Some beers, in my opinion, transcend seasons.  They are absolutely fitting to any climate, temperature, setting, etc.  For me, the English Extra Special/Strong Bitter (ESB) is that beer for me.  (For more information on the ESB style, this BJCP guideline is helpful) It’s bold enough to warm you up in winter, and bright enough to wet your palate in the summer.

So this weeks Sip With Us Saturday beer is any authentic English ESB.  By authentic, I mean, imported from England.  While there are plenty of American Breweries that mimic the style quite well (in fact, my own ESB style homebrew was one of my best) sometimes it’s best to get a grasp on the originals before dissecting replications.

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The Pour: A good description of the beer might be deep maple.  I think the brewery suggests chestnut.  There was a nice amount of head retention with a finger or finger and a half head.  Not shabby looking at all.

The Nose: The name fits the beer well.  I caught the distinct smell of sheep/dog hair on the nose.  It sounds kind of gross to describe it this way, but it really wasn’t.  It wasn’t strong and was a fitting aspect to the name of the beer.  Caramel, probably from some raw sugar, came through on the nose, as well as hints of smoky malts.  The distinct aroma of English hops made their way to the nose, but they don’t have the piney-citrusy quality of American hops.

The Taste: The maltiness of the beer had distinct caramel/raw sugar qualities along with hints of smokiness.  Features of the darker grains definitely came through in the form of slightly burnt coffee tones.  These slight coffee tones were an excellent counterpoint to the nice level of bitterness.  Along with the dry woody qualities in the beer, biscuit tones and touches of hops made the beer a quality drink.  Just the slightest sweetness, which held the beer in check, also graced the palate.

Overall, this is a good beer.  I think I might have liked a little less of the coffee and a bit more toffee/caramel tones.  However, the beer works very well as it is, and I’m sure the brewer is proud of this product (they should be).  The beer did have a couple of layers, which were very nice, and the subtle complexity of the U.K. ale was certainly there.  I vacillated on a slightly higher score.

Mike’s Rating:

Overall Satisfaction: ★★★¾☆ 

Among other English Ales: ★★★½☆ 

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Oatmeal stouts have not been around for too long a period.  Their introduction seems to be connected to some time in the 1890s.  Of course, oats themselves have been used in brewing for multiple centuries.  It used to be that oats were seen to detract from the quality, adding bitterness via tannins to a beer (especially in higher amounts).  Michael Jackson mentioned an oatmeal stout that he had tried, and that was enough to peak the curiosity of many and essentially revive the style.  In my mind, Samuel Smith’s is the classic example.

The Pour: As I’ve mentioned before, sometimes stouts look like porters and vice versa.  I would certainly categorize the colors of this beer as being along the lines of a robust porter.  It’s dark but light enough to let some nice ruby colors shine through this gem of a beer.  Atop the mostly black body sat a creamy, stable, and light brown head.

The Nose: As is wonderfully typical of many British ales, Sam Smith’s Oatmeal Stout had some nice raw sugar, caramel qualities.  Slight metallic tones were added by the dark grains, which also lent almost mocha latte aromas to it.  Of course, a nice but not overbearing amount of oats floated through the slightly bilious body.  As I drank the beer, nice lacing also clung to the sides of the pint glass.

The Taste: Here is my favorite part.  Some residual sweetness and oats led the pack in terms of taste quality.  As with their Taddy Porter, Samuel Smith’s Oatmeal Stout had a nice, juicy fruit acidity to the palate. The rich smoothness balanced out the juicy qualities, while caramel and raw sugar lent to the depth.  The back side of the taste added a very lovely smoke touched goodness to the whole.  The overall taste that I might attribute to this product can be explained in terms of Samuel Smith’s other products: half Taddy Porter, one quarter Imperial Stout, one quarter Old Brewery Pale Ale and a nice helping of oats.

Overall, no matter how many American versions I try, many of which are very good and more robust, I’ve never found one that seriously contends with the Samuel Smith’s version.  It it wonderfully balanced, juicy, and firmly rooted in traditional British brewing.  Very high marks for this classic.

Mike’s Rating:

Overall Satisfaction: ★★★★¾ 

Among other Stouts: ★★★★½ 

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The Pour:

Describing beer is as subjective as personalities are unique.   Described by Wychwood as Golden in color, I expected a a blonde hazy liquid to enter my glass.  On the contrary the color was more along the lines of an English Pale ale, only a tad lighter in color.  There was a slight haze and a rich white head that left great lacing designs as it slunk into the beer.

The Nose:

Up front are classic toasted/biscuit malt aromas.  Buttery and coppery aromas mingle with floral and grassy hop notes.  There is a hard to pinpoint fruity aroma in there too.  With my nose in the bouquet of smells, I can imagine the summery, hay like nature of this beer.  But at the same time, there is a richness to it that screams of fall.

The Taste:

Like the appearance, the beer was less “wheat like” and summery than anticipated.  In fact, it reminded me almost of a lite ESB.  Very bready with distinct caramel and buttery tones that I have come to love from certain English yeast strains.  These diacetyl qualities, mixed with the light and crisp wheat tones, yield a more complex beer than meets the eye.  The deliciously light and fruity (I thought cherries) hop flavors did make for refreshing beer.  However, perhaps because I am not British and lived in hot and humid (in summer) Missouri, I thought this to be more of an early fall day.

Overall Thoughts:

Like other Wychcraft beers I’ve had, this beer doesn’t disappoint.  While refreshing, and a great session beer, it didn’t blow me out of the water, though.  Were it priced better, I’d stock up on these for an early fall camping trip.

Nate’s Rating:

Overall Satisfaction: ★★★¼☆ 

Among other English Pale Ales: ★★★¼☆ 

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It seems that every brewery has some sort of unique interest that becomes their marketing focal point.  Wychwood is no different, drawing from English folklore.  From the Brewery’s website:

Wychwood Brewery is named after The Royal Forest of Wychwood which was recorded in the Domesday Book in 1086, and covered much of what is now West Oxfordshire. Much of the artwork for Wychwood beer labels depicts characters from myths and legends associated with the ancient medieval forest.

The term ‘forest’ referred historically to areas where hunting rights were reserved for the Sovereign and included in this area would have been meadows, cultivated open fields, heaths and downs as well as woodlands.

You can just imagine the Hobgoblin trundling past and jeering at The Circle Master as he scamps around the fields looking for trouble.

Fiddler’s Elbow is an English pale that utilizes Styrian and Northdown hops with a malt makeup of Pale wheat and Crystal malt, with an ABV of 4.5%.  Hobgoblin is a tad darker with it’s use of chocolate malt alongside Pale and Crystal.  Hobgoblin uses Fuggles and Styrian malts.

I’d encourage sipping with us this Saturday.  If rarely stray from the American craft beer ales that use more citrusy hops, these beers my be a refreshing trip from the norm.

By the way, Wychwood brewery’s facilities perfectly accommodates my mental picture of what an English Brewery named “Wychwood” would look like.  Cheers!

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