Hearthside
Simple Roots Brewing Company

 

Purchased this several years ago on a trip up to Vermont, during that glorious time when I lived in New England. Y'know, I was only about an hour away from Boston then but I'll guarantee I went to Maine or Vermont more times than I went into the city...

Anyhow, this has been sitting in my cellar every since and I never gave it another thought. I'm reviewing it in light of its age, naturally.

The beer is very aggressively fizzy. Takes a long time to pour into a pint glass with any stability.

The pour is dark ruby with a lively brown head.

The aroma is pleasantly aged, very old-school American oatmeal stout: extra bitter barley and more hops than a UK-based variant. The malt has taken on a nice, light tartness but no fruity or syrupy nodes. Much better than I expected.

Tastes, again, much better than I was expecting--the only clear sign of age are some pleasant fruity esters on the aftertaste. It's a boilerplate oatmeal stout, but I've always been partial to the style. Bitter grain up front with some mild sweetness, light yeast in the middle, and then some spicy hops to finish things off.

This was poured into a mug. The appearance was basically a black color with a one finger white foamy head that dissipated within less than a minute leaving some light speckled lacing roaming yet sliding into the beer. The smell had a rich to sweet coffee to roasty blend of sweet chocolate. The taste took all of those previously mentioned flavors to combine and lead to a sweet and dry roasty aftertaste and finish. On the palate, this one sat about a light to medium on the body with a fairly decent sessionability about it. The carbonation seemed appropriately styled and was good to me. Overall, I say this was a nice oatmeal stout. It didn’t come across as grainy as some oatmeal stouts do. Perhaps a bit silkier in texture. Still, one I would have again.

 

 

 

The head did not last as long as I would have expected, but this was a very enjoyable oatmeal stout.

Robust roasted flavor, on the rustic side. Chewy mouthfeel, as the kids say. This stout has Vermont written all over it. Straightforward and simple. No gimmicks. Really interesting contrast to last night's Juxtaposition blonde stout from Burlington Beer.

 

22oz bottle purchased as a single from Winooski Beverage.

Poured into an imperial pint glass, formed a 1/2" dark tan head over the opaque dark brown brew. Head fades slowly, with lasting lace. Aroma is roasty grains and oats.

Taste is dark sweetness to start, oats in the middle, and balanced close. Velvety mouthfeel, and drinkability is nice and easy. Nice brew. Nice brew.

 

 

 

 

 

 

A delicious Oatmeal Stout from a very small VT brewer. Picked it up at Beverage King in Winooski and can't find it much outside of Burlington. Big malty and just that pleasant hint of coffee "bitterness"... Poured black with light brown head and had excellent lacing on the glass... Not as "thick" as some stouts which I found very enjoyable.

Poured from bomber into large tulip. Pours typically stout-black with a thin light brown head that leaves minimal lacing. Aroma is dominated by roast malt followed by hints of caramel and brown sugar. Taste is also roasty, with just the slightest hint of coffee. The taste really opens up more as the beer warms. Mouth is slightly thin, but also feels somewhat better as the beer warms. Overall, a solid, though not exceptional oatmeal stout.