Old No. 38 Stout
Review Date 7/10/2002
Try?
Re-buy?
I’ve been drinking beers of various colors, styles,
tastes and origins for going on twenty years now. The other day I was asked
by a coworker which beer was my favorite. “All of them,” I replied, which
got a good laugh as it generally does. A more accurate response, of course,
would have been “most of them”. Still, among the many beers I have tried and
enjoyed a few stand out amongst the rest as personal favorites. One of these
is definitely North Coast’s delicious Old No. 38 Stout.
English Beer savant Michael Jackson once said of this beer that it is Possibly the best stout made in America. My sentiments exactly, Michael. I can pop open a bottle of this wonderful brew and be transported back to the very first time I tasted it. That’s because it tastes every bit like I remember it tasting in the past, not something I can say about every beer I’ve tried. This is a wonderfully assertive, powerful brew (in terms of flavor, not alcohol content).
Old No. 38 Stout is named for an old steam engine train that passed through Ft. Bragg, California on its line. Ft. Bragg is the home of North Coast Brewing, considered by many to be one of America’s (if not the world’s) finest breweries. Though a little more expensive than many other stouts, Old No. 38 is definitely worth the extra dollar or two you will pay.
Best categorized as an Irish dry stout with an American twist, Old No. 38 has won numerous awards. The World Beer Championships run by Chicago’s Beer Tasting Institute sometimes offer awards and ratings that are questionable at best, but they do sometimes get things right, awarding Old No. 38 a silver medal in 1994, 1995, 1996, and 1997. More impressive are medals won at the Great American Beer Festival in Denver. A bronze was scored in 1992 and a silver in 1993, both in the Dry Stout category.
I can’t praise this beer enough. It’s one of my favorite stouts in the world and I find myself drinking a lot of it lately. It is available in 26 states at last count, so odds are fairly good you can find it near you.
Old No. 38 Stout pours to a dark blackish caramel color with a thick
rocky head and a very roasty chocolate nose. The palate is simply huge:
loaded with roasted barley flavor and notes of bittersweet chocolate,
espresso, minty grassy hop flavors all piled on a deep dark chocolate
pudding like body. The finish has a distinct roasted bitterness at first and
then a lingering hop buzz of bitterness that grabs your tongue firmly.
If you drink one new beer this year, make it a North Coast Old No. 38 Stout.
English Beer savant Michael Jackson once said of this beer that it is Possibly the best stout made in America. My sentiments exactly, Michael. I can pop open a bottle of this wonderful brew and be transported back to the very first time I tasted it. That’s because it tastes every bit like I remember it tasting in the past, not something I can say about every beer I’ve tried. This is a wonderfully assertive, powerful brew (in terms of flavor, not alcohol content).
Old No. 38 Stout is named for an old steam engine train that passed through Ft. Bragg, California on its line. Ft. Bragg is the home of North Coast Brewing, considered by many to be one of America’s (if not the world’s) finest breweries. Though a little more expensive than many other stouts, Old No. 38 is definitely worth the extra dollar or two you will pay.
Best categorized as an Irish dry stout with an American twist, Old No. 38 has won numerous awards. The World Beer Championships run by Chicago’s Beer Tasting Institute sometimes offer awards and ratings that are questionable at best, but they do sometimes get things right, awarding Old No. 38 a silver medal in 1994, 1995, 1996, and 1997. More impressive are medals won at the Great American Beer Festival in Denver. A bronze was scored in 1992 and a silver in 1993, both in the Dry Stout category.
I can’t praise this beer enough. It’s one of my favorite stouts in the world and I find myself drinking a lot of it lately. It is available in 26 states at last count, so odds are fairly good you can find it near you.
Old No. 38 Stout pours to a dark blackish caramel color with a thick
rocky head and a very roasty chocolate nose. The palate is simply huge:
loaded with roasted barley flavor and notes of bittersweet chocolate,
espresso, minty grassy hop flavors all piled on a deep dark chocolate
pudding like body. The finish has a distinct roasted bitterness at first and
then a lingering hop buzz of bitterness that grabs your tongue firmly. If you drink one new beer this year, make it a North Coast Old No. 38 Stout.
And remember, try a new beer today, and drink outside the box.
*Pricing data accurate at time of review or latest update. For reference only, based on actual price paid by reviewer.
(B)=Bottled
(D)=Draft
