Midnight Oil Stout - Swamp Head Brewery & Tasting Room

nickfl

Florida

4.1/5  rDev +2.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

A - Pours with a nice head of dark tan foam that settles rapidly and leaves decent lace. The body is an opaque black with virtually no light showing through.

S - An aroma of nutty coffee with some brown sugar and little else.

T - Slightly acidic, black coffee up front with a light grain bitterness. Some dry toast and more coffee comes out in the middle. Finishes with more acidic coffee and a little bit of molasses.

M - A slightly thin body, moderate carbonation, and a dry finish.

D - This is a very drinkable beer that isn't nearly as big or complex as its name implies. Some coffee stouts are rare, refined and deep but this is more of a good, honest cup of black coffee. The coffee character is quite pleasant, but it isn't something that bears deep contemplation. The oatmeal, on the other hand, seems to be missing in action; there is none of the thickness that I would normally expect from a beer brewed with oats. I genuinely enjoyed this beer even though it was nothing like what I expected based on the name and advertised ingredients. I was a little disappointed by the relative simplicity of the flavor and aroma, but that same lack of complexity makes it an oddly sessionable coffee stout.

Serving type: on-tap

08-11-2010 02:41:24 | More by nickfl

BEERchitect

Kentucky

3.75/5  rDev -6%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

A solid all-around brew that brings in strong notes of coffee and burnt cocoa while stradling the fence of creamy Oatmeal Stouts and bitter American Stouts.

The pour delivers a deep, opaque, and dark brown colored beer with an expansive brown head of large bubbles, loosely woven, and soon give way to a thin lace that decorates the top of the beer. I would have hoped for a bit more malty staying power.

A varying display of roast give the dominating impressions in the aroma. Roasted barley, coffee, roasted nuts, and soft malts are found deep in the beer. Grassy hops and twangy-tart berries give a bit of a more complexity than is usually reserved for Belgian Ales.

Flavors however are all about the roast, coffee, and charred cocoa notes. The malt roundness is religated to a dry, fully-attenuated character that lends little to the flavor of the beer. Bitterness is based on the hop acids but there's a sharp rebuttal from the roasted grains.

Big on malt up front, the beer quickly gives way to the dry roasty character of char, dry cocoa powder, and coffee grounds. The beer finishes quite dry and roasty- kinda like a Schwarzbier but with more weight and complexity, but not with the drinkability.

No doubt this is a solid American/Oatmeal Stout but because of the dry character that forbids roundness or softness, I'll give the nod to an American variety though the only hop notes are grassy ones in aroma and flavor.

Thanks again RomaniIteDomum!

Serving type: growler

06-20-2010 04:59:21 | More by BEERchitect

Gtreid

Florida

3.53/5  rDev -11.5%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Guest tap at Cigar City for Craft Beer Week. Poured into a tasting glass.

A: Pretty black, with some mahogany highlights. The pours creates a small tan head that left some webby lace.

A: Burnt coffee and malt. I would say roasted but this is beyond that. The coffee is forward and I get notes of slight chocolate, nuts, and earth.

T: Again, I'm afraid to say, burnt coffee. I just can't get past it. It's not really bad, just not what I was expecting. Some notes of light chocolate, wood, and slight char. Finishes dry but somewhat bitter from the over roasting of the malt.

M: Pretty light in the body. Nice amount of carbonation, but just a bit to watery.

D and overall impression: Drinkability is good, not great, the 5% ABV will help emensely. Overall, I am on the fence with this beer. I have had alot of coffee stouts, and this one is by far the most roasted one. Again, almost burnt. I will give it another shot at some time, but for now, it's just alright. Skal.

Serving type: on-tap

05-19-2010 21:10:11 | More by Gtreid

FLBeerGuy

Florida

3.48/5  rDev -12.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

Pours a dark black with a thin tan head that leaves slight lacing.
Smell is overpowering coffee, hard to smell anything else.
Taste is strong coffee, a little chocolate and some hop bitterness on the way down.
Mouthfeel is on the light side for a stout with more carbonation than you might expect.
This is very drinkable if you like a strong coffee stout (strong being coffee, not alcohol). Personally, it is too strong in the coffee end to make me want to have more than one.

Serving type: on-tap

05-05-2010 00:45:50 | More by FLBeerGuy

aepb1

Florida

4.13/5  rDev +3.5%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

A- Deep black with a nice brownish head

S- Coffee --- lots and lots of coffee

T- Dark coffee, roasty malt, no citric aftertaste from Latin American coffees, whether that was because another region was used or it was masked by the rest of the beer, I was quite pleased.

M- Not as heavy as you'd think with the powerful coffee smell. Pretty light for the stout. Carbonated well.

D- Really nice beer. Great start for craft beer in Gainesville!!

Serving type: growler

04-28-2010 00:56:54 | More by aepb1

RomaniIteDomum

Florida

4.03/5  rDev +1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Pours black with a brown cola-like head that dissipates to a nice little ring.

Smells awesome. I love heavy coffee stouts and this one doesn't disappoint. Great smell.

Nice coffee bomb with some hops actually hiding in the finish. Nice, but the coffee fades after a bit.

The feel is a bit light, unfortunately.

Pretty drinkable, actually. Good breakfast beer.

Serving type: on-tap

04-27-2010 15:46:30 | More by RomaniIteDomum

ktrillionaire

Florida

4.03/5  rDev +1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4.5

On-tap at Datz Deli in Tampa

A - Pours a deep brown with a wispy tan head.

S - The smell is a fusion of roastiness; the aroma suggests that the malt and the coffee was roasted to within an inch of its death.

T - Flavors of burnt espresso, as well as smoky-peat elements, dominate this brew; it is, however, not tremendously pungent.

M - Smooth and quite refreshing for a Stout, certainly, but at least a tad thin and undercarbonated, to boot.

D - Not bad. Swamphead seems to be really getting the ball rolling as of late.

Serving type: on-tap

04-21-2010 04:31:36 | More by ktrillionaire

mullenite

Florida

3.9/5  rDev -2.3%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Counter pressure filled bottle.

Pours from the bottle with a 3/4 finger mocha colored head. My experience with this beer however is that it usually has a taller, longer lasting head. Never really leaves much of a lacing for me though.

Smell is really only dark roasted coffee. Being familiar with the coffee used it is near burnt. Nothing really comes through beside the coffee. My preference is for more of the malt to come through but I can dig it as is.

Taste is also almost all dark coffee. There is some malt coming through in the finish as dark chocolate which keeps the coffee flavor from being harsh.

Medium body with a very slick, creamy mouthfeel. Nice carbonation, not too much and not too little. Near perfect, just wish it was a little thicker.

Overall I like this beer a lot. I really like the coffee flavor they've gotten out of this one.

Serving type: bottle

03-24-2010 04:05:10 | More by mullenite

alpinebryant

Connecticut

3.48/5  rDev -12.8%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3

Pours a pitch black with brown at the edges. A light tan head after a rough pour ie, not gentle.

Smell of Black patent, that familiar stale coffee twang from acidic coffee infusion. Some sweet malt in the aroma, tar.

Taste of bitter coffee, dark roasty malts, some malt sweetness, a bit of coffee twang, some aroma hops . some licorice and the slightly dry taste I get when I drink an Oatmeal stout.

Mouthfeel has good carbonation , and a thick body. A good consistency, just in need of some more hops IMO. Overall not bad, could use some polishing.

A sample from Mullenite Thanks!

Serving type: bottle

03-22-2010 22:50:58 | More by alpinebryant

tpd975

Florida

3.73/5  rDev -6.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Consumed at Stoogies and Stouts and Brewers Ball.

A: Pours deep black with a small tan head.

S: Aromas of roasted malt, gas station coffee, and chocolate.

T: Pretty damn flavorful. Nice light roasted coffee, roasted malt, and milk chocolate sweetness.

M: On the thinner side of medium, smooth with a slightly bitter finish.

D: Pretty good, not my favorite coffee beer, but pretty tasty nonetheless.

Serving type: on-tap

03-08-2010 16:16:54 | More by tpd975