Brains Original Stout, 4.1%abv. (English Stout)

Coming in a 500ml brown bottle, BB 30/11/2013, served cool in a straight imperial pint glass.

3.5/5 Appearance: pitch black in colour, coming with mild carbonation and a very restrained layer of light khaki beer head.
3.5/5 Smell: mildly stinky-roasty aroma comes with a treacle-ish sweet edge, on a thick bedrock of gristy black malts laced with touches of calcium pills and chocolate syrup.
3.5/5 Taste: a smooth swallow of roasty-coffee-ish malts is ensued by lots of hops on the balance with a substantial bitter profile, yielding just a faint aroma but explicit herbal notes & spiciness are still there to be enjoyed. The lingering undertone reminds me of black sugar, a fair bit of black stone-fruits as well as burned nuts. Overall, the balance between a decent acidity & bitterness is truly un-missable.
3.5/5 Mouthfeel &4/5 Overall: softly-carbonated, medium-bodied, lubricating yet generally light on the palate; this is a quaffable stout with all the good quality to offer without being too rich or heavy. Nice.

--Yau (20/05/2013)