Pumpkin Oatmeal Stout opened:

I like how this came out, but it's not entirely what I expected, and the flavors aren't quite balanced how I'd like them. I went a little too heavy on the vanilla extract, and I'm going to tone down the bittering hops the next time I brew this - I think I put in two ounces of Magnum, which is usually something like 8% or 10% Alpha. It's a little too much. I like the smoothness, I like the spices, and I like that it's not immediately apparent that this clocks in somewhere in the neighborhood of 8% ABV.

Smuttynose Baltic Porter

I picked this up the other day, having forgotten that I generally don't like Baltic Porters all that much. It pours out extremely dark, and has a vigorous brown head to it. It's really bitter - like I can't entirely tell if it's hop bitterness or just a lot of black patent malt, or both. That, and the bitterness drowns out a lot of other things about the beer. It has a fairly nice aroma, and is fairly smooth and a little bit sweet, once you get past that initial wallop of bitterness. Overall, it's ok, but I'm not sure it's anything i'm going to pick up again any time soon.