Young’s Oatmeal Stout

Last night I had Young’s Oatmeal Stout.  I wasn’t overly impressed by it, but it was still good and worth trying.  Most oatmeal stouts I’ve had tend to be a bit creamy and smooth.  This one was a bit on the bitter side and not quite as smooth as I expected (I was hoping it’d be similar to Samuel Smith’s Oatmeal Stout).  Anyway, the beer poured a dark black color with ample carbonation and a thick light brown head (about 3 fingers thick).   It smelled of roasted and chocolate malts.  The flavor starts out with that roasted malt flavor and moves to a bitter chocolate/coffee flavor and ends with a slight hops bitterness.  It was smooth, but not as smooth as I would have wanted.  There seemed to be a bit too much carbonation in it.  Regardless of that, though, the beer was still very drinkable.  I would try it again, but not while expecting something super smooth and creamy.