Track Toba / Oatmeal Stout / 5.6% / £3.80 a pint / The Beagle
Track, oh Track, oh-oh Track (to the tune of Life, Oh Life, Oh-oh Life). What a good many beers these troopers make! Manchester has got talent or what, amirite. The city is presently swimming in top notch homegrown artisan corn fed hand reared beers. Glory be! These Track characters, for my money, kill it on cask each and every time. And that’s not to throw shade on their keg line-up no way. It’s just that the cask is a straight up go to. I first encountered their strictly gorgey Karamea Oatmeal Pale on cask at The Smithfield Tavern. Three pints later I was in love. The next to capture the nation’s hearts was the great Sonoma, a perfect low ABV pale ale at 3.8%. This one stormed to the top of a good many Port Street Beer House’s best beers of 2015. Sonoma is a total session changer, it’s my gateway every time if I see it on the boards. Recently sighted at Port Street and The Beagle. Luckily for me, I’m never that far away from it.
I was chuffed to bits to spy Track Toba, a (spoiler alert) DELIGHTFUL Oatmeal Stout, on cask at The Beagle. What else am I going to have for my staff drink at 5pm on a wet middle of the road weekday? Exactly. Long term fans of the short term Life Beers will have noted, perhaps subliminally, that I’ve tackled a lot of dark beers. One loves it, dark beers are my Guinness away from Guinness. I’m also a suction cup for oatmeal beers so you can imagine my enthusiasm in ordering this oatmeal stout from the none more trusted Track Brewery.
Toba is a silken drop make no mistake. There’s a treacle and light coffee vibe to it, it isn’t thin, nor is it the double cream of say Guinness. It has an earthiness, a deep sea plunge to it. Oh it’s just dastardly. It’s a stone wall wrecking ball of a solid stout. You’d be happy to take this one home to the parents. I say that as a craft beer drinker who has taken many, many beers home to split with my folks. The reactions of nigh on all being a “hmm, it’s a bit different isn’t it” or “that tastes awful”. Oh, great. That’s not to say that Toba is a Jools Holland beer, far from it. Rather that this is a new rendition of a folk standard but it’s still got something that your Mum can tap her foot to.
In the light of semi-recent trends (past ten years, dunno?) of rebranding months (see you in hell, Dryanuary) - I would like to nail mast to the flagon for there to be a Tracktoba in October. Pint a day every day. Willing to be a poster child/first dog in space for the cause. Stay tuned for the Crowdfunder. God speed you black oatmeal emperor.
Drink direct from the source at Track and Squawk Brew Tap next week at Track’s Brewery, February 6th 2pm-11.30pm.
Look out for Track’s 5 Alive grapefruit pale collaboration with Port Street Beer House, Squawk, and Runaway. Pouring from the 28th January at Port Street for their 5th Birthday celebrations!
