What is this supposed to taste like–I keep hearing how good it is? Everywhere I get it it tastes old with a apple like taste. I assume from too much lactic acid. It isn’t supposed to have a sour apple like taste is it?
Tapswiller??? 
Sour apples? NO SIR!(or ma’am)
Sammy Smith makes some wonderful beers. The Oatey stout, to me, tastes like…Oatmeal. Go figure. It’s great for breakfast too! Another good one to try is the taddy porter and the nut brown.
Damn I’m thirsty
It tastes to me like a stout with a sweet side to it. Very drinkable (although not the kind of thing you drink to get drunk).
I know what you mean when you say it tastes “old, with an apple-like taste”. However, I don’t think the distinctive taste you’re referring to is bad, I think it’s part of the character of the beer.
My verdict? Great beer (I’m not a big stout fan, and I like it), but drink it slowly, as its very strongly flavored.
Come to think about it, this thread should almost certainly be moved to IMHO, so I’ll just pretend like I posted this after the inevitable move.
I haven’t had Sam Smith’s, but the half dozen brands of Oatmeal Stout I’ve had all had subtle flavors of coffee and chocolate.
The first time I drank Sam Smith’s Oatmeal Stout, I thought it was the best beer ever. Since then, I’ve quieted my zeal. I try different beers all the time as I get tired of one beer, no matter how good it is. Eventually, I get tired of them all. I never drink to get drunk. I drink for the taste.
That said, it has a very sweet taste. Now, it is really too sweet for my taste, altho, as I said, I first thought it was great.
I’ll have to try and find that. I’ve had Youn’g oeatmeal stout which is quite good and unusually smooth. The stout for people that can’t hack Guinness