Samuel Smiths Oatmeal Stout

Brewed by Samuel Smith
Style: Stout
Tadcaster, England

This is an old favorite of mine. This used to be a mainstay of my beer fridge. As time has moved on I find myself drinking it far less but I still find it a most respectable brew. Sampled from a 12 oz clear bottle this beer pours dark black with a large creamy dark brown head. The aroma is sweet, malty and has chocolate undertones. The mouthfeel is thick, creamy and smooth. The flavor is strong malted milk with some sweet chocolate and a mildly bitter roasted malt finish. I may have to start going back to this one more again.

1/2 liter clear bottle. Pour reveals a dark black viscous ale with a tight pored mocha colored cap with great retention. Wonderful lacing. Nose fills with aromas of unsweetened chocolate, pine and some burnt toast. Wonderful thick, silky mouth feel....burnt cocoa, lactose, dried currents and figs, damp oak....wonderful complex body....finish is delightfully lingering where the smoothness of this ale is detected...no shrarp edges (acidic charred grain presence in some stouts) the oatmeal does it’s trick in the finish giving an impression of thick cream and tart cocoa. An oatmeal stout to be savored.

Bottle (550ml). A perennial favorite - I buy a dozen of the gift boxes (Oatmeal, Old Brewery Pale, Nutbrown, a pin glass) every winter, mostly for this one. It’s all been said before - nice friendly stout with fruit overtones, some chocolate. Colour somewhere between an impenetrable stout and a deep nutbrown. Starts drinkable, finished drinkable, I never tire of it. Can drink - and have drunk - three at a sitting without getting restless for something different.

This beer rocked. I had this to accompany a festive fondue meal with friends. It went extremely well with the meats and the overall meal. Very, very tasty, with a mild chocolate malt finish. This is very good moderaly cold and holds well when warmed in the glas sover time. If it wasn’t so expensive, I would keep this in standard rotation in my fridge. Beautiful carmel/cola color when in glass.

A really heavy beer. Does have a coffee flavor to it but still has a nice taste.

Great beer. One of the best that can be easily found. Rich. Smooth. Complex.

550mL bottle: Pours a nice dark, almost black, brown. Head was small and tan. Smell is very sweet, almost to sweet for my liking. I smell something that almost smells like licorice, I wonder if it’s supposed to smell like that. Actually, I smell a little deeper and I am thinking it’s some sort of fruit, but I can’t place it. Taste is bitter sweet, with a very smooth feel. I still cannot place it, but there seems to be some sort of lingering fruit flavor to this one. This is very smooth and very good, if only I could place the fruit taste I seem to be finding in this one. edit: After trying this more and more, it seems to be some sort of sour green apple flavor. I dunno where it comes from, but it definitely seems present. Doesn’t seem to fit the normal stout flow, but it’s still good.

550ml bottle. Dark brown, almost black color. Nice thick tan head. Aroma is your typical stout with an amazing hint of grain. Flavor is nothing less than amazing. It is roasty, grainy, full of sweetness and has a surpurb bitter dry finish.