Buckerfields Swans Oatmeal Stout

Dark brown, no real head to speak of. Aroma of demerara, with hints of prunes. The flavour is toffeeish, slightly earthy with notes of brown sugar and light chocolate. Not all that roasty - has a foreign-stouty kind of character. Hint of black malt tartness in the finish.

Draught at the brewpub, hand pulled
Almost black color. It has the aroma of the coffee brewed in the office. And the flavor too. Just a bit sweeter, less dry, maybe more fruity. Very common.

Sampled from 650 ml bottle in Montreal on Glouglouburp’s roof at the tiggmtl-returns/MartinT leaves for Japan party, June 17 2007. Opaque inkiness even in the bright sun, a bit of off-white head....big chocolate-roasty aroma, fairly forward and muscular, but diacetyl is sneaking in behind....sweet, sugary (maple), completely unbalanced on the tongue, little-to-no roast, the saccharine qualities overwhelm and there is no escape from a toothache here....dull mouthfeel, low carbonation.....well, it was better than the Hockley that preceded it, I’ll give it that.

My Bottom Line:
The butterscotch component of this Sweet Stout starts off as an able companion to the crunchy roastiness, but builds with every sip and its exaggerated essence soon overrides pleasure.

Further Personal Perceptions:
-A veil of foam tops the darkest brown.
-The roasty dryness aptly cuts the most of the caramel sweetness.
-This roastiness lingers nicely, even bringing dark chocolate into the mix.
-Carbonation is soft, and would’ve worked with the healthy body.
-Supporting hops are found within the back roastiness.

Bottle.

Draft at the brewery
Deep brown color. Up front it’s thick, black, smoky imperial-like, but it falls apart on the back of the tongue. Wet, watery, simple coffee flavors. Some light bourbon, nuts and dark fruit notes in the nose, which is nice, but overall it suffer too much from simplicity.