Draft at the Fenway Brewpub - Poured a dark black/brown in color with a creamy tan head. Aroma has elements of dark roasted malt, coffee and chocolate. Flavor is similar, but is slightly astringent (too much patent black malt)... more than I expected from the aroma. A good effort...

tap at salem refreshing thinnish in palate but good in flavor. spicey pepper and light cocoa and coffee togeather round out the flavor profile nicely enough. anise and soda like carbonation did a good job of accompanyment. adequate sweetness.

Page 71 of Michael Jackson’s Great Beer Guide and this beer was a disappointment, with an essence of tin and it seemed uncharacteristicly thin for the style. Only 155 of MJ’s 500 Classic Brews to go. Had this on tap at the Fenway location as well.

Tap at fenway. Pours a deep brown almost blacok with a creamy head. Aroma of roasted malts, black charred almost smokey- light old coffee hints as well. More roast with nutty chocoalte malts, light sweetness, charred acrid burnt malts, and an astringent long finish.

On tap: The nose showed some smoke, anise and day-old coffee. The palate was rather thin and watery without much depth or concentration. Being an oatmeal stout I would have hoped for a more creamy mid-palate.