Merry Christmas, everyone! Today, after a few undocumented holiday beverages, I have returned and I bring you Collingwood Freestyle Series Vanilla Oatmeal Stout by none other than The Collingwood Brewery in...wait for it...Collingwood, Ontario.
If you follow this blog, first thank you very much - you rock, and you'll know that I love me some black beers. This beer is black as I could ask a beer to be. It doesn't have much along the lines of carbonation, so there's no creamy head on it. You know what though? That's not a bad thing. As a man with facial hair, that esthetically pleasing foam that makes Guinness look so damn good in the glass is a pain in the ass sometimes.
It's 5.5% so not much off the average, and just stiff enough to get the point across.
Now let's dispense with the talking and get to the drinking.
Friends, that is a good beer. I honestly don't taste much if any vanilla, but as a stout it's a gooder. The toasted malt flavours are somewhat subdued, actually, but still tasty. The flavour sort of slips out for a bit while the party is just getting started, and then quietly sneaks back in at the end of the night. There's a slight aftertaste, and it's a nice reminder of the time your tastebuds got to spend with a full and delicious brew.
Good times.
Would I take this beer to a party if I was 19 and going out to get shit faced with my friends? Nope. Those days are so far behind me, I can't remember what the point of all that business was anymore. Now as a grown up sophisticated fellow, I would gladly sit my old arse down with a couple close friends and talk about life, the universe, and everything with a pint of this beer in hand.
I would drink this beer out of a stout glass because it's literally called a stout glass. The fine folks at The Collingwood Brewery say to enjoy this beer in a standard pint glass. I'm not going to argue with the folks that actually brought this beer into the world, so I leave the choice of glassware to the drinker. No matter what you use, if you like stouts, you'll enjoy this one.
My rating: 9/10.
My lovely wife is my second sipper and she's usually alright with the black beers. This time though...
My wife's rating: 1.5/10 Ouch!
There you have it, friends. Collingwood Freestyle Series Vanilla Oatmeal Stout brought to you by The Collingwood Brewery in beautiful Collingwood Ontario. Check out the website at thecollingwoodbrewery.com for a look at their line up.
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