Special Review - Samuel Smith Oatmeal Stout

I wasn't supposed to be reviewing, much less drinking, another beer today but the adjunct lagers from earlier left me feeling unfulfilled, to say the least. That's why I call this a 'special review' because I bought this beer on a spur of the moment whim. Man, I am so glad I did it...



I have been dying to try a Samuel Smith beer for quite some time now, they get great reviews but they are a bit pricey. Now I see why. I paid almost 5 dollars for this 18.7 oz bottle of Samuel Smith Oatmeal Stout and it was worth every penny.

This beer comes to us from Samuel Smith's Old Brewery at Tadcaster, North Yorkshire. They are one of the few remaining independant breweries in the U.K. They've been using their own strain of yeast since the early 1900s and the water used for brewing comes from a well sunk at the brewery over 200 years ago. Samuel Smith was first introduced to the U.S. market in 1978.


I took some of the foil off this big British bottle, popped the cap, and proceeded to pour it into my authentic British Imperial Pint 20 oz nonic pub glass. This beer poured black and thick and immediately gave me almost 3 fingers of abundant, khaki colored head. It is black in the glass but shows a red tinge around the edges when held up to the light. The nose is of sweet chocolate, roasted malt and a touch of coffee. The smell is similar to, and as inviting as, the aroma of fresh baked chocolate chip cookies. Then the time comes to taste it...

Heaven..!

Sweet, thick, deliciousness. Chocolate and oats and espresso with some drying bitterness on the finish. Wow.

This beer is full bodied and the mouthfeel reflects that. It is thick but in no way syrupy, it coats the tongue beautifully. It coats the glass beautifully too, I'm down to the last inch and there is still almost a 1/4 inch of head...

This is possibly the best stout I have ever had. It is most definitely the best oatmeal stout I have ever had. Ever.

I don't know what else to say. Obviously, I'm a fan of the style to begin with but wow, I didn't expect this. This is simply an amazing beer and an unequivocal Glass FULL beer, so full in fact that the glass is overflowing. This beer and the Oaked Arrogant Bastard I had on tap a few weeks ago are sitting alone at the top of my Utterly Amazing Beer list. Go see for yourselves, you won't regret it. Cheers, and thank you Mr. Smith!