Joe from First Chop Beer Review

I had my first taste of Joe from First Chop Brewery in the Two Tailed Lion which is one of the best pubs in Leicester. The brewery is a little out of Manchester and I'm led to believe all their beers are gluten free, but please double check with this one as it was on tap, not in a can, I have can't be 100% certain and don't want to cause anyone any problems. Joe is a 4.5% oatmeal stout that pours pretty much as black as black can be with a rather small white head. I say head it's just lacing really. Still it looks good in the Two Tailed Lion glass don't you think?

The beers aroma is very much roasted coffee beans, I thought there was a little bit of coconut in there too but my friends looked at me like I was going mad when I said that, so maybe not. The texture is a bit weird. It's meant to be an oatmeal stout so I was expecting something full bodied, almost stodgy, instead it's quite light, more like a black IPA, so that's just a bit odd. Fortunately it was a warm day so I was actually a little relieved it felt lighter than I was expecting. The taste very much matches the aroma, well except for the coconut which may well have just been in my head anyway. There's a really nice coffee taste, and I'm saying that as someone that doesn't like coffee so it must have been good. Despite the weird texture I really like Joe from First Chop so I'm going to give this beer 8.5 out of 10 although 0.5 of that is just for been gluten free (probably).