Rooster's Scoundrel Yorkshire Stout

Tasting Summary

These comments are the opinion of the individual reviewer and represent what they thought of the beer on a particular day in a particular pub. If a review is less favourable, it may be because the beer suffered somewhere in the supply chain between them and the brewery.

The Sun, Redhill, Surrey

Who	Score	When	Notes
Hogan Sampling		31 Oct 2026	1st beer of this visit: Presented with very good head and lasting lacing and approved by my tasting of it on this Yorkshire stout from Rooster’s Brewing founded in 1993, and first boiling the copper over in Harrogate, North Yorkshire, before handing over to the Fozard family in 2011, and who have steered the ship, having moved the whole shebang to a shiny setup at Hornbeam Park, a commercial park on the south side of Harrogate. The barmaid seemed to think it was nearly at its end as she had to pull the handpump many times but I accepted it. As a goodwill gesture from her, she also offered me a free half of any other real ale. I accepted that as would be rude not to and its details follow as the second beer of this visit. A very malty first hit on this quintessential English stout which poured as dark as a coal miner's boots with a creamy topper that looks a regular treat. A dry bitterness rising with a gentle fruitiness climbing up from traditional British Admiral hops lending a sharp, resinous herbal bite and a refreshing slap of bitterness. A cunning marry-up of Brown malt, Chocolate malt, and heavy roasted Barley to accompany my curry with this stout. The Brown malt delivering a biscuit toastiness; the Chocolate malt throwing down a heavy dollop of rich, bittersweet cocoa; and its roasted Barley providing a smoky coffee roastiness. Espresso notes shaking hands with velvet cocoa, creating for me a roasty flavouring that kept its balance without feeling like over-boiled chimney soot. Nothing in the least wrong with it but perhaps very much at the end given the barmaid’s repeated pulling to get it to yield its dark liquid into my pint glass.

Nags Head, Reading, Berkshire