For those of you who have been paying attention, I've been on sort of a hiatus. I started a new job about a month ago and took some "time off" from writing to work on getting adjusted and put my focus on learning the ropes. Due to receiving many fan letters of people who have been desperately in need of my column, I have decided to return now, before any more damage is done to their psyche. Not much has changed, weird coincidences still occur that seem to end up corresponding to whatever beer I plan on reviewing, and last night was no different. I was out on a walk with my girlfriend when we happened upon a wandering dog. Being dog people, we called and petted on the obviously lost dog. Luckily the little guy had a phone number tag on his collar, and after several tries we got in contact with his owner who we met up with to return him. This was where the story got interestingly funny as the gentleman proceeded to thank us and tell us that he was an established voice actor in New York who, while a small fish in a big pond there, was relatively well known here (B.T.W. neither of us knew who he was). This goes on for a little longer, but I won't bore you with the details (it's one of those "you had to be there" sort of stories)...on to the beer.
After our run in with fame we jaunted to Old Town Wine & Spirits and the beer that immediately jumped out at me was Rogue Shakespeare Oatmeal Stout...in honor of our new, famous actor friend of course. It pours a lovely dark brown with a thick, rich head. Maybe it's just because I'm off my game, or maybe I've lost my pallet over the course of 5 weeks, but I wasn't overly impressed from that point. I thought that it was a little thinner on the mouth feel aspect than I anticipated and that I picked out more bitter tones to the flavor than chocolate or roastiness. I checked online this morning and the consensus on Ratebeer.com and Beeradvocate.com is that this is a phenomenal brew, which makes me think that maybe I have indeed lost my touch and should hang up the 'ol beer mug. Beeradvocate.com gives it a score of 94 and Ratebeer.com takes it all the way up to a 99!! Here's where I'll say that it is not a "horrible" beer. If you offered me one at a party I wouldn't scoff and pour it out at your feet, I'd drink it and be happy. Now, if I went to your fridge at said party and found this sitting next to say, Bell's Double Cream Stout, you'd probably end up missing a bottle of Bell's.
Anyways, I'm glad to be back writing, I WILL NOT be hanging up my beer mug, and I hope you continue to read along. As always "Liking" Lville Beer on Facebook and following us on Twitter, Foursquare, and Pinterest is always appreciated. Then when I tell these stories you will really feel like you were there when it happened.
