I drank this beer last night around 7:00 and here were my notes at the time. One of the first things that one cannot help but notice is the darkness of a Stout. If you hadn’t changed your car’s oil in a while, then looking at this beer might remind you to do so. I do have to note that you could see some lovely hints of brown where light did break through the beer. So, this is not the darkest Stout you might encounter, but it is surely a Stout. When I pour the beer I noted a creamy looking brown head that had a nice degree of retention.
After pouring the Stout into a glass I noticed some winish and metallic smell in the brew. I also noted a sweet honey/molasses smell. The cascade hops did not seem to come through on the nose very much at all.
The tasting of the beer was the most telling part of the whole experience. I noticed quickly that the beer felt full in the mouth. Roast, roast, and more roast. Did I mention that the beer was roasty? It roasty notes gave way to some coffee notes. This is not surprising since the roasting process is about the same for both. Along with the coffee came notes of bitter chocolate and a dry maltiness. The hops were only evident in the beer via their bittering properties. One thing that I really enjoyed about this beer was its aftertaste. First of all, the beer hung around for a long time. But my favorite part of the aftertaste was the subtle honey flavors that I picked up. If you waited and kept tasting, I suspect that you might have noticed this, too. That part of the beer was very enjoyable. Overall, I found the beer to be somewhat above average…but then again, the subtle qualities of a beer may be what make it great.
sorry i missed that one! i did, however, drink one of those 90 min. ipa’s that day. those are similar to the shakespeare, right?
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Don’t miss this next one, holmes.
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What did you think of the 90 min IPA Andrew? No, the Shakepeare is an Oatmeal Stout. I know that Rogue does have some IPA stuff, but hoppy it is not.
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