Samuel Smiths Extra Stout

Brewed by Samuel Smith
Style: Dry Stout
Tadcaster, England

On tap at the John Snow, Soho, 4th Feb 2008. Very dark brown in colour, with a tan head. Good strong aroma of ash and roasted malt. Flavour is a nice mix of savoury notes with dry, ashy roasted malt. The palate is a bit light and watery but overall this is good for a day to day stout.

Draught @ The Duke of Argyll, Soho. Pours and settles like Guinness, deep ruby with a thick and lasting beige foam. Nose is a bit of a struggle with the dense head but after it subsides a little you then get a whiff of roasted malt, and cocoa. Flavour is rich coffee, roasted malt and bittersweet chocolate with only a slight bitterness in the finish. Not bad at all really, was just the nitro business that put me off.

Nitro at Cittie of York, october 07. Clear, very dark brown color, almost black, with a creamy beige head. Mineral, slightly grainy aroma, very shy and reastraned. Roasty flavor, with some earthy fuggle notes and a gently bitter finnish. Very mild and drinkable. Medium to light mouthfeel. Silky, nice, coating. Excellent. Nice, mild, dry stout. Nice pint.

Draught at the Earl of Lonsdale, London - pours almost black with a typical tan nitro head. Aroma is of dark bitter chocolate and roasty, grainy malts. Some creamed coffee as well. Flavour is slightly herbal, quite roasty, with lots of chocolate again, more coffee, mild bitterness. Earthy hops in the middle. Body is very creamy and thick. Dry finish. Very good stout.

nitro at the 78, glasgow. faintly roasted aroma, blackish, steady head, some cocoa powder and plum, nothing exciting but easy drinking

Considering the style, Scores ranging from 1 to 5, 5 being the most intense
Appearance:
Body:   Clear(1)->Murky(5) : 3     Light Brown(1)->Pitch Black(5) : 4     Still(1)->Sparkling(5) : 2
Head:   None(1)->Large(5) : 4   Off-White(1)->Dark Brown(5) : 2   Lasting: 3   Lacing : 4   Nitro : 5
Aroma:
Intensity : 2  
Yeast : 1   Bread : 2   Apple : XX   Tropical Fruits : XX   Ink : XX   Tar : XX   Olives : XX   DMS : XX
Malt : 3   Biscuity : XX   Burnt Toast : 2   Caramel : XX   Nuts : XX   Pumpernickel : XX   Cereals : XX   Coffee : 3   Dark Chocolate : XX   Vanilla : XX   Grapes : XX   Blackberries : XX   Cherries : XX
Hops : 2   Noble(1)->American(5) : 1   Leafy : XX   Floral : 2   Lemon/Lime : XX   Grapefruit : XX Orange : XX   Herbal : XX   Pine/Spruce/Resin : XX
Notes :   Earth : XX   Wood : XX   Mint : XX   Smoke : XX   Soy : XX   Bourbon : XX   Anise : XX
Flavor:
Initial Flavor : Dry(1)->Sweet(5) : 3   Finish Dry(1)->Sweet(5) : 2   Sourness : 2   Lactic : XX   Bitterness : 2   Complex : XX   Length : XX
Palate:
Light(1)->Full(5) : 2   Flat(1)->Fizzy(5) : 2   Clean : XX   Sharp : XX   Watery : 1   Oily : XX   Chalk : XX   Astringent : 2   Alcohol : XX   Mineral : 1   Oxidation : XX   Metallic : XX

Comments: Ashes and coffee-like stout with a surprisingly friendly mixture of roastiness and acidity.

Draught @ The Florence. Black Pour with creamy brown / beige head. Malty aroma and taste, sweet with a little liquorice / chocolate. Pretty good Stout.

Draught. At Ye Old Cheshire Cheese, Fleet Street, London. Opaque black pour, with a large, lasting creamy tan head (most likely nitro - I wrote my initials in it, they stayed until I was near the bottom of my glass - 4+). Terrific dry deep roast malt aroma, roast coffee beans and dark chocolate, mild lightly funky herbal hops. Taste, right as the nose promised, even roastier than I expected - coffee beans, cocoa and even blackstrap molasses - no fruit character (apple or prune) that I often find in SS beers. Creamy, thick body, only mild carbonation, not much astringency, but there’s a nice near-burnt malt finish that takes its time arriving. Another winner for me from these guys - I love their stouts - and this would be VERY welcome on tap in Toronto, I could kill 6 pints of it in an hour or so and still walk home sober!