Oakshire is a very small brewery founded in 2006 out of Eugene, Oregon. They only have a handful of beers available at any given time (three year round and a seasonal I think), but they've still managed to make a decent name for themselves in Oregon. I've never been a huge fan of espresso stouts, but I'm always open-minded and curious about any beer I haven't had before.
The aroma on this isn't very strong; most of what does shine through is quite faint. In addition to the espresso, there's definitely some very dark, burnt malt character. You can really get some chocolate hints in there as well. It works together quite well and makes for a very smooth aroma that is quite pleasant o the nose.
This one is pretty dark, but you can still manage to see through it just a little bit with some lighting. Pouring produced a huge head that left about one centimeter of froth for the entire duration of the drink. Consistent lacing all the way though; definitely a very nice looking beer.
When it comes to taste, my main criticism of this style definitely shines through, and that's that the espresso is just too dominating. From the front of the mouth to the back of the tongue it is one steady ride of espresso. There's nothing wrong with this; it's just a personal thing. It's pretty sweet and any lingering notes were definitely focused towards the tip of the tongue. There's definitely some burnt malt character and some chocolate towards the back of the tongue. The chocolate here overrides the hop character, which is definitely there but obviously more for balancing than anything else. You can pick up some pine from the hops. The body is a little thin and just a bit silky.
To be honest, I'd say this is one of the better espresso stouts that I've had. Though the espresso is too dominating for me, I like that you can still pick up on some malt and hop character. That alone makes it shine above most of the others I've had in this style.
No comments:
Post a Comment