Samuel Smith's Oatmeal Stout - Samuel Smith Old Brewery (Tadcaster)

ThePortlander

New York

4.35/5  rDev +2.6%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Straight from the 550ml bottle into an imperial pint glass, allowed to warm to the proper temperature.

On pouring, my first impression was how thick and jet-black this beer is, like oil. The head is considerably thick, leaving a nice ring on the side of the glass as the beer is consumed.

The nose on this one is what I expected: dark malts, coffee, sticky-sweetness, and a slight earthy edge. It wasn't quite as strong as I was hoping, but the flavor was in no way reflective. The beer is chewey enough as far as body goes, but still easy, and light on the palate, drying as it leaves. At first, there's a rush of molassesy, chocolaty goodness, but it's balanced by the earthiness mentioned earlier. As it sits, the earthy flavor melds with hints of coffee in the back of the mouth. The one thing missing is creaminess, which I really makes or breaks a stout for me.

A great stout, needless to say. I find, however, that one of these is plenty (which isn't necessarily a bad thing), so it gets a 4 on drinkability. Likewise, there could be more heft, and more creaminess to the beer.

Serving type: bottle

02-10-2010 23:41:44 | More by ThePortlander

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