What luck for me, a good stout on a good long weekend! Samuel Smith's Oatmeal Stout looks promising, as those English stouts do tend to be what I like (oh, someday I'll pick up a Cream Stout again).
It's nearly black, although not quite, with a little beige fuzz for a head. The fuzz does stick around, though. It has a robust aroma, with deep, dark fruit in it, slightly chocolatey, hint of licorice, no coffee that I can detect. The taste is surprisingly simple compared to the aroma, just a hint of sourness and ease of drinking. A little bit of plumminess bubbles up after a while, but the beer remains uncorpulent, and quick to go down the throat. There's a pleasant seasonalness to it, and a touch of dessert, making it a fine evening drink.
It might have been less of a hassle to just buy an advent calendar, although there is something kind of joyful in making choices yourself. It is a little hard to explain to people in the beer stores just what I'm looking for though, since most people just don't pick out beers by how well they go with a song. Going with the season is a little easier, just pick up a lot of ginger, chestnut and Belgian Christmas ales. Maybe too easy?
