Old School Stout

An altogether too common pet peeve of mine is marketing that associates beer with cars. In a world where so many people die from drunk driving, why would you put a car on a beer bottle? One such brew is Old School Stout. Obviously this minor irritation didn't stop me from buying the stuff--I just wanted to go on record saying that it irks me.

O.S.S. is a British Colombian brew made by Tree Brewing Co. out of Kelowna. According to the 650mL bottle, it contains 5.5% alcohol and 40 IBUs. A coal black stout, O.S.S. pours with a downy layer of tan head. It has a potently roasty nose that doubles up on cocoa and molasses. Neither too sweet nor too bitter, the flavour has mocha elements and a dusting of hops, giving it very nice balance.

The bottle calls this a strong ale. I've said before that I don't think 5.5% should earn a brew the "strong" descriptor. This one would really have benefited by a touch more hooch too. Heat this stuff up to 7 or 7.5% and it'd really bring out the flavour. As is, it's a nice beer. Tastes good, drinks smoothly, and smells tasty. It's insufficiently assertive, but that isn't much to its detriment.

Rating: 8.0 out of 10.