Oatmeal Stout
Backswing Brewing Company

12oz can - courtesy of The-Adjunct-Hippie - no date, but has been sitting in the fridge for a year - poured into a JWRC ale pint at 50F.

Pours a deep chestnut brown, sitting the colour of molasses in the glass. Nearly three fingers of creamy, airy head form with good retention. Slowly recedes to a large irrefulsr collar and a small island of foam.

Nose: Some dark roasted mslted barley with a secondary layer of even darker roasted barley. The aroma leans neither towards espresso, nor chocolate, though I can spot a 100% cacao note tucked in. There's also a lactose note in here, and while I could be mistaken, I could guarantee they added lactose. The overall aroma is surprisingly charred and even smoky. Rather than chocolate, brown sugar, and vanilla, I get an almost smoked brisket savoury note. Like rauchbier. Burned malt, charcoal, black treacle, and if I really dig, there's this sort of over-roasted salted peanut note. Like a bag of in-shell roasted salted peanuts, and one is just super dark and roasted. I get that. Very interesting.

Palate: Out of the gate, the beer in considerably drier than anticipated. I went from fairly certain to absolutely positive that there is lactose in this stout. The sort of rauchbier smoky note is very much there, but the beer itself isn't as charry or ashen as the nose led on. There is a nice malty flavour that helps add a touch of sweetness, and the lactose that I am 100% sure is in here also helps tamp down the roastiness. The roast itself is still pretty aggressive, though up front, the maltiness helps to balance that. Still, no typical espresso, cocoa, brown sugar, or toffee notes to be found. There is a touch of vanillin, a dry woodiness, and suggestion of spicy hops, until you reach the finish which is entirely burned grain, charcoal, ash, smoke, and then finally ending on that burned peanut note from the nose. Smoky.

Mouthfeel/Body: The beer is medium-bodied, but quite light for a stout. It has a sort of full Irish dry stout feeling to it, with a creamy texture that simultaneously possesses a true crispness to it. Very drinkable body. Effervescence is on the lower side, and fine in nature. A faint amount of stickiness, though ultimately dry, with a drying finish.

Overall: This is a unique beer, I'll give it that. It isn't going to win any awards, but if you like rauchbiers and smoked lagers, as well as dry, charry stouts, then this will tick a lot of boxes for you. Do keep in mind that there is likely lactose in here, despite no evident mention of it. It's crisp, drinkable, flavorful, and dry. The kind of stout that could do well on a hot summer day. Those who prefer sweeter stouts may shy away from this one, but if you like heavy roast and all the ashy charcoal flavours it brings, pull the trigger on this one. A smoky dry milk stout.

 

12 oz can, poured into Tallgrass globe snifter.

Deep rich brown-black with a tall beige-brown head of 2 fingers. Recedes and leaves sheets of lacing on the glass.

Aromas of roasted barley, faint bakers cocoa, and very slight chocolate sweetness.

Flavor is of campfire, dark roasted barley, light smoke, tin, and cocoa. The harsh charred flavors compound on each other the more it is sipped, bringing forward more of that smoke and ash. Kind of like a s'more without the sweetness.

Feel is creamy and crisp but mostly smokey feeling, it has this acrid thing going for it. Dry, dry finish.

Overall if you like ashy or dry stouts, this is right up your alley. It's very intense and forward with its brazenly burnt profile.