Winter's coming! A beer for the off-season.

SOUTHWARK OLD STOUT
375ml 7.4%abv Woolworth's Liquor $3.90

Grabbed this when it was on special offer at the local bottle shop. Then I saw that it housed 7.4% alcohol so I decided to take a punt on two bottles!

Southwark sits in the shadow of both Coopers and West End breweries in South Australia, and I wasn’t expecting anything too spectacular from this beer.

I WAS WRONG!



Appearance: Dark espresso colour – almost black and impenetrable. Reasonably persistent beige/’cremer’- coloured head. 3/3

Nose: Roasted aromas of coffee, malt, caramel and dark chocolate sit on top of Christmas pudding-like raisin aromas. 7.4% alcohol quite well hidden here. 6/7

Palate: Smooth, dense, rich, almost viscous with the fizz creating an almost creamy mouthfeel. More toasty coffee, chocolate and caramel on the palate. Alcohol is very well hidden again here – had to check the bottle to make sure I’d read it right! Nicely balanced with sweet (plum pudding) and savoury (beef stock) characters. It’s very satisfying and feels like a treat, though it’s too rich (and strong) to make a good session beer. 8.5/10

Score 17.5/20

This is a cracker of a beer and a well-kept secret. I’m going to buy a slab for the winter. I used the other bottle in a beef and stout (was going to be Guinness) casserole – worked a treat here too with its big, bold, rich character (The catchword is ‘rich’). Now light the fire and grab your slippers...