Samuel Smith's Oatmeal Stout

[TrojanAnteater]

This was the first beer in a while that on my first sip I said "WOW".... and I did say that in capital letters. So creamy and just the right amount of sweetness. It was quite an experience..... this is amidst other beers I've had recently that are excellent.....but there was just something about this stout.

[corkybstewart]

This is the beer that launched my homebrewing journey. We were able to buy it for a year or 2 and then it disappeared from the shelves. I brewed a couple of pale beers and then started working on my oatmeal stout recipe. I need to buy a Sammy Smith and compare with my oatmeal stout to see if I did well.

[Mill Rat]

Quite a few years ago I bought my wife a case of SS Oatmeal Stout as a birthday presents as she liked it so much. A couple of weeks ago, she got a local store to order in case. She got to the store a few days after the call telling her the order was in. When she got there, only two 4-packs were left. She bought both, of course, but once she had them home she was glad that she only got eight bottles. She says our homebrew is that much better. Corky, I've little doubt you'll find the same to be true.

[dparsons]

It is a very good beer though. It was that very beer that marked the last BMC I purchased.

[Gordonstoun]

Try their Imperial Stout, too. It's quite good.

[TrojanAnteater]

Originally posted by Gordonstoun
Try their Imperial Stout, too. It's quite good.

I have one of those ready to go. I hadn't had any imperial stouts until a week ago, when I had a '05 Stone RIS- VERY good. Now on deck I have a Victory Storm King, Port Brewing Santa's Little Helper, Samuel Smith Imperial, so i'm looking forward to see how those stack up to the Stone, although I'm thinking of aging the Santa's little helper for a while.

[cewldre]

The oatmeal is excellent and I will be having the Imperial Stout here very soon indeed.

[corkybstewart]

Old Rasputin was my first Imperial stout, that's what I modeled my recipe after. Samuel Smith is good, but it's not a very imperial Imperial, kind of watery for the style.

[Stonch]

It surprises me how much credence Sam Smith's beers are given in the US. As a Londoner, a city with many SS pubs (despite it being a Yorkshire brewery, far to the north), I can honestly say I don't think of them as being a particularly interesting brewery. Yes, they brew lots of different styles, but the main appeal is easy availability and price - their pubs are the cheapest in the city.

The Oatmeal Stout is better than most of their beers (some of which are really terrible) but isn't really something worth sending all the way across the Atlantic to you guys!

Cheers

Stonch

http://stonch.blogspot.com

STONCH'S BLOGSPOT

[Gordonstoun]

Well, you have Young's and Fuller's, so you certainly aren't deprived, but those of us on the other side of the "Pond" remember when we couldn't get an Oatmeal Stout, except Young's or Sam Smith's, so we have a soft spot in our heart for them.

Personally, I think Samuel Smith's is the best of the lot (except, possibly, for the one from Anderson Valley, in California ["Barney Flats"][when I used to brew, most of my beers were put up in Barney Flats bottles]....and if you haven't tried that one, you really ought to, because it is splendid...). I also am quite fond of Samuel Smith's Nut Brown Ale; and I have tried many of them (competitors, I mean).

I also will note here, that I have never had a bottle of any beer from Samuel Smith's that was "off"; I'm not sure I can say that about any other British brewer. Quality control is foremost at SS.

Caledonian, of Edinburgh, also has a good handle on quality control.

[Stonch]

Easy to maintain quality if you pasteurise all you beers, as Sam Smith's sadly do.

One problem with Sam Smith's beers in London is that all the bottles are served straight from the fridge in their pubs - and because the bottles are not available in supermarkets (stores), that's the only time I get to try them. As a result it is difficult to enjoy them at their best.

STONCH'S BEER BLOG - http://stonch.blogspot.com

[Gordonstoun]

Barney Flats is bottled on its lees. Try it, if you can find it. Also, try "Poleeko Gold" from the same brewery.

I am at the point where the only bottled American beers I buy are from Anderson Valley.

BTW, these are at their best in the 22-ounce bottles.

[MichaelM]

My local Krogers had some nice Sam smith holiday packs with a pint of Oatmeal stout, Nut Brown Ale and Pale ale and a logo pint glass (US pint unfortunatly so you cant get the whole bottle to fit in it :( ) I really enjoyed both the Oatmeal and the Brown Ale... havent opened the pale ale yet but will soon...

[TrojanAnteater]

Originally posted by Gordonstoun
Barney Flats is bottled on its lees. Try it, if you can find it. Also, try "Poleeko Gold" from the same brewery.

I am at the point where the only bottled American beers I buy are from Anderson Valley.

BTW, these are at their best in the 22-ounce bottles.

Interesting Gordon, I tried the AV Oatmeal Stout a couple weeks after I had the Sam Smith's and thought it was VERY bland. The moutfeel was not up to par at all, in fact it reminded me of a slightly less roasty porter. It was drinkable, but really disappointing to me as far as an oatmeal stout would go. This was only a single 12oz bottle that was purchased though.... is there really a difference in the 22oz??

[dparsons]

Originally posted by Stonch
It surprises me how much credence Sam Smith's beers are given in the US. As a Londoner, a city with many SS pubs (despite it being a Yorkshire brewery, far to the north), I can honestly say I don't think of them as being a particularly interesting brewery. Yes, they brew lots of different styles, but the main appeal is easy availability and price - their pubs are the cheapest in the city.


I think there are 2 factors involved in this occurring:

1. When you sell something you split your investment between making the product and marketing the product. Exporting requires more money to be spent on getting the beer on the market percentwise. That means you spend less making the product.

2. For a long time we had a darth of good beer over here. An average UK beer was better than what was available in US beers.

[Stonch]

Good points. Strange then, that nowadays beer lovers in Britain are champing at the bit to get a taste of some of the beers we read about over in the States!

The lack of availability of US craft brews in Britain is very frustrating... there's a real gap in the market. Even the likes of Anchor Steam and Sierra Nevada Pale Ale are fairly rare over here!

http://stonch.blogspot.com - STONCH'S BEER BLOG

[ratman03]

Sam Smith's Old Brewery Pale Ale is excellent. Let it warm up to proper temp, and there is a lot of complexity there.

re: US Micros in Europe - I wonder if part of this is simply a supply issue: Can Sierra Nevada realistically brew enough beer in Chico to serve Europe? Also, do Europeans even like the taste of American micros? There is a big stylistic difference between most U.S. craft beer and European craft beer.

[surfadelic23]

I saw SNPA on tap at a pub in Borough Market... The Rake, maybe? So I guess some is making it to Europe. It was funny hitting there after a pubcrawl and seeing that tap...
I liked Sam Smith's OatMeal a lot. I'm kinda lucky in that my local has Youngs OatMeal on tap (not cask)...
Most of the guys I've met from England thought well of the American Micros they've had the opportunity to try. They pop up A LOT at various CAMRA festivals too...

[Gordonstoun]

Originally posted by TrojanAnteater
Interesting Gordon, I tried the AV Oatmeal Stout a couple weeks after I had the Sam Smith's and thought it was VERY bland. The moutfeel was not up to par at all, in fact it reminded me of a slightly less roasty porter. It was drinkable, but really disappointing to me as far as an oatmeal stout would go. This was only a single 12oz bottle that was purchased though.... is there really a difference in the 22oz??

Well, that's curious.

I reckon I've drunk a couple hundred bottles of Barney Flats, and my impression was of a very thick, chewy, silky, substantial stout with more mouthfeel than almost any beer. I didn't drink one, so much as eat it. I haven't had one in about 5 years, though, so maybe they changed the recipe.

They do seem to mature much better in the larger bottles. Almost any beer that is bottled on live yeast does. I brewed a lot of beer, and quickly learned to put my own up in 22-ounce bottles.:cool:

[P-Train]

Originally posted by corkybstewart
This is the beer that launched my homebrewing journey. We were able to buy it for a year or 2 and then it disappeared from the shelves. I brewed a couple of pale beers and then started working on my oatmeal stout recipe. I need to buy a Sammy Smith and compare with my oatmeal stout to see if I did well.

Me too!

[dparsons]

Originally posted by Stonch
Good points. Strange then, that nowadays beer lovers in Britain are champing at the bit to get a taste of some of the beers we read about over in the States!

The lack of availability of US craft brews in Britain is very frustrating... there's a real gap in the market. Even the likes of Anchor Steam and Sierra Nevada Pale Ale are fairly rare over here!



The lack of good beer left the door wide open for craft brews to come on the market here. Its basically the same mistake American auto makers made that opened the door for Japanese cars that are not the top sellers. We now have a motivated and expanding beer culture.

The beer market over there seems to be more rigid. I think it would take more of an effort to enter it. I also think a lot of the US micros don't have the extra funds to open up new markets and are working hard to keep up with their existing one. It make take a few years. I don't know what the state of agreements with European distributors is, but I think that is a big key.

[steveh]

Based on this thread, I was prompted to pick up a single of the SS Oatmeal at a local paint store last night -- very smooth and creamy, slightly roasty, medium bodied - quite a nice reunion with a beer I haven't tried in a long while.

To add some more history as to why the Smith products are big over here (because I remembered after seeing the label last night), Merchant DuVin, propelled by Charlie Finkel, was the first distributor to start bringing in more different imports to the US in the early to mid '80s.

The likes of Sam Smith, Pinkus, Aas, Celebrator, Orval, Kaiserdom, and even the Lindeman's products are on our shelves because of MDV. And yeah, I'd agree that they got me introduced to good beer and home-brewing.

S.

[cewldre]

I had the Imperial Stout last night and I thought it was good, but not a great Impy Stout. I was far more impressed with the Oatmeal Stout.

[Gordonstoun]

Originally posted by cewldre
I had the Imperial Stout last night and I thought it was good, but not a great Impy Stout. I was far more impressed with the Oatmeal Stout.

Are you speaking of beers from Samuel Smith, or from Anderson Valley?

I'm quite partial to Samuel Smith's Imperial Stout, although, strictly speaking, it isn't quite as heavy as it ought to be for the style. Flavor is quite good nonetheless. In fact, since I'm travelling this evening to a place where it is available, I think I'll buy some.

Unfortunately, it isn't sold locally.:confused: