This is IT! I remember the very first time I had a Sam Smith’s.  That is pretty remarkable since the first time was when I was 22. It was a Nut Brown Ale and it was special. When I started appreciating stouts and porters,  Samuel Smith’s Oatmeal Stout was a game changer for me. It is deceiving because you can crack open the bottle and  be disappointed with the lack of a stimulating aroma. The joke is on you if you stop there. (Who would?) Sam Smith’s has figured out a way to hold everything back until you actually imbibe.

The taste is strong and smooth. There is a chocolatey sweetness to it. This is not Hershey’s chocolate, this is like the stuff that my mother-in-law brough back from Estonia: rich, smooth, bittersweet and nutty. The taste sticks with you and finishes pretty much the same way it starts except that the bitter goes away. I remember drinking this with Dave and Brian back in the day and all of us being literally blown away and adding it to the top of our mental best-beers-of-all-time list.

I would love to get your thoughts on this beer as long as you are 21 or over. Please comment below and don’t forget to rate it!

Chocolatey, roasted, nutty. This is a light stout that does not have a true, distinct scent. The color is a deep, ruby red with a milky tan head with a touch of red.

I tasted chocolate, roasted nuts, coffees, ashtrays, cigarettes and cigars in this disappointing offering. Particularly at $4.00 per bottle, I was expecting this to be on par with Young’s Double Chocolate Stout. I admit that the bar is set very high by my special occasion beer, Samuel Smith’s Oatmeal Stout, but Young’s comes in at about .35 cents more for a single bottle. At the price point, I think it is OK to expect more.

Don’t get me wrong. Young’s Oatmeal Stout has some excellent qualities. It drinks a little more like a saspirilla than a beer. It has a certain hint of latte sweetness and the toasty flavor is quite delicious unless you happen upon the ashtray aftertaste. I hope that was an aberration as I clearly am not much a tobacco guy. This is disappointing in an i-was-expecting-it-to-get-into-harvard-and-it-is-going-to-babson way, not a my-honor-student-got-a-DUI-and-knocked-up-his-girlfriend way.