Stonehenge Stout
Bull & Bush Brewery

 

 

Had on tap at the brewery.

On arrival barely one finger of mostly fine hkhali head with scattered bubbles was present. Retention isn't great with the head dissipating rather quickly. Body is a dark black.

Aroma is malty chocolate mocha, but in a no adjuncts sort of way. Roasty but sweet, with some light figgy esters. Pretty damn nice English easy drinking stout smell.

Taste follows the aroma very closely with the roasty sweet malty mocha thing as well as some caramel malt flavor sowing through. Roasty but soft and drinkable with a light bitterness.

The feel is a bit thin for what an American expects a stout to be, which is accentuated by an astringency that shows up in the finish. Not to say this isn't a full beer, but still a bit astringent after the malt fullness. Drinkable but certainly not light.

Overall this is a good stoud if you're into malty and traditional styles of beers. Not a revolutionary beer but that's not what I want from an English stout anyways. Could be a bit more velvety in the mouth and have better head retention though.

 

July 3rd, 2015 - Last on the tasting tour of Bull and Bush is the Stonehenge Stout. Very dark - and made darker in the deep, pub style lighting - with a nice roasted aroma that also matches the interior. But the palate is far too thin to be like a stout. And the stout causes me to reel back a little bit. It comes across as a thin Irish stout, with an off-taste. A terrible finish.

 

L: Pours a dark black with a small head that dissipates quickly and leaves several fingers of lacing.

S: Roasted malt, some cocoa, nice earthiness and a sweet caramel slightly beneath.

T: Roasted malt, some cocoa, a slight cola taste, and some earthiness.

F: Body is a ltitle light and carbonation slightly high.

O: This is an average stout a little too sweet and needs a heavier body.

 

 

Review from notes on a draught pour taken late 2012 at the Bull & Bush.

APPEARANCE: Half a finger worth of head. Tan in colour. Consistency is fairly creamy and thick, but head retention is downright bad (

 

 

 

On tap at the brewery into a shaker pint glass.

A-The beer is dark, dark brown. Just a little light gets through at the edges of the glass. My pour arrives without much of a head, but the little bit of grayish foam does stick around for a bit. Lacing is minimal.

S-The aroma is earthy and, as you would expect, heavy on the malt flavors. I sniff some roasted barley, black licorice, coffee, and cocoa. There is just a little hint of citrus hop in there too. Bitterness is moderate for a stout.

T-The beer tastes a lot like it smells. The earthy, roasted malts are still there, as is the little whiff of coffee flavor and black licorice. The malts are slightly nutty and definitely "brown," but there is a hint of citrus to lighten things up.

M-The body is medium in heft, but the carbonation is less creamy than I would like. The beer finishes a bit on the sticky side of things.

O-This is a nice beer, but not something that I would go out of my way to drink. Perhaps this guy is true to style (I cannot claim to have had a lot of true "English" stouts), but I found it to be above average, not great.

 

If you want a prototype English stout, look no further. Dark, frothy, and a little bitter, just like they like it across the pond. Order one of these on Friday night with the unlimited fish and chips special and you'll be an honorary Brit.

On tap at the Bull & Bush, poured into a pint glass.
Appearance - much darker than I expected based on some other reviews! In fact, this is pitch black with no light coming through. Medium, beige head that leaves decent lacing.
Smell - medium roast coffee and possibly a hint of vanilla.
Taste - definitely coffee and cream; smooth and enjoyable!
Feel - a milder body than I would typically like, though I had this in June, so it was appreciated!
Overall - a very nice stout to enjoy at brunch with some waffles!