Some stouts

Just because it's high summer doesn't mean you can't drink stout. Here's two that came my way recently.

The first is a chocolate oatmeal stout from Lineman, called Smudge. It looks full-bodied to begin with but after a few minutes in the glass the head fades away to nothing, leaving it looking flat and thin. It smells nicely rich, however, full of smooth milk chocolate. The mouthfeel is a little on the thin side for 5.2% ABV, going for crisp chocolate wafer with some bonus charcoal roast. Still it's lovely and clean, suffering from none of the hot vapours which can sometimes plague beers like these. I expected sweeter, and am a little let down by the lack of candy or fudge. I feel bad about it though: this is a typically grown-up Lineman beer, a work of high quality and understatement, not a daft novelty. Adjust your expectations accordingly.

We go up to imperial level with Raglan Road, from Brehon. This is not to be confused with the Raglan Road red ale which the brewery badges for Lidl and Wetherspoon. I suppose there's only so much Kavanagh material available. Here, it's an 8.8% ABV imperial stout aged in whiskey barrels, provided via the Jack Ryan whiskey brand. It's fully black and there's a lasting head the colour of old ivory. This is quite a sweet and wholesome affair, tasting above all nutritious, of honey and porridge and home-baked fruitcake. There's a bit of liqueur-filled chocolates too, for something fancier. That leads to a more serious concentrated booze element in the finish, almost akin to marker-pen solvent, but which adds to the warm richness rather than interrupting anything. The advertised strength seems like a bit of a low-ball: it could pass for double figures, easily. It's excellent stuff, though. I'm not sure how commonplace it is (my bottle came from Molloy's) but it's worth keeping an eye out for.

When you're done with your sour fruities and your cold sessions, stout will still be here for you.