Rich, delicious, classic.  These are just three words I associate with Samuel Smith's Oatmeal Stout.  Ever since it was commissioned at the behest of Merchant du Vin, it's had a serious foothold on the world of oatmeal stouts.  It's odd that we've not reviewed it before now on the site.  It's widely liked, and I've always had a special love for this beer.  Better late than never, I suppose. 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 ...

My brother recently visited Pasadena and we had a chance to hang out, catch-up, and drink beer.  He had all my newest homebrew creations during the week, but we bought some beers for the Colts game on Sunday.  It was not intentional, but it ended up that we had three barrel aged beers.  We had, in this order, Olde Suffolk, Samuel Smith's Yorkshire Stingo, and Older Viscosity.  It was a fun day of football and barrel aged beers.  My account of these beers is as follows: Olde Suffolk: This particular beer is aged for two years in oak barrels.  Greene King is the brewery that also makes Strong Suffolk, a 12% ABV monster that is aged for two years (minimum).  This one, however, is a somewhat moderate beer in that it is half the ABV of the Strong.  Of course, this is not moderate by typical English Ale standards.  I've seen complaints on other sites about this beer being $4 dollars for a single imperial pint.  All I can say is this:  What can you expect a beer that has been aged 2 years in oak to cost? Furthermore, one has to consider that a 6% ABV beer in England is ...

With all the hubub this past weekend over the resignation of one of the White House Czars, it seem fitting that one of our Sip With Us Saturday Beer was a beer originally  crafted for a czar, in the most historical sense of the word.  Since we  picked this beer on Friday, and Van Jones announced his resignation Satuday evening, we here at Thank Heaven for Beer are beginning to wonder if our articles posses some supernatural oracular power! All kidding aside, the Imperial Stout, authentically a Russian Imperial Stout, is not Russian, but was brewed to woo the imperial court of Catherine of Russia by Thales brewery.  Thales was bought out by Courage Brewery, and the beer, originally called "Imperial Russian Stout," was renamed "Courage Russian Imperial Russian Stout."  When Courage shut down, the Imperial Stout's production was transferred to Sam Smith's brewery in Tadcaster.  The beer, which in its prime boasted a 10 percent ABV, didn't last long.  However Sam Smith's began producing the beer again as interest in bolder brews began to revive in more recent years in the UK and abroad. So in a sense, while the current version is only 7% ABV, one could argue that Sam ...

I have to say starting out that this is one of my favorite Porters, and I knew that going in.  We've review a couple other Samuel Smith's products on here (Winter Welcome, Old Brewery Pale Ale), so you can tell I'm a fan (we will drink their fabulous Imperial Stout at some point).  Without further ado, let's talk about their Porter. Upon pouring this very dark brown porter, it seemed darker than I remembered.  The touches of crimson red reminded me that it wasn't a stout.  There was a creamy brown head on this beer, which pointed to how smooth it would be. As I smelled the ale, I noted a very slight metallic touch, a treacle/honey aroma, along with a healthy dose of chocolate aromas.  There were also caramel and biscuity touches that were notable.  As I didn't note any hops on the beer, this one obviously went with little to no aroma hops (unlike Three Floyds Alpha Klaus that we've also reviewed). When the delicious splash of roasted malts, chocolate, and slight acidity of the brew hit me in the face, I almost reeled with excitement.  The beer was immanently drinkable (Bud Light, eat your heart out...no, seriously, eat your own heart out ...

For my part, winter is never welcome, but beer makes the cold times more tolerable.  Let me start by saying that this is beer was above average, but I like some of Sam Smith's stuff better.  A much better way to "Welcome" the winter might be their delicious Imperial Stout. The head on the beer looked like a high snowy winter peak, which was held in place by the very active and bubbly beer.  In the glass, the Ale looked as crisp and clean as a winter's day.  Its deep copper tones were beautiful in my Samuel Smith's glass. Aroma-wise the beer had more hops than many of Samuel Smith's beers (notably their Pale Ale, which we've previously reviewed).  Along with the nice floral aroma, there was a malty sweetness that dominated the brew.  Grains, slight nuttiness, and hints of caramel were present in the nose. The malty sweetness that was in the nose turned into slight sweet malts on the palate.  Hops were also very evident in the taste of the brew.  I would say that the middle of the beer really showed some hop bitterness and taste.  Perhaps the bitterness of the hops makes the bitter winter more tolerable.  The hops continued through the end but ...

I drank this lovely brew last night and am finally able to post something about it. What can I say, I loved it when it was in the bottle. The brownish red color shone through the transparent bottle and screamed drink me. So, I listened. I poured my beer into a Samuel Smith's pint glass, that came with a set of four beers (I suggest you try the set of four some time). This Pale Ale is the quintessential example of the style. It was very effervescent, which made it form a lovely off white foam and released the wonderfully malty sweetness. There was even a suggestion of a wood smell. Along with the smell of wood and malt, there was a noticeable fruity aroma to the beer.  Floral (hop) aspects were receded far to the background of this beer. Next I tasted the beer. It had a rich, and somewhat dry, malty flavor. There was also a distinctly nutty note on the pallet. Actually, this is why British brewers love to use Pale Ale malts ( to give a nutty note). Along with the dryness given by the malts, there was a long grainy finish to the brew. This was ...