly barley) light chocolate. A long lasting pine hop finish that lingers far after you finish a sip. Medium to full bodied. It’s funny how the lines of styles in the craft beer world are becoming blurred. If this was in front of me in a blind taste test, I would have said this is a Black IPA. Huge pine hop finish. Good brew.

3.4 22 oz. bottle. 7.5% ABV per the breweries web site. Pours a medium, lasting mocha head, with some lacing, over a clear black (SRM 40) body....nose is redolent of chocolate, with lighter coffee....taste is coffee, chocolate, bit of beef, the faintest hint of dried cherry, finishing with a lingering bitter bite, dry throughout...mouth feel medium, slightly sticky, carbonation adds a creamy layering in the mouth. This meets the style of an American Stout (this means greater hop emphasis) quite well. It has the appropriate roasted malts in both aroma and flavor, has the right hop tones, and a bit of complexity. BJCP 7/3/13/4/7

3.3 Bottle/22oz - Pours a very dark black/brown in color with a small dark tan head. Aroma is roasty and choclatey. Flavor is strong of roasted malts, chocolate and slight of coffee. Medium palate.

3.8 Bottle. Probably a bit older than it should be. Think I had this one in my cellar the past year or three. Pours a deep black with a large creamy tan head. Big roast and chocolate on the nose. A bit of age present, slight oxidization. Super roasty, lots of chocolate and cocoa. A bit of plum, huge roast. Long roast bitterness, touches of chocolate. Very nice.

3.5 Location: 22 oz bottle from Buy Rite, 8/31/11 Aroma: The nose is rather roasty, with some dark chocolate, and wood as well Appearance: It pours a pitch black color with a small tan head and some lace Flavor: Tastes heavy on roasted malts, lightly sweet, with medium bitterness as well Palate: The body is fairly rich and creamy, with a medium-full body, a drop of heat, and a dry finish Overall Impression: Overall, this is a solid stout. It is certainly roast heavy, but it isn’t completely one dimensional, as there are some other notes/components in there as well. It is fairly drinkable as well. A nice offering from Cisco.

3.6 Bmber from Vintage Cellar. Lours black with a creamy/foamy dark tan head. Aromas of dark malt with a touch of coffee. Med body. Flavor of dark malt, burnt/toasted, with something suggesting dates. Maybe a bit of chocolate. Mostly it’s just dark,bitter rather burnt malt.

3.7 A no-frills stout, but tasty nonetheless. Very rich in texture, thick and smooth, with a pour that leaves plenty of tan lace on the glass. Tastes roasted as hell, not smoky, just, roasty? If there’s such a difference? Gains mild sweetness as it warms, putting out a nice layer of bitter chocolate, before drying out in a long, warm, modestly bitter finish. (8/08)

3.5 3/29/2010 Picked this up at Bert’s, a new edition to the growing selection of beer available in NH. Pours a pretty solid black color with a huge light tan head that sticks around forever. Aroma is heavy on the brown and candy sugar side with hints of vanilla and perfume. Very little roast or chocolate or coffee in the nose, odd. Hint of milk chocolate as shes warms, but also brings to the forefront a Belgian-esque phenolic aroma as well. Taste is rich malty and chocolaty with a bevy of dark fruits and a slightly acridic taste in there as well. Slight hop bite midway through leaves a long lingering roast bitterness in the finish. Creamy mouthfeel, medium body, high level of carbonation. I’m not sure if there are some wild yeasts in here or if its supposed to taste this way. The Belgian character is subtle, but its strong enough to notice and the carbonation is a bit high. Its an ok brew as is, but I think it could be so much better. If I dare resample this one I will re-review.