Fuller’s ‘London Black Cab’ Stout

Rating:

“Brewed with a combination of five different malts, some heavily roasted for a near jet black appearance, and beneath its dark exterior features luxurious red berry notes, toasty aromas on the nose and culminates in a dry, bitter finish.”

Glassware: Snifter.

Appearance: Black with a short tan head which quickly fades. Not a great deal hangs around so lacing is pretty scarce.

Aroma: Smells a bit sweet for a stout. We’ll concede that this is a very old world stout so the big and over the top new world traits won’t apply. The dominant scent would have to be the yeast-driven, quad-like dark fruits, molasses, Christmas cake, carob, toffee and the classic earthy/spicy notes from EKG. Nothing amazing but it still holds its own.

Flavour: We had some reservations about this and unfortunately they’ve come to pass. Theres nothing at all wrong with its profile – it’s full of lightly roasted malts, chocolate, molasses, dark fruits, subtle coffee and earthy hops but it’s all just a bit weak and pedestrian. A nice line of bitterness adds more drink ability to it though. Decent finish with good length.

Mouthfeel: A little too light on for our liking. Quite a smooth texture, a little creamy, low-ish Co2. The 4.5% ABV puts it squarely in session territory.

Overall: Look, for a completely peeled back traditional stout it’s good. We can’t help but feel the big and super charged, barrel aged pastry stouts of today have almost killed off these poor old humble OG’s. We tip our hat to them though.