Have you ever looked at your breakfast and thought, “boy, would it be convenient if I could just drink this!”? Well, you certainly aren’t the first, and many attempts have been made to integrate breakfast ingredients into a beer. Recent attempts include the use of maple syrup in Tommyknocker Brewery’s Maple Nut Brown Ale, and both Brooklyn Brewing Company and San Juan Brewing Company have experimented with bacon flavored beers. Yes, bacon. In beer. But the very first style to incorporate breakfast ingredients is hands down the Oatmeal Stout.
Oatmeal Stouts replace some of the malted barley with another cereal grain, the oat. Oats, apart from their use in oatmeal, impart a creamy texture to this style which differentiates it from other stouts. The beer should smell of roasted grain, and often has a coffee like aroma. The hop aroma should be low, and from one of the United Kingdom varieties if present. When poured, this brown or black beer should form a creamy tan or brown head that should persist for some time. The flavor for this style can vary between medium sweet and medium dry, but should have a complex maltiness from the roasted grains and oats. This should be a smooth, full bodied beer with a silky or creamy texture.
Samuel Smith’s Old Brewery was opened by Samuel Smith after he inherited the brewery from his uncle William Smith in 1886. The brewery itself dates back to 1758, having been the home to several different companies since that time, and is considered to be the oldest brewery in Yorkshire and the only remaining independent brewery in the city of Tadcaster. The brewery still draws its water from its original well, and has continuously used a strain of yeast since prior to 1900. Samuel Smith’s has played a key role in the revival of the oatmeal stout style, reintroducing it in 1980 after virtually all production ceased prior to World War I.
The oatmeal stout poured black with at creamy brown head; when held up to the lamp, light was just barely visible through this beer. The aroma was quite pleasant, mainly consisting of roasted grain and coffee but with some sweeter chocolate notes as well. The mouthfeel for this beer is quite creamy, but quickly slides off the tough leaving a dry, almost astringent feeling. The flavor is a very pleasant dark toasted maltiness, but lacks the burnt taste that I’ve found in many other stouts.
Overall, this is a smooth, dark, toasted beer without the burnt flavors or bitterness of other stouts. I was rather surprised at how quickly the aftertaste from this beer disappeared, which combined with the pleasantly toasty flavor will make it an excellent pairing for a large number dishes. In fact, the Brewer’s website lists everything from a traditional ploughman’s lunch to aged cheese, sea food and pizza. I highly recommend giving this beer a try, especially if the only stout you have tried is Guinness.
No comments:
Post a Comment