Freeminer Deep Shaft Stout
Cask; Seasonal - Autumn and Winter. Also available bottle conditioned.
Packed solid with malt, hops, and oats. Possibly the darkest stout of all time, a single varietal beer, made only with Fuggles hops, packed with bitterness, and brimming with aroma hopping, a deep and complex beer, worth taking some time over, and exploring the Hampton Court like maze of complex flavours. Initially, the dry, biscuit flavour of roast barley attacks the palate, soon to be replaced by the soothing Fuggles balm of rich smokiness, and then layer upon layer of malted oats, rich dark malts, and an unidentifiable eutectic finish of pure stout character.
Packed solid with malt, hops, and oats. Possibly the darkest stout of all time, a single varietal beer, made only with Fuggles hops, packed with bitterness, and brimming with aroma hopping, a deep and complex beer, worth taking some time over, and exploring the Hampton Court like maze of complex flavours. Initially, the dry, biscuit flavour of roast barley attacks the palate, soon to be replaced by the soothing Fuggles balm of rich smokiness, and then layer upon layer of malted oats, rich dark malts, and an unidentifiable eutectic finish of pure stout character.
3.9
183 reviews
Cinderford, England
Community reviews
Cask. Poured with a jet black body and a dense, creamy light brown head leaving a solid uniform lacing. Rich coffee & roasted malt aromas with some raisin & prune undertones. Full of coffee on the tongue with a dry roasted malt edge. The coffee lingers wonderfully. Medium to full body, supple, chewy & creamy on the palate.
Cask at the Old Manor (JDW), Bracknell. I’d been hoping to come across this one - looking every inch a perfect stout - a deep oily borwn colour with a loose tan head; chocolately malt aroma; smooth and silky with deeply roasted malt flavours with a touch of chocolate and smoke then becoming more fruity towards the end. More please.
Hand pulled cask at the Tickenham Inn (JDW) Ickenham. I’d heard mixed reports about this one so was delighted to find it when a fresh cask had just be connected. Ruby black with a healthy unsparkled tan head. Packed with complexities, the initial impression is of a stout that punches well above 6.2%. Leighton’s earlier rating sums it up perfectly. Can’t wait to hit this one again while the spoons festival is still on. Sheer class!
Hand pulled at the Figure of Eight, Birmingham. Dark blackness, with a errr stouty aroma. Rich flavour, easy gulping. Full with plenty going on. Only a slightly bitter note right at the finish disappointed me a bit. Otherwise this is a really good, smooth stout.
Cask. High Cross, Leicester (JDW). Thin chocolate head, inky jet black body. Beefy, meat, smoky, roasty, liquorice, pepperami, grass., fruity. Bitter with sweet notes. Full bodied with a long bitter dry finish. Bloody brilliant.
1st April 2011
Hamilton Hall Spoons. Opaque black beer, good dark tan head. Dry palate. Roasty malt, not too burned. Trace of coffee, a little minerals. Whsiper of red fruits underneath. Dry bitterish finish. Ok.
Cask at Victoria station W’Spoons. A black coloured pour with a medium beige head on top. Roasty, malty aroma. Tastes roasty, malty, dark fruit, roasted coffee, slight bitterness, rich and complex. Really good stout.
Cask at the Crosse Keys, JDW. Pours a rich, opaque brown-black with a dense, beige head. Pungent roasted malt aroma with note of cocoa bean, coffee grounds, chocolate syrup and tar. Oh damn, great flavor, light to medium sweet, peaty, dark and roasty, baking cocoa, roasted coffee beans, tobacco and ash. Medium to full in body with fine carbonation and an ultra smooth mouthfeel. Finishes rich and roasty, like chocolate brownies with more coffee, moss, scorched earth, modest bitterness, some sugars, cigar ashes. Fantastic. Well done, Spoons.
Cask handpull at Spoons Victoria Station. Been looking for this since I arrived on Ratebeer. Black with thin lasting tan head. Rather a decent aroma. Then huge hit of choc and burnt malt in mouth. A bit like overdone Xmas cake. Big thick and got some excellent burnt dark fruit flavours. Its good. Not amazing but definitely good. Some dryness on finish. Very tasty stout.
Pours a dark brown, almost black. Nose and taste is licorice, smokes, biscuits and roasted barley. Rated 8/8/2000
A Mes rate. Bottle at Don from Freeminer.
Murky dark brown with a thin off white collar. This has lasted pretty well considering it’s 8 years in the bottle. Clearly old but holding on to the flavours. Slight oxidisation, really good fruit, lots of liquorice and some pleasant burnt malt just about managing to provide some earthy undertones. Not sure if it was always like this bit it’s a little on the thin side. Lovely finish. Almost smoky, very fruity and a late dry bitter coffee character. Lots going on and very interesting. Thanks Don for a rare opportunity.
No Bottle Date; Sampled May 2008
A vigorous pour only summons forth a frothy, one-finger thick, cocoa stained, dark tan colored head in my 25cl tulip glass. The beer is a pitch black color that doesn’t allow any light through its depths. The aroma has quite a Port-wine character to it. Dark chocolate aromas, burnt molasses, black coffee and a bit toasted bread crust note interweave with the Port character.
Very dry and quite a bit lighter in heft than I was expecting from the rich aroma. The beer finishes with a dry, burnt prune like tartness that is constructed from the roast malt character. Dusty cocoa flavors up front lead into a dry, black espresso note that in addition to its roast flavors also contributes a light bitterness in the finish. A touch of light, yet burnt Sherry towards the finish adds a bit of complexity. This is dominated by roast grain notes, but it seems that it could really use some complex malt sweetness, which is entirely lacking here.
This beer has quite a soft signature despite being so massively dark; somehow it just doesn’t seem right that the flavors and aroma are so muted for something this dark. Not a bad beer, just seems a bit flat and thin, even considering that this probably has some age to it. Put another way, it seems to have the aroma and flavor I want, but just seems to lack a little boost in richness that would make this a fantastic tipple.
Bottle via trade with some one relatively recently, I believe. Bottled on 3/18/03. Pours black with a 1 finger tan head. Nose is really nice and sweet big on chocolate and malty and chewy and oatty. Taste is sweet, chocolatey and coffee ridden. This is a big yummy and sweet stout. Very very good.
Bottle from artusory. Dated March 03. Poured an inky black color with a thin tan head. Aroma of roasted malts, coffee, licorice, and dark fruits. Great, rich taste. Velvety smooth entry leads into a great roasted malt hit with chocolate and light coffee notes. Much better than I anticipated. Thanks a lot Ryan.
Date: 03/27/2004
Mode: Bottle Conditioned
Source: Whole Foods Market, DC
pours like oil, solid black with no highlights, thin dark tan head, light roasted aroma, big body, rich roasted flavor, lingering bitter coffee finish, bitterness would normally be overpowering but somehow works well in this big brew
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Date: 11/05/2004
big big bitter, some malt bitterness, sweet character hidden behind the bitterness, too much bitterness but balanced by the rich malt
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Date: 06/14/2006
bitterness fading in the aroma allowing nice sweetness to come through, creamy body, rich chocolate flavor with just a bit of the prior bitterness in the finish, age has helped termendously
Aroma: 7/10; Appearance: 8/10; Flavor: 7/10; Palate: 8/10; Overall: 15/20
Rating: 3.7/5.0
Drinkability: 8/10
Score: ***/4
A black beer. Aroma has a surprising smokiness. Thick on the palate. Light hops, roasted malt and some bread and grain.
Viscous black pour, Very small and fully diminishing light brown head. The aroma is of coffee, chocolate, roasted grains, scorched sugars, prunes, tar, smoke, licorice and cherries. The flavor has moderate bitterness, moderate sweetness, light smoke and fruit, coffee and roast. Light acidity from just a hint of hops. Finishes quite bitter with lingering roast and chocolate. The mouthfeel is medium bodied, smooth and delicate. Carbonation is low and roaming. Very good, very easy to drink.
Sampled at the RBSG 07 Grand Tasting. Dark brown body with no head. Malty nose with a roasted malt body. Another dry stout for the evening.
RBSG 2007. Mar 18, 2003 vintage. The beer pours to a black body with a creamy dark brown/tan head. Awesome lacing. The aroma is tart and lactic with anise and black patent malt. The flavor is roasty black patent with creamy sweet chocolate malts. The palate is roasty and dry. Average.
Bottle. Jet black with slight tan head. Aroma of coffee, milk chocolate and black fruits. Smooth mouth feel with flavours of roasted malt, dark chocolate and herbal hops. A very long dry, roasted finish. One of the great British stouts.
Black body with a tiny tan head, fading. The aroma is molases, lots of chocolate, vinous, licorice and roast. The flavor is bitter black chocolates, licorice, raisins, fairly dry and coffee. Medium body is very soft, slightly oily and lightly carbonated.
500mL bottle, courtesy of a trade from a while ago. Pours a dark black center; medium tan head with fine-bubbled lacing. Generous, cocoa and milk chocolate aroma. Average carbonation. Medium-to-full, chocolaty mouthfeel: plenty of milk chocolate and dry cocoa; nice density, with a dry, velvety mouthfeel: creamy and roasted, with hints of a vanilla toastiness. Lengthy, dry chocolate and vanilla finish.
Sweet malt and some slight roasted malt stand out in the aroma.Pours black with a thin tan head.Flavor was of slight roasted mmalt and some slight chocolate as well.Mouthfeel was a little thin with a roasted malt/coffee finish.
Bottle shared thanks to drewbeerme. Poured a thick oily black with no head. Nose is strange, roasted malts and smoked meat are the strongest at first, but as it warms the fruits come out strong cherry raspberry and other red fruits. It seems like the lack of head was a give away that the carbonation escaped this beer. Roasted malts red and dark fruits, coffee, with a few hints of smoke and meat. Interesting brew, I did enjoy this complexity of this but the flavors didn’t meld together without the carbonation.
thanks to bigern for this want list extra. pours thick black color with no head. nose of dark chocolate, roast, coffee, and subtle meats. flavor is bitter roast, weak chocolate and coffee, and plums. mouthfeel is slick and watery. carbination is no where to be found. some good things going on here.
Thanks to BigErn for the bottle. Sweet malt and some roasted scents make up the aroma. Black body with no head. Thin palate is very lacking. Super thin coffee flavor up front with some light bitterness behind it. This is just not good at all. Very dissapointing--but it seems that the ratings are very hit or miss--so I’ll probably try it again sometime.
Pours a black coler with a brown head. Aroma is of dark fruits, chocolate, coffee, and molasses. Flavor is the same with some roasted malts and a little smokiness and a slight bitter finish. A pretty decent brew.
This beer is the shit!
It pours a deep dark black with a rootbeer colored head. This beer smells like chocolate and brandy. this beer feels like a 10 percenter. It taste amazing. It’s deep, cocoa-ish, slightly roasted, but very fruity. Huge dark plums, spice dates. The finish though is surprisingly smooth for it being this damn big.
BUY THIS BEER.
Now this is one good friggin beer. Aroma is chocolately, coffee, roasty, licorice, dark brown sugar and malty. Appearance was jet black and it just glugged out of the bottle (is glugged a word?). Mouthfeel was creamy and smooth, just like a English stout should be and (suprise!) no nitro widget to get it to that point. Just pure goodness. Flavors carried the same notes as the aroma and it was an extremely tasty experience. Probably one of the best stouts I’ve had. Top notch.
16.9-oz. Pours jet black with very little tannish/orange head; this quickly turns into no head and no lace. Smells of anise and licorice; very cough-syrup-like. Flat. Light body. TChrome nails the lactic, sour, chalky, charcoal palate. Unpleasantly bitter finish. Not sure the age on this one but skeptical of the beer’s condition overall on this side of the pond. Have to try to re-rate eventually.