Softly Falling Darkness Oatmeal Stout
Sly Fox Brewing Company

Pours dark brown, edges highlight clarity; creamy light brown head, puffy, concentrates nicely as it collapses to a nice cap; above average lacing.

Nose initially a little week, brings some dry ashy roast character and watered down char, nondescript sweet; sort of like artificial cherry or something along those lines, this will sound weird but its making me think of luden's; pleasant little coffee emerges as it warms up a bit.

Taste brings much more to the table than the nose; oat laden rich bittersweet dark chocolate, little hit of espresso on the finish; leads to lingering char in the aftertaste and retro-nasal; little bit of that cherry vibe but its weak and no where near what my nose hinted at.

Mouthfeel is two faced, it presents itself just a tad watery as it enters but then the rich full feel of the oats kicks in and it gets semi-full medium body; drinks easy, pleasant creamy carbonation coats the tongue; as the sip goes down there is a nice bitterness that bites the back of the tongue and throat.

 

On draught in the brewery taproom.
A dark pour with scant lacing.
Pleasant roasted malt flavor, but a little lighter in body and mouthfeel than expected. The malty chocolate flavors fade quickly into a dry finish.

 

A bit thin up front. Texture and taste are just fairly light for a stout. 6% ABV almost feels too high, it drinks like a 4%.

A bit generic, not the worst beer in a pinch but prefer others.

I had this on draft 12/17/23 @ the Hopleaf.

Mostly opaque dark brown appearance.

Nice tan head; strong lacing remained.

Roasted oats, mild dark chocolate & faint cream notes in the nose.

Creamy, medium thick mouthfeel.

Dark chocolate, roasted oats, cream & faint fresh earth flavors.

Oatmeal stout excellence; a borderline stunner. I need to have this on cask...

 

Canned in n a stubbie little crafty craft canned and delivered from a beer order place
Pours a jet black body with nice tight tan head
Aroma is glucose & treacle
Flavour is dark sugars and soapy coffee

Can. Deep ancient oak in colour. Thin, dense head.
Toasted wholemeal bread smell with a suggestion of coffee and cocoa.
Tastes similar. Some vanilla and milk chocolate. A lightly charred bitter finish. A good balance of flavours.
Smooth, soft carbonation. Medium body.
Fairly decent representation and easy to drink but without the body.

 

L - Poured from a can. Opaque deep brown with a ruby hue on the edges. Three finger frothy tan head that dissipated slowly. Light lacing.
S - Faint nose of dark chocolate.
T - Sweet malt upfront with an explosion of bitterness that lingers on the finish. Somewhere in all this is faint chocolate and caramel. The bitterness is too overpowering for an oatmeal stout.
F - Moderate carbonation and mod - thin body. This is a bit too thin for my liking.
O - I had high hopes given the name of this beer. However the softly falling darkness turned out to be an abrupt lights out when the bitterness overpowered the brew.

 

Sly Fox Brewing Co. "Softly Falling Darkness"
12 fl. oz. can "BEST BY:05/02/22 #427890 12:09" and sampled on 04/15/22
$2 @ Cherry Hill Liquor, Wine & Beer, Cherry Hill, NJ

Notes via stream of consciousness: It's been so long since I've had an oatmeal stout that I can't remember when it was. During that period I've also brewed dozens of NEIPAs with oats and I can now pick up on the flavor of oats in a beer really easily. BUT, can I pick out the oats in a dark beer that has a lot of richer character to it? Let's see. It's poured a very dark brown-black body beneath a creamy half inch of light tan foam. I can see some dark mahogany highlights at the base of the glass, and it seems to be clear. The head is holding quite well so far. In the nose I'm getting a very pleasant combination of cocoa powder, medium reddish caramel, and coffee bean. It's also subtly fruity and floral. Moving on, let's give it a sip. Ahhh, man, that caramel is nice and then you get a whole lot of roasted coffee in the finish. So, can I taste the oats? Not a shot in hell. There's too much going on. Even going into the finish when the caramel is fading but the roastiness hasn't hit yet there's just not enough of it. Forget about that though, this is a damned great beer! The combination of the medium caramel and subtle fruitiness is exquisite, and then you toss in the light cocoa powder and finish it with a rousing blast of coffee-like roastiness and you've got a symphony of flavor. The bitterness is firm, allowing the sweeter side of the malt to show upfront but combining with the roastiness in the end to deliver a dry finish. Sometimes brewers overdo the roastiness and it becomes harsh, or they overdo the dark malts and it becomes too acidic but neither of those are an issue here. As for hops I'm finding some leafy and tea-like notes but there's also a bit of floral character. I'm not sure if that's the hops, and that could actually be coming from the oats. Interesting. In the mouth it's medium bodied and smooth as expected with some extra proteins and a moderate, fine-bubbled carbonation. I'm more than halfway through the glass at this point and I still have a thin but solid surface covering of foam, and the walls of the glass are lined with an almost solid sheet of lace where the head once stood. That's impressive. If you haven't had this beer yet I suggest you give it a try.
Review #7,891

This was the first beer from Sly Fox that I had in ages, as I found it recently at Joe Canal's in Woodbridge. Indeed, I got drawn in by the label and it's description as it sounded like it wasn't terribly strong. That turned out to be the case with the end result being a beer that was plenty full, on the dry side, and true to stylistic form!

Of course, this poured a cola brown with a massive tan head that was full of big bubbles. That lasted for quite a while as the lacing left behind was quite thick and extensive, with each ring easily going all the way down to the next. No surprise that there a lot of oats in the nose along with some bitter chocolate, molasses, and roasted malt as the taste closely followed suit. Dark bread and sarsaparilla came through in the back as this was unoffensive, easy to drink, and a nice example of the style as it was well-balanced throughout my session.

Not a lot of carbonation of heft to this as I could have easily had another can after finishing this off. The hop bitterness was minimal as this felt like coffee infused with oats and nuts, as I wish this had a bit more chocolate to it. This had a "Best by" date of 5/2 on the bottom of the can but regardless of when this was brewed, it felt and tasted lively as it didn't last in my glass for very long. A bit of creamer and dark fruit stuck around my palate after this went down, as I'd easily reach for this again during the colder months. It was a small can, but there was plenty to enjoy here as Sly Fox did a good job with this brew. No doubt that this would be a year-round Oatmeal Stout!

Pours a opaque dark color with a nice two finger craggy head that lasts all the way down the glass. Scents of roasted hazelnuts and dark chocolate with some toffee scents as well. Medium to light bodied with light chocolate and coffee on the palate. Very smooth and easy drinking. Not sure this falls under the oatmeal stout category but it is a stout and a very good on at that.

Murky brownish,black appearance.
Body is above average with a bit of a thick creamy feel. Carbonation was a little strong which is the only minimal fault with this beer.
Aroma is toasted oats, roasted malt,coffee,very dark chocolate, earthy mildy sweet molasses.
Taste is everything the aroma promises,very mild sweetness takes a backseat to the bitter coffee dark chocolate. Toasted oats really comes through in a nice way.
This is a very good brewery and this is among my favorites from them.

Can into pint glass.

L: Dark brown, nearly black, with a light brown, slight, persistent head. Only a little lacing.
S: A little chocolate, a sweetness that's hard to place.
T: Chocolate, roasty. Some hop bitterness but not a lot.
F: Medium body, very dry. Smooth mouthfeel.
O: A solid oatmeal stout

 

Straight to the point stout very clean taste a bit hoppy but body is slick and smooth. A bit lighter in color than I expected good frothy foam good price. Would totally drink it again!

Nice light brown foam on dark, nearly black body. The taste is roasted bitterness with minimal hop flavor. A very well-made stout, especially if you like them on the bitter end of the scale.