BEER REVIEW: 426

BREWER: Simple Things Fermentations, Glasgow, Scotland

STYLE: Stout

ABV: 7%

VESSEL: 440ml tin 

DATE OF POST: 5th December 2025

 

SAMMY SAY’S…

There’s something quietly defiant about this Scottish stout. From the stripped-back can—naked but for two thoughtfully placed labels, one the deep brown of the beer itself, the other the cream of its head—it signals its intent: no frills, no fuss, just flavour. The inverted text is a clever nod to duality, and the whole package whispers of craft, not shouty branding.

Poured, it’s a brooding presence in the glass—inky, opaque, with molasses lending both weight and allure. It looks like it means business. The nose confirms it: burnt treacle rises first, followed by a loamy, autumnal earthiness that grounds the sweetness in something more elemental. It’s a scent that lingers, beckons, and warns.

On the tongue, this stout doesn’t flinch. The mouthfeel is thick, almost chewable—this is a beer to sip, not swig. The molasses, surprisingly, don’t tip it into dessert territory. Instead, they act as ballast for a bitterness that arrives late but stays long. It claws, it grips, it refuses to let go. For some, that might be a dealbreaker. For others—myself included—it’s the hook.

This isn’t a crowd-pleaser. It’s a fireside companion, a contemplative pour. A slow burner with a bitter heart and a bold soul. It may not win on name alone, but it earns its place by character. And in a world of easy stouts, that’s worth raising a glass to.

Sammy’s Rating: 81%

 

JYMI SAY’S…

HEY GOOGLE… how do you spell coooooor?

I’m sorry, I don’t understand.

HEY GOOGLE… how do you spell cooooooooor, as in cooooooooor this beer is good?

I’m sorry, I don’t understand.

ALEXA, how do you spell coooooooooooooor?

The Coorunjuni river flows north to south in the…

 

Welcome to December beautiful people and let this be a reminder that this is a time for being together and the basics. After all, Christmas was far better when someone received a wooden yoyo rather than a PS5 that their parents couldn’t afford.

I finally found out that coooooooor is actually spelt, C O R. So I was actually correct but just over extenuating the oooooooooooo. But to be fair I was right to do so as Foreign Extra Stout definitely deserves way more than one ‘O’.

Terrific brew this…

Firing off with a dark chocolate, liquorice and liquor nose you just know you’re gonna be in business. First sip, and all sips to be fair, is smooth as silk and grand! The swallow notes are of more robust dark chocolate tones offering a nice twist on the early silkiness. Then the aftertaste, blimey. It’s massive. Soooooo (deserved Os again) bitter. This will defo divide drinkers, but even if not a fan here, going back in with the next sip of sensational smoothness is just divine. A cyclical balance.

All coming from a non zany but very different approach to tin art…

STF, I’m in love.

Right, I’m off to watch the Holiday…

And you, should be off to find this beer.

Jymi’s Rating: 91%

 

MUSE ON BOOZE RATING: 86%

MOB review next weekend: ALL THAT JAZZIES by INDIE RABBLE

Sammy & Jymi – Musing on Booze weekly since 2017

Bluesky: @museonbooze.bsky.social

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M O B 2025