I've written about my love for dark ales before. What I tend not to like are overly complex ales, so a description I saw of this ale (imbibed at the Turk's Head in St Helens last night) on the Oakham Brewery website almost put me off:
'Expect spicy, fruity, blackcurrant and citrus lemon flavours with a hint of moreish grapefruit bitterness. All on a complex base of chocolate, dark and crystal malts with flaked oats added for a soft and smooth mouthfeel.'
Chocolate, dark, soft and smooth are all very promising signifiers and blackcurrant is one fruit that often adds to a beer's taste rather than over-complicating it, but all this stuff about lemon and grapefruit almost had me resisting and taking my chances with the many lighter ales on offer.
Instead, I went with my instincts and I'm glad I did. It may well be that lemon and grapefruit feature somewhere in the brewing process - I'm sure the brewery isn't misleading us on that point - but thankfully they're well-down in the mix, at least according to my palate. The US-brewed 5.2% ABV ale, first brewed in 2024, gets a big thumbs up for being everything a dark ale should be: rich, deep and satisfying.
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