Salem Smoked Oatmeal

This is lovely, brewed by a friend and colleague, I tried a few Salem beers recently and have been impressed. This is extremely small scale brewing but already there is real promise.

I've tried a California Style Beer and a Marzen. The Smoked Oatmeal - brewed for another friend's birthday no less. It's just come out of the larder, which I suspect is colder than the fridge at the mo so I've left the beer for a moment to open up and lose the chill. Dead good - there's something about mid strength stouts (5-7%) that's really working for me at the moment. I recently tried Coopers Best Extra Stout which was a revelation.

Salem's Stout is full of dried fruit initially on the nose but mellows and almost ages over a very short time to a deep treacle and burn caramel. The taste is complex with good body and a smooth texture - the result of the oats. Really, very tasty applewood character and nice smooth traditional malty/hoppy length... Well done Gordon mate.

Right I'm off for a quick Foghorn before bed... so to speak.