Nero
Milton Brewery

May 2005: Cask conditioned at the St. Radegund pub, Cambridge. Dark, nearly black colour. Fruity (plums) and some smoke in the aroma and flavour. Decent. More like a porter than a stout in my book, but who cares?

A: Very dark brown. It's been in a growler for several hours so the head has all but disappeared.
S: Coffee and fruits.
T: Chocolatey, smokey and rummy. Has a fantastic fudge flavour in the finish.
O: Just delicious.

As one of the brewery's "Imperator Range", from the infamous name "Nero" one could easily guess what kind of beer this pun suggests: Dark to the heart, that is. Tasted by 1.5 pints at the Pembury Tavern, North London, and this beer is one of their regulars on handpumps there.

A: simply, jet-black, with a thin, browish foamy head with good retention. Very low carbonation as far as I could see through the opaque liquid.
S: smoky and dark/roasted malts, backed by plenty of aromatic fruits--semi-sweetish, very malty, very roasty, very enticing~~
T: roasted coffee-beans on the palate decorated with a vanilla hint, balanced with a light, almost herbal, bitterness, while chewy dark-fruits and a long-lasting smokiness and moderate bitterness gradually expand knowing no boundaries...
M&D: silky smooth and soft for a stout (only later did I learn that it's meant to be an oatmeal stout) yet full of chewy dark maltiness and a brilliant depth. This is a full-bodied and 110% flavoured oat stout yet incredibly quaffable! This is by far my favourite beer from this Cambridgeshire-based micro-brewery!! Hightly recommended.