Patience and deliciousness

Many moons ago - or maybe it was one, I'm not sure - I decided that a return to slightly cooler than normal weather had warranted the purchase of a return to cold weather beers. On the advice of a former roommate, I went with Samuel Smith's Oatmeal Stout, which I would only later learn was also the first beer of Mr. Jeff.

Sadly, I wound up feeling quite ill that day, so this brew was forced to sit and wait for another cold day to come. Rochester being the trusty city that she is, that day finally came last night, and I took full advantage.

I'm going to be blunt about one thing: this is a sexy, sexy drink. Deep, deep brown like the eyes of the girl I keep having strange dreams about, with a head like...well, that's none of your business.

The aroma was very similar to...chocolate milk? I don't know how that works, but I couldn't stop thinking about that tasty dairy drink as I sniffed this beer. But enough about that, let's talk about taste.

This stout, simply put, is yummy. Its body hinges just below the thickness I had expected, but calling this medium-bodied would be wrong. There was also a little more carbonation than I'd anticipated, but not so much that it detracted from the taste. Cold, this tasted a little like it smelled - like a big, frothy glass of skim chocolate milk. But as it warmed up, the sweetness started to come through and provide that warmth I was hoping for. This is one of the first times that I actually took the time to sip more than guzzle, and the bottle ended up lasting a little over 45 minutes. Down to the last ounces, there was still a pretty solid one finger head, which came as a welcome surprise.

And since this is available (somewhat) cheaply at Hegedorns, I have a feeling this isn't the last time we'll cross paths. And yes, I know this wasn't meant to be served in a Weizen glass...but come on, it just looks so hot!