Compass Baltic Night Stout

Compass
Brewed at Cotswold
Style: Stout
Oxford, England

Serve in English pint

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Looks pretty good. Good solidity to the colour,very little head. Nice classic aroma, warm barley, earthy roasted malts, subtle coffee, some metallic notes. Flavour has quite a tart attack, and the body is a little thin on entry, but after that the flavour pans out to be pretty good, good roastedness, touch of bitter chocolate, some coffee and cream - but some definite lactose flavours coming through, slightly sour milkiness, this is relieved though by the use of some bitter smokiness which is quite a pleasant intervention, I don’t know how deliberate the smoke is but it works well here. Palate is as I’ve said a little lacking, but a good effort, just a little thin, but at the same time a creaminess does develop as the beer warms up, but I would just want more. All in all though a very drinkable stout with above average complexity for a relatively new brewery, which shows great promise, a brewery to keep an eye on?

500ml bottle from Ales by Mail. A near opaque brown coloured beer that poured with a thick, dense & mostly lasting creamy light head. Dark fruit & liquorice aromas with touches of coffee, roasted malt & chocolate. Mildly lactic on the tongue with red to dark fruits & coffee. Slightly watery, empty mid-palate, light to medium body, soft palate texture, short & soft malt finish. Ok either side of the mid-palate but the watery, lack of heft in that respect let’s it down to a degree.

Bottle 50 cl, Westholme Stores. Pours black with a good tense brown head leaving lace. Aroma is chocolate, dry, roasted malty, ashy, a bit tary and has some fruityness. Flavor is acidy sourish, bready, medium roasted, a bit fruity and bitter. Finishes dry roasted and bitter.

[500ml bottle, Drinkmonger Edinburgh] Black pour with a very thin tan-coloured head, disappears very quickly. Roasted cocoa on the nose, bitter roast on the palate, finish is quite thin - but some decent roast beforehand. Touch of ash on the aftertaste [11122011]

Bottle from Drink Monger. Pours a lovely black colour with a ruby tinge. An initially thick, tan head dies away fairly quickly to lacing. Nutri-grain malt aroma with yeast, caramel and chocolate with a feint floral hop character. Definite Vegemite flavour which is interesting with coffee, chocolate and roasted malt characters also. Moderate carbonation and a slick mouth-feel despite a little CO2 prickle. OK.

Black body, light brown head. Roasted, dry, acidic. Very nice for a mild stout.

500ml bottle at Drink of Fulham, 2nd Feb 2011. Deep ruby with a small tan head. Nose is too sweet. Fruity, very sugary taste. Light palate. Interesting.

Bottle. Very dark brown with a beige foam. Aromas are coffee with chocolate and cream. Earthy peat with herbal liquorice. Smoky with cola. Flavours are chocolate with dry roast malts. Earthy and lightly nutty with a gritty, carbonated palate. Hints of dark berries with cola. Dry on the finish with dark chocolate bitterness. Decent.

[500ml bottle from Millets Farm Shop, Frilford, nr Abingdon] Pours black with a rapidly dissipating tan head. Chocolate and roast malt aroma. Fizz is more evident than I would normally expect or like in a stout, but oddly it seems to work against this one and is balanced against a mouthfeel which is oily and dry at the same time. Chcolate at first on the taste. Hops more evident than in most UK stouts - there’s some straw in there, some pepper too, and a maybe a hint of elderberry. Heavy roasted malt is not overpowering - it adds a smokey hint, and is in any case is balanced against some late Kahlua sweetness. I liked this stout from the off, and my enjoyment increased further the more I drank. A fine beer indeed - well done!

An oaky, smokey coffee aroma escapes from this beer on the pour to give a rich black body with small tan head which quickly fails. A spicy undertone complements the roasted coffee. The beer is very dry, which is how a stout would be with an oak and chocolate flavour. Long roasted barley finish.

Big disappointment. Just goes to show that you can’t believe everything you read. Blurb on bottle made it sound fantastic. Not so. Thin head disappears quickly.I don’t think it knows whether to be a malty porter or a dry stout, but it has a foot in both camps. Thin and lacking body, no noticeable hop taste, nor roast barley astringency, but lacking in sweetness too. Certainly not a dry finish. Would like to know how high a %age of the grist is Roast Barley. Muddled. Thankfully only bought the one bottle and no others from this brewery.bread, black, minimal head, light sweetness, lightly bitter, light body, thin feel, oily feel, soft carbonation,