Samuel Smith Yorkshire Stingo

Today post comes to us from one of my favorite breweries, Samuel Smith in Tadcaster England. This is their Yorkshire Stingo, 9.0% ABV. This brew is English Strong ale. English Strong ale is bigger than pale ale smaller than barley wine. They can be rich and complex, and some are usually bottle conditioned. The style has a big alcohol presence. Samuel Smith age this beer in oak casks (that date back more than a century) for over a year, so on this bottle it says that this beer was brewed in 2012. Yorkshire Stingo pours a copper color with a big light tan foamy head with big bubbles, which leave some wonderful lacing behind. I found very little amounts of light coming though the glass and some carbonation bubbles. The aroma is big with nice caramel aromas, with a hint of a faint raisin. The taste on Yorkshire Stingo is boldly bitter up front, but not hop bitter, more like an alcohol bitterness. Then you get more of the oak qualities towards the back like a nice vanilla, toffee and a slight darkish fruit. You really do taste the 9.0% ABV on this beer. The mouth feel is big full and rich. The finish on Stingo isn’t as strong and bitter as the start; it’s a bit sweeter with a nice dark fruit pudding like taste that leads into a slightly oaky vanilla aftertaste. Overall this is a B+ beer, as you drink the pint the beer grows on you, but this is a sipping beer. I like all the complexities in this and how the oak casks bring out such nice flavors. But I think that this beer style is on that people either like or they don’t, there aren’t any that are in the middle on it. Samuel Smith has surprised me yet again with a darn good beer. This is good English Strong Ale. So go and see how you like it. Cheers! Please Enjoy responsibly!