London Brewing Co Samson's Riddle

Samson's Riddle

 

London Brewing Co in North Finchley, Greater London, England 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿

  Stout - Imperial Regular
Score
7.07
ABV: 9.5% IBU: - Ticks: 10
A 9.5% Bourbon barrel-aged beer. The name refers to the Tate & Lyle black treacle used in the brewing process. Samson’s riddle — “Out of the strong came forth sweetness” — is a reference to a Biblical story (Judges 14:14). The sugar company took the image of the lion and the bees from Samson’s riddle as its trademark in 1904 and it remains on the iconic tins to this day.

Double mashed with oats and dark roasted malts and brewed with black treacle, this exceptionally strong stout is limited to just 1,000 litres. Rich chocolate and biscuit aromas give way to a boozy warmth rounded off by vanilla and a sweet bourbon finish from the Jim Beam and Heaven Hill barrels it was aged in.
 

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7.1
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 7.5

Bottle at dockside tap. Pours black, nose is woody, chocolate, vanilla, roasted, taste is similar, bitter, salty, mushroom. 3.6

Tried from Bottle on 15 Oct 2019 at 13:13


8.1
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 8.5

Bottle at Dockside tap... Dark black... Heavy roast. Mdark dry chocolate roast malts nose.. Salty chocolate roast blackcurrant roast malts salty chocolate roast.. Big salty roast dark heavy roast... No bourbon.. Wow

Tried from Bottle on 10 Sep 2019 at 16:25


7
Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 8

Bottle shared in London - pours clear brown with a slender, creamy tan head. The nose holds burnt caramel, chocolate, dried berries, a hint of oxidation. Meidum sweet flavour with Tim hearty brown bread, chocolatey malts, burnt caramel. Medium to full bodied with fine carbonation. Lightl warming on the finish with more chocolate and burnt caramel, a hint of vanilla. Not bad overall.

Tried from Bottle on 05 Feb 2018 at 21:03


6.9
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 6 | Flavor - 6 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 7.5

Botle split at L42, thanks to Kenny, 05/02/18. Black with a decent tan cap. Nose is charr, ashen, spice, cocoa powder, raisins, dried fruits. Taste comprises mellow barrel, spice, charr, toffee, dark chocolate, fruit cake. Full bodied, fine carbonation, drying close. Ok impy affair.

Tried on 05 Feb 2018 at 19:07


7.6
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 7.5

5th February 2018
Level 42 Bottleshare. Thanks to Dan. Opaque dark brown beer, good tan head. Smooth palate, little soft. Creamy dark malts. Good tangy bourbon, fruity. Mild spice. Well integrated chocolate. Smooth finish. Tasty and smooth.

Tried from Bottle on 05 Feb 2018 at 18:30


6.9
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 6 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 6.5

Bottle@London Team Bottle Share, London - black pour with tan head. Roasted and sweet malty with some rich chocolate and some sweet caramel notes, medium body, not bad but slightly off putting metallic accents into the finish.

Tried from Bottle on 05 Feb 2018 at 18:18


7.2
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 7

Keg at the Euston tap. A jet black coloured pour with a a lasting mid tan head. Aroma is tart jammy berry fruits, black malts, raspberry jam, black forest gateau, . Some warming alcohol on the nose. Flavour is composed of rounded dark malts, dark choc, liquorice, tart raspberry, jammy blackberry, . Finishes pretty sweet, under attenuated. Palate is full and sticky, mellow carbonation. The alcohol is there but it drinks pretty well for the abv. Some signs of a stressed ferment.

Tried from Draft on 21 Dec 2016 at 12:44


7.1
Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 7.5

Keg at Euston Tap. It pours darkest brown with a thick tan head. The aroma is rich, sweet, intoxicating, sticky, loads of liquorice allsorts, treacle, toasty, salty, umami, jammy and dried fruits. The taste is rich roasted malt, plenty of liquorice, slick, treacle, chewy malt, dried berry, eccles cake, umami, spice, wood, booze and a touch of vanilla with a dry, chewy finish. Full body, fine carbonation and chewy mouth - feel. Rich and savoury. Decent.

Tried from Draft on 21 Dec 2016 at 12:09


8
Appearance - 10 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 8

Bottle from BSF GBBF consumed at home Saturday 20th August 2016 whilst cooking pan fried chicken livers with grapes on griddle bread. Quite an old fashioned Impy Stout, little nods towards a real traditional type such as Harveys. Not quite the creosote taste I get from Harveys but it’s also certainly not a big sweet, malty cloying mess, it’s lovely, as the name suggests there more than a hint of black treacle. Nice thickness in the mouth, smooth, really smooth, ashy, but with a little molasses at the edge. Good. A7 A5 T8 P4 Ov16 4.0

Tried from Bottle on 20 Aug 2016 at 23:10


6

Tried on 09 Mar 2016 at 17:10