Probably the beer I'm most looking forward to in my last out-of-state beer haul is this one. Samuel Smith is my favorite all around brewery. Solid, straight-forward beers with great taste and feel. Never trying to be more, or push an envelope, or to claim that someone's not worthy, all of their beers are solidly in the middle of the style guidelines and conservative. Perfect outlook on brewing beer. I have no idea what a Stingo is, but I can't wait to find out.
Pours hazy amber, with a moderate head, but it almost never goes down. Moderate carbonation in tiny bubbles. Obviously bottle conditioned.
Definite oak barrel aged smell. Not as scotchy as most American oak aged beers that try to be bigger than they should, but it smells solid. Malty, slightly scotchy, but no real bitterness and no alcohol.
Damn. This is exactly what a barrel aged beer should be like. Smooth and oaky, with a rich feel and taste. Slightly sweet malt, moderate bitterness that has no independent flavor.
This is better than any Belgian to me. No weird off flavors, but every bit of the complexity that you would expect in one of those beers. Fantastic beer. Worth every penny of the $11.50 I paid for the bottle, and I will have to find more.
Wednesday, December 2, 2009
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Damn, sounds good. It's not available in Texas? I see a lot of Samuel Smith products here.
ReplyDeleteI do too, which is why this one stood out. It's a seasonal/limited release, this batch was brewed in 2008. I don't know if it's not available, but I've never seen it here and Sam Smith is pretty much my favorite brewery so I would buy anything they put out (except for the organic lager...).
ReplyDeleteIf you can find it, buy it. Period.