Young's Oatmeal Stout: Semi- Sweet Goodness from the Ram Brewery
Apr 01 '02
The Bottom Line Young's oatmeal stout is a good, semi- sweet version of my favorite beer style.
Young’s beer is brewed by the Ram Brewery, a famous landmark located in Wandsworth, England. This brewery produces many fine beer products, with an impressive lineup of approx. 20 different malt beverages to choose from. The beer I’m going to review today is Young’s Oatmeal Stout, a good- tasting stout brewed exclusively for sale in the United States.
Basic Characteristics of This Beer:
Poured into a mug, this beer is very dark in appearance. It looks black, unless you hold it up to a light, in which case you can see that it’s actually a very dark maroon color. The foam level of this beer is impressive. It produces a hearty, tan- colored head of foam that’s creamy and lasts a good amount of time.
The aroma of this stout is sweet and earthy, like you would expect an oatmeal stout to be. The flavor of this beer is not quite as sweet as I expected. It’s more sweet than dry, but not as sweet as other types of oatmeal stout. On a scale of 1 to 10, with 10 being the sweetest, I would rate this beer with a 6.
Many complex flavors are present in Young’s Oatmeal Stout. You can taste roasted malt, chocolate, and a little bit of coffee. There’s a decent amount of hop flavor, too. They brew this beer using fuggles and goldings hops, and you can taste them in the finish. The aftertaste is one of burnt malt, and it lasts for a long time.
When I first poured this beer to sample, the bottle was taken straight from the refrigerator, so the beer was about 40 degrees in temperature. This was too cold, really, but I started to drink it at that point anyway, just to see what it would taste like. It was ok, but as I expected, the flavor got better as the beer warmed up. More complex flavors could be detected, as I allowed the beer to warm.
This beer is sold in 550 ml bottles or 440 ml cans. Its alcoholic strength is 5 percent by volume, which is moderate to low, for stout.
Food Compatibility:
With a semi- sweet oatmeal stout such as this, I would suggest drinking this beer with certain desserts, like chocolate cake with whipped cream topping, chocolate cream pie, brownies, and most other sweet, chocolate- rich desserts. It would also make a good accompaniment to stews and steak. Also, it’s very good to drink as an after- dinner beer.
Final Thoughts:
If you have read many of my beer reviews here at epinions, you probably already know that stout is my favorite style of beer. I enjoy all types of stout- sweet, dry, imperial, oatmeal, etc. If the beer label says stout, I am naturally drawn to the product and anxious to sample it.
Young’s makes many good products, and this Oatmeal Stout is no exception. It’s not quite as sweet as other oatmeal stouts, so it might disappoint those who are expecting a malty, sugary- sweet brew.
The appearance of this beer, with its thick, creamy head of foam, is very pleasing to the eye. It has good complexity, and a nice malt- enhanced taste that’s roasty, chocolatey, and good- tasting.
Overall, I recommend Young’s Oatmeal Stout, to both the seasoned beer lovers of the world, and to novice beer drinkers who want to sample something a little different from the usual mainstream American beer products. I rate this beer 4 stars out of 5. It’s a tasty treat, for after dinner time, or any time!
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