Captain Swain's Extra Stout

Tasting notes: 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...

Randy's comment: "As far as the malt goes, this stout has everything but the kitchen sink. There's Munich malt in there for bready notes, wheat malt for head retention, and all that roasted malt for body and flavor. We finish and dry-hop with Chinook hops for a hint of pine to balance all the robustness."

P.S., and I quote him again directly, "I think this stout kicks _ _ _!" (Sorry, but this page is for those of you over the age of 21.)

About the Name: Randy is descended from the Swain family, one of the original families to settle Nantucket in the 1600's. A branch of the clan moved down to North Carolina, where Randy was born and raised. His grandmother's maiden name was Swain, and she compiled lots of genealogical information, which included the fact that one of the men of the family was a whaling captain, hence the name of the beer. Randy grew up hearing his grandparents talk about Nantucket, for they were quite the buffs, and moved here himself when a friend from the landscape architecture department of the School of Design at N.C. State invited him to come up and work for Ernst Land Design. He found the island to be even better than the reports and ended up staying. Unfortunately his grandparents' health deteriorated, and they passed away before we had a chance to get them up here to see Nantucket for themselves. Maybe our next beer should be named after them.