Sail & Anchor Brass Monkey Stout

Wow, I had this on the recommendation of the barstaff. It was poured thru a creamer(nitrogenated-what a waste!), and had the look of the Australian version of guinness. Thats where the comparison stops as I can now see why this beer just beat Coopers and Cascade (the barman again!) as the flavour of roast, chocolate and creamy vanilla really gets the senses going. I had another, then another!

Draught (S&A, Freo): Looks great, black with a tight beige head. Unfortunately the aroma is mainly masked by the nitro head. Just a touch of chalky roast there. Flavour is suprisingly bland, a little bit of choc and roast. Thin in body, and dissapointing. I remembered this being a lot better.

Draught from the Sail & Anchor pub in Freo. Looks perfect-- black with a thick & creamy beige head that hung around for a long time. Terrific aromas of chocolate milk, banana, coffee, and darkly roasted malt. Sweet on the palate with delicious roasted malt, chocolate, and coffee flavours. I did not find the astringency or marmite character noted by the previous rater, but then again I probably had a completely different batch (different bar afterall). Overall I thought it an exceptional sweeter stout.

Re-rate:- Tasted on draught at the Sail & Anchor pub brewery, Fremantle. Much drier now, lightly pasty and with a strong presence of smoky malt and coffee beans. Mouthfeel is smooth though the body seems a little thinner than I can remember. I like it a lot more this time around, just has session written all over it.
Tasted on draught at the Brass Monkey hotel, Northbridge. Pours black and opaque with a dense creamy tan head (nitro kegged) that laced rings down the glass. Little aroma bar some burnt grains. Quite malty in the mouth, medium bodied and low in carbonation, reasonably sweet with a good balance of roasted smoky malt and a little length in the dry malty swallow. Became a little astringent only after my second pint and a marmite-type flavour became quite prominent replacing the sweet flavours. Still not a bad stout that goes down with reasonable ease.

This is a nitrogenated beer. Nevertheless it is a great black and deep hued beer with the expected chocolate malt body. There is an understated nose but this is backed up by the flavour, which is more like a Beamish style stout w hich is accommad ing without being OTT. Yeah, Ilike it.