BEER REVIEW: 323

BREWER: Ridgeway Brewing, Oxfordshire, England

STYLE: Stout

ABV: 8%

VESSEL: 500ml brown bottle

DATE OF POST: 18th December 2023

 

SAMMY SAY’S…

Foreign Export Stout promises much.  A heady abv for a traditional stout, one might hope that the flavours in this brew are carried through.

So what are the flavours at play here?  Well, there’s coffee dominating and playing second fiddle is liquorice.  Even though I am not a liquorice fan, it lingers in a good way with FES, only adding to the profile.

Where this stout falls short though, is with the depth of the flavour.  While it is very pleasant, there is almost no carry through at all.  Bearing in mind that this bad boy is packing above 6% abv, you would hope it was able to punch more in the mouth.  Truth be told, it comes across as a much lighter beer and that brings issues as if you’re going to drink a weighty beer, you want it to benefit from the added alcohol.

FES is a decent enough drop but it is nowhere near best in class.  I would have it again, but there are many more go to stouts for me.

Sammy’s Rating: 67%

 

JYMI SAY’S…

If I had tested this blind… it would have scored higher.

If this was 5ish%, I would have scored it higher.

But it was not tested blind and is not 5ish%, so, though we still have a decent enough score here (because it tastes lovely) I walked away from the test slightly deflated.

At 8% you should defo not be walking away thinking that the brew needed more oomph, but FES does. It really does.

And it is such a shame, because as mentioned, it tastes great… but unfortunately does not deliver where it should.

Jymi’s Rating: 77%

 

MUSE ON BOOZE RATING: 72%

MOB review next weekend: VANISHING POINT by INNIS & GUNN

Sammy & Jymi – Musing on Booze weekly since 2017

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M O B 2023