Glencoe
Black Wolf Brewery

Sep. 2004: Cask at the Ipswich Beer Festival 2004, gravity dispense. Colour is black / dark ruby. Lovely aroma of dark fruits / prunes, English pipe tobacco, chocolate and coffee. Flavour is roast barley and oats on a surprisingly fruity background. Very drinkable. Fruity aftertaste - not what you expect from a stout, but nice! (And the beer is vegan - as if I cared!)

 

 

 

 

28th Sep 2012: random beer tasting evening, this 500ml bottle was shared with my Son-in-Law.

Pours a lovely deep black: on top a thick head of tan coloured foam, this falls away slowly to a thinner but still full covering as the beer level fell.

Couldn't find any 'wild oats' in the nose or taste: plenty of chocolate like notes though and other malty flavours (coffee for one) to be found in both aroma and taste wise.

Thought it might have been a bit richer and creamier: on the thin side for a stout in my opinion. Otherwise a fine beer and I'd love to try a cask conditioned one.

500ml bottle.

This beer pours a clear, very dark cola hue, with a bit of brightness at the edges when presented to the light, and two fat fingers of foamy beige head, which leaves a few spurts of random architectural lace around the glass as it slowly and evenly subsides.

It smells of melted milk chocolate, caramel malt, watery late-afternoon leftover coffee, and some musty, ashy hops. The taste is more chocolaty caramel malt - a tad toasted - with mild coffee and vanilla notes, balanced mostly by the sturdy leafy, earthy hops.

The bubbles are quite understated, the body a solid medium weight, and generally silkily smooth, but with just a very slight third-party astringency. It finishes rather off-dry, the chocolate and caramel malt ceding no quarter.

A pretty enjoyable English stout, overall - easy to put back, with enough weight to make you consider a bit of unnecessary restraint.

I do not know fully about oatmeal stout however if this is anywhere near an indication of the style I would welcome some more.

Poured a pitch black pint with little to no head, light brown clouds that quickly disperse.

A smell of chocolate and rich creamy porridge.

A dark chocolate, charcoal and coffee tastes swirl nicely and leave a most pleasant aftertaste.

very drinkable but is that where the problem is? Should it not be more stout in as much have more body?

A good beer none the less.

A 500ml bottle with a BB of Dec 2012. A recent introduction to Tesco. Described on the label as a premium wild oat stout, yet the ingredient list only mentions barley (no oats). Odd....

Poured into a tulip pint glass. A deep reddish-brown hue that appears black unless examined closely. Forms a small, off-white head of foam that lasts for a minute or two before collapsing. Aroma of dark roasted malt with notes of coffee, cocoa, caramel and vanilla.

Tastes of sweet dark malt with a roasty, bitter finish. Notes of roasted malt, burnt grain, coffee, chocolate, molasses, dried fruit and vanilla. Sweetish malt and bitter stewed hops mingle upon swallowing. Mouthfeel is smooth and tingly, but a tad thin for the style. Lightly astringent, with an aftertaste of roasted malt and coffee.

A decent stout, though I'm still not sure if it contains oats or not. Plenty of roasted malt and coffee flavour to be found. The only downside is the slightly thin mouthfeel. Also, despite the range of flavours on display, it lacks a certain 'je ne sais quoi' that prevents it from attaining greatness. Still, tasty and worth trying.