Youngs Oatmeal Stout (London Stout)

Brewed by Wells & Youngs
Style: Stout
Bedford, England

hmmm, bottle. pours black with small to medium tan head. aroma is weak, small amount of roasted malts with some other stale aromas. flavor was kinda dissapointing to. reminds me of a Bass pale ale with a few shots of good stout mixed in. some roasted coffee flavors linger on the palate. gots better as it warms. not horrible but very average, ho-hum. would rather go for their double choco stout.

Bottle at The Morpeth Arms in Pimlico (London), black with a bubbly brown head. A bitter chocolate malt aroma. Good chocolate flavours, though a bit too carbonated. Better than previously tasted on draught.

Very dark, with a dry fruity body and a short finnish. I prefered it to double choc, its got a bit more body.

Pours a cola color with fairly thick and decently lacing head, mocha in color. Smells like bananas and a general sweetness. The very beginning taste has a hint of bananas followed by a more hoppy, chocolate and smoke flavored mid taste, followed by malty smoothness. Smooth silky palate.

Browned mahogany. Quick khaki head fizzles into a tight ring. Roasted barley aromas commingle with earthy hops and a hint of anise. Very earthy and yeasty. Slight hint of plums. Soft, but fuzzy, carbonation. Light/watery body. Grainy and heavily roasty, upfront, with a hint of burnt sugar sweetness. Malts exhibit a decent range of flavors, but fail to contribute any real depth-lending textures. The body remains fuzzy and thin due to the airiness which quickly lifts the oat-derived oiliness from the palate. Earthy hops, yeast, and roasty bitterness cut the waning residuals. Caramel and burnt toffee flavors exude from the malt before finishing dryish with fluffy nougat hints over a metallic malt zing. Does show some potential, but this just begs to be bottle conditioned.

Draught can (sigh). Poured like chocolate milk that quickly sprinkled into dark brown/ black, very creamy and persistant light brown head. The body was surprisingly thin; a little toasty, malty with a hint of bitter chocolate. Not bad but typical of draught cans with the strange fake/soft carbonation, so not great. Does get better as it warms up but that’s not saying much. Maybe the bottle is better??

A very smooth stout from one of England’s most consistent brewers. Never seems to be any rough edges to Youngs’ output. This one is an impenetrable teak colour and poured with 2cms of loose, lacing head. Good retention. Took a bit of swirling to raise an aroma at room temperature. There’s dry chocolate powder, ginger and some acetone, but not much else. Very disappointing. The palate goes a long way to make up for any failings in the aroma - there’s a lovely creamy-soft mouthfeel and soft carbonation. It’s medium bodied, with just enough body to carry itself. Flavourwise, it’s a nice balancing act, quite sweet initially but dry in the finish. It’s all milky coffee, with some figs and sherry. Pulls up a bit short, but for a pasteurised stout, this is very good. (1pt bottle, IBS Perth, bb July 2006)

Sweet, strong aroma, sweet taste, which betrays the slightly bitter aftertaste. Very smooth, creamy.