Dry Stouts can be a really confusing beer style. They can also be fairly hard to review because no one seems to agree on what they are exactly. The style was originally created to compete with popular London style porters, but ended up as a mixture of porter and stout characteristics. So how do you properly review a dry stout? Should you look at it as a thin stout or a creamy porter? I honestly don't know. So the best I can do is just highlight some base characteristics and review Old No. 38 as a tasty all around darker brew.

In the glass, North Coast Brewery's Old No. 38 Stout has a crisp and thin appearance. It pours very thin, which more often times than not is a sign of strength. But these beers are brewed specifically to be lighter versions, so in this case it applies. The beer is very dark, but not opaque. There is a high level of transparency if you hold it up to a good light source. It looks very clean with no visible sediment. The aroma is also very thin, but you can easily pick out those classic roasted malt and coffee smells. They pretty much dominate the mix, so it's hard to pick out anything else. There is not an aggressive bone in this beer's body, so you're expecting a roasted creamy delight.

That first sip confirms the aromatic foreshadowing. The mouthfeel is incredibly smooth and somewhat creamy, allowing those savory roasted malt flavors to take center stage. There are a lot of coffee and chocolate notes swirling around as well. The flavors are all nicely balanced without any of them having to jockey for position. Old No. 38 is actually a good study of the stout and porter flavor trains. Roasted malt flavorings are very common with these styles, but they can get muted by high ABVs and bitterness. This brew is a light and easy drinker, providing for a lengthy enjoyment of all the flavor notes.

Overall, North Coast's Old No. 38 Stout is a delightful brew. It's one of the few stouts out there with a relatively high level of drinkability, so I can recommend it to any level of beer fan. Novices will find it a great study in dark brew flavorings. Seasoned drinkers will find it a very nice lighter version of their favorite high gravities. North Coast Brewery has always impressed me with their product line and they continue to do so here. All aboard the Old No. 38!