Whitstable Oyster Stout

Brewed by Whitstable
Style: Stout
Maidstone, England

Cask at The Dove Street Inn Ipswich 21 Sep 06. Pitch black. A tiny head that disappeared completely. Rather unexciting. Unvaried aftertaste.

Yellow foam, reduced to rim in seconds; completely deep dark brown. Chocolate nose (sweet but dark), Chinese oyster- and thick Chinese soy-sauce; bit of tobacco, and licorice. Very dry beer, with tobacco and ashy flavours. Virtually no real saltiness, maybe vaguely mineral. Gone the oyster connections. Sweetness is there, but suppressed, light bitterness. Surprisingly light body, bit empty even. Nice nose, then going down quickly. Why - seems this breweries’ hallmark? All the same, thanks for the set of rather unusual beers, Phil!

A Mes rate: Bottle from Utobeer. Coffee and chocolate aroma that is also distinctly milky. Little bit too faint on the nose for my liking but nice enough. Looks how a stout should. Black, with a well behaved tan head. Flavour is very good as far as it goes but it just feels like it is holding something back. All the boxes are ticked but I am left feeling like something is not right. Its the mouthfeel. It’s almost watery. Not stout like at all. In fact its down to a 2 from a three in sheer annoyance at a watery stout. Where is the body? It’s like a saggy ballloon. It has all the roasty sugar and chocolate and coffee that you would expect but hmmm. It just doesnt sit right. Finish is sticky too. Shame. Nice beer but for the finish and palate.

Cask@Oliver Twist, Stockholm. Dark ruby red colour, brown mediumsized head. Aroma roasted malts as well as coffee. Smoked and roasted flavour with sweet toffeeish hints. Some chocolate also noteable, but no coffee at all in the flavour. Tnx to omhper, for recomending this before leaving for the OMH-rating session.

[Cask at Oliver Twist, Stockholm] Dark brown, light brown head. Coca-Cola nose, fresh and fruity. Smooth mouthfeel. Roasty flavour with chocolate and light fruity, but no coffee. Light bodied. Lightly bitter.

(Cask at Oliver Twist, Stockholm) Colour is very dark brown, almost black, with a thin velvety pale brown head, disappearing too fast. Nose is roasted, with dark chocolate, coffee, mocha. Taste is roasted with the same flavors (chocolate and coffe), hints of sweetness but mainly dry. Discrete bitterness in the smooth finish. Lovely nose, but taste doesn’t really match the nose. Rather light body, almost on the thin side, actually a bit mild-ish. But still a nice and tasty beer.

Cask at Oliver Twist, Stockholm. Black with a low light brown head. Strong coffee aroma with notes of dark chocoalte and salt. Black coffee, salt and cocoa in flavour with a dry salty aftertaste. Quite tasty.

[Cask at Oliver Twist, Stockholm] Very black with small beige head. Dry with light body and soft mouthfeel. Lightly salty and discretely flavourful. There’s roasty malt and tobacco. The hop rate is fairly low, so the lightly salty finish has less than medium bitterness. An excellently balanced session stout. The antipode to US microbrews.