All right, lets get some strong brews reviewed. Sorry I’m late today, John and I were exchanging regionally available beers and one of them happened to be the Founders Porter, one of today’s beers. This porter has a heavy black-red color with a light chocolate-colored head that dissipates quickly but leaves a layer of foam. The primary smell in this beer is a freshness that reminds me of bread or cookies. Maybe I’m just waxing a little nostalgic because it’s the holidays, the taste will seal the deal. The taste is more what I was expecting with a little surprise at the end. Conspicuous by its absence is the spicy and bitter hop note that a lot of lesser dark beers have which cements this beer as quality in my book. This beer takes the road less traveled and instead of chocolate/caramel and some of the more popular thick malted flavors, it goes the route of espresso. With a doughy feel, the primary taste is espresso followed by the refreshing hop addition: citrus. It is subtle but noticeable just before this brew transitions into the sweet licorice finish that lingers for a bit. I was torn at first because the finish does have a hint of molasses but I try to avoid that word where possible because it tends to evoke very strong blech reactions sometimes. This brew is great, especially for the first beer in the stout category. It is premature but if this beer picks up some momentum it could be the next Yeti Imperial Stout (the bronze medalist from Tournament #1).

So beer #1 today has medalist potential, what about beer #2, the New Holland The Poet Oatmeal Stout? It already gets style points in my book for 2 very thinly veiled Poe references (The Poet and the raven… You must love when I explain this to you). The beer pours to the stereotypical near-black for this division, but when held up to light a drinker can see the beer is not black, but a very deep red. Little head on this beer and what was there dissipates literally in the blink of an eye. This will be the first oatmeal stout I’ve had, and other than an oatmeal flavor I’m not expecting much? The smell is faintly detectable but hints of chocolate are the most noticeable. The taste is not what I was expecting, but that is a good thing. The flavor isn’t exactly oatmeal so much as it is barley and chocolate. The combination is something recognizable but I’m having a tough time putting it into words, its almost like a chocolate cookie but not nearly as sugary. The aftertaste has definite spicy notes, but not that grand spice finish that can be a turn off simply due to its magnitude. All in all this is a good beer, and a fine entry by New Holland into our tournament. It’s a light stout, if that’s possible. The kind of beer that the drinker should be wary of because more than a couple and you will be feeling it, but its a great beer to sip with friends or while unwinding for sure.

UPDATE: Click Here for Match Results!