Soul Fire Brewing Co Frances

Moderate chocolate and light coffee malt aroma. No hop. A bit of light fig. Brown (not black) w/ ruby highlights, nearly absent head and retention. Strong malt flavor, lots of chocolate and toast. Lower coffee. Sweeter than expected with an FG more in a sweet stout range. Quite a smooth roast flavor overall and very pleasant and enjoyable to drink. Mouthfeel nice and full. Carbonation low (needs to be creamy in mouthfeel). Quite lovely, but really misses the mark on an oatmeal stout. Sweetness seems like a robust/American porter, but I don't really think the alcohol is there. Style doesn't really need to mean anything if this beer is selling well (and I expect it does). Black pour with ruby highlights and a thin tan head. Sweet chocolate nose with a touch of ash. Round body with a thinner underlying malt structure. Chocolate, dark roasted coffee and dark fruit flavors with an elevated roast character. Sweeter finish with more coffee notes and a lingering roast quality. Leans more porter than oatmeal stout.

Lovely clear amber color, excellent foam and lace. Pleasant nose, malt-forward with some lighter caramel, integrating well with a subtle orange-fruit ester and getting a slight push from sweet alcohol—it works, altogether. Nice balance in the flavor, with a light, slightly caramel-like sweetness that that rolls pretty quickly through a soft, smooth, herbal-earthy bitterness into a dry finish. Medium body, good carb. Attractive, nicely balanced, and quite drinkable. Freshly toasted, but not too toasted, bread on the nose. Flavors the same in the mouth, herbal character from hops more apparent. Malt/hops flavor nicely balanced, but hops finish with a bit of a thud. Beautifully light copper-colored pour with a khaki head that just sticks around. An initial whiff of petrol dissipates to allow nutty, heavily caramel-toasted malt to lead the aroma; red apple skin esters contributes a sweetness that doesn't seem completely integrated. On the sip, malts are clearly present in terms of sweetness and brioche crust. A wisp of near-roast alongside this soft sweetness compliments more mid-tone flavors of bread, caramel, etc. Finish dries out to a degree but again could use some more supportive bread effects in the retronasal.

Bright yellow color with fleeting white foam. Bready and grainy wheat-like malt notes blend with some classic banana and clove-like esters in the nose. Spicy banana esters lift on this one. Banana bread and clove open up as the beer warms on the pallet. The sip is aligned with what the aroma promised with some nice spiced banana bread like notes within a grainy but lightly sweet malt body. There's a sweetness throughout that finishes with a gentle bitterness. Firm but restrained and pleasant floral hop bitterness and a nice spicy clove note help to temper the sweetness and create a nice balance and lightly bitter finish.