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We had promised the kids earlier in the week that we would go out for pizza on Friday night and then drive around looking at Christmas lights. We were not anticipating 4+ inches of snow to be on the ground by dinnertime. We were able to talk them out of the usual Godfather’s pizza (they lover the ball pit), and went to Lucca Grill. They have thin crust pizza and a decent beer selection. However, the Murphy’s Irish Stout was the only beer on their list I hadn’t had yet.
The color was obviously black and it had a very thick and creamy nitro head on it. It was hard to smell much through the head, but there was a slightly burnt malt, raw roasted malt aroma to it.
It obviously had a smooth and creamy mouthfeel with such a big, creamy head on it, but the body was surprisingly light. The flavor was a bit like toasted oats at first, which I suspect is from the head, followed closely by a clean roasted barley flavor. The finish was a bit like a light burnt chocolate coffee flavor. There was a slight bitterness, but it was more of a black patent-like malt bitterness.
It went OK with my pizza but I’ve heard this style goes better with oysters. I can’t say that I’ve tried that combination, but I know it would probably also go nicely with hearty meal, like a chili or beef stew.
There’s something about the creaminess of a nitro-served beer which makes it different and enjoyable. The first toasted oat flavors from the roasted malt and creamy head were tremendously enjoyable. Although the light body makes it very drinkable, the flavors that follow the initial taste are a bit light. Overall, this is a very drinkable dry stout with some lightly toasty and roasty flavors.
My Rating: 
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