I’m not the first to blog about this, but it’s worth the extra
words: Williams Bros Profanity Stout, currently available in the Sainsbury’sGreat British Beer Hunt, is really very good.
A beautiful looking bottle, it pours a near-opaque black
with a ‘fuck yeah, that looks good’ head. The dry hops hit first with a waft of
hop sack freshness; not fruity, not floral, it just smells like hops and that’s
something often lost in stouts but which makes this stand out. It’s full and
smooth like a 7% stout should be, there’s chocolate, and it’s the good stuff
not the cheap low cocoa bars, a little booze pokes through and it’s roasty but
never astringent (or as Reluctant Scooper calls it ‘no ruined toast notes’).
The recipe was developed on Heriot-Watt’s degree course. The
guys behind it can be pretty pleased with it. The best I managed was a bread
and butter pudding made with a bag of stale jam doughnuts, and while it was
phenomenally delicious, it just wasn’t quite as good as the Profanity Stout.
You can buy three bottles of this for £5 right now. I bought
one yesterday and went back and bought more today.
T'is rather good, but I'd call it a Black IPA rather than a stout.
ReplyDeleteDrank several this weekend, very enjoyable, but defintiely not a Black IPA, very much for me on the Imperial stout sideboard but who cares about categories, a delicious beer that spoke volumes about the Williams Bros’ fantastic approach to brewing (and all without using freeze distillation…)
ReplyDeleteI've been slightly surprised to find I like the McMullen Strongheart best out of the current Sainisbury's beer competition.
ReplyDeleteBlack IPA? But its not an IPA. Great beer selection BTW. Will Sainsbury extend the availability beyond the 27th?
ReplyDeleteInteresting to see the current surge in interest in IPAs and stouts/porters. A couple of years (et al) after Brewdog/Thornbridge started it all off...Well done Sainsbury!
PS1. The Stout is nice but too similar to Harvieston's version @Tesco for me. Thornbridge e St Petersburg is my benchmark.
PS2. I will be testing some more Profanity Stout...
pdtnc - Wouldn't agree about Black IPA. It's a good stout with a great hop aroma - I didn't get a huge amount of bitterness from it.
ReplyDeleteATJ - Absolutely shows you a side of Williams Bros which is good to see. I've got their Lager/IPA hybrid to try soon.
Ed - I saw that but didn't pick it up. I'll grab one to see what I think.
MusicRab - The top two will get national distribution, I believe. I think the competition put forward some of the more flavourful beers, which is great to see - I think the final 16 are blind tasted and put forward from that so it makes sense that the bigger beers make the list.
I think I prefer this to Old Engine Oil, and I like OEO a lot. St Petersburg is a brilliant beer. I love it about a year old - stunning. Unfortunately it's not available down the road from me!
It's a remarkably confident beer. I hate the term Black IPA - I'm with Comrade Protz on that one - and this is nowhere near IPA territory; it's an aggressively hopped stout, still roasty but bitter and citric.
ReplyDeleteBest value beer in a UK supermarket? Damn right.
It's a hard choice between Profanity Stout and Caesar Augustus for me. Profanity stands out. It's (cringe-worthy Apple moment) 'magical'. I wouldn't want to drink it every day because it would ruin the magic. It's a special beer to be consumed occasionally. It's also seriously awesome that it was made by some HW students. It's made me even more excited to be heading there to study brewing next year!
ReplyDeleteCaesar Augustus on the other hand is possibly my new shopping list beer. I find it massively refreshing. It's got the crisp, cool refreshment of a Lager along with the aroma and bold flavour of an IPA.
I will buy both again, but it's the Caesar Augustus that I'll be stockpiling if Sainsbury's do their usual clearance prices on these beers come Wednesday.
I have now been into Sainsbury's too many times for the 3 for £5 and was politely asked to "give it a rest" by the management. Being a good chap I ignored this and sent the wife in instead. Too good an offer to miss out on...fill your fridge!!
ReplyDelete