Sooty Oatmeal Stout
Nottingham Brewery

Tasted by half-pint at the Oakdale Arms, during their Easter Beer Festival, 17/04/06. The beer menu says: "A traditional classic oatmeal stout brewed to an original recipe. Champion Beer of the 2002 Cambridge CAMRA Beer Festival". Gravity-dispensed.

A: deeply dark brown colour with good clarity, coming with a rimmed foam and very low fizziness.
S: light dark-fruitiness sits on top of pronounced note of roasted barley, while an aroma of settled, unsweet edge of treacles stays behind, along with a restrained touch of fruity hops. Quite refreshing and light for an oatmeal stout, I must say.
T: deeply roasty-malty, followed by good depth of smokiness as well... a roasted dryness and an almost coffee-ish sourness develops at the back, leaving an unexpectedly crisp and dryish, woody+smoky bitter finish. The supposedly semi-rich and smooth grainy input from malted oats is somehow understated.
M&D: being smooth on the mouthfeel, it's unexpectedly light-bodied and bitter, not quite usual for its style... But somehow the drinkability benefits a lot from the bitter edge, making it a good session oatmeal stout. Quite good!