Oatmeal Stout
Rock Bottom Restaurant & Brewery

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From:
Rock Bottom Restaurant & Brewery
 
United States
Style:
Oatmeal Stout
ABV:
5.3%
Score:
88
Avg:
3.95 | pDev: 7.34%
Reviews:
17
Ratings:
17
Status:
Retired
Rated:
Apr 13, 2011
Added:
Nov 19, 2003
Wants:
  0
Gots:
  1
No description / notes.
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Ratings by ffejherb:
Photo of ffejherb
Reviewed by ffejherb from Pennsylvania

3.93/5  rDev -0.5%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4.5
On tap at Rock Bottom KOP on 3/6/09. Served in a mug club mug.

A - Poured a deep, dark brown, almost black body with minimal carbonation and about a finger's width of creamy tan head that receded to a quarter inch of retention and left a thick coat of lacing on the glass.

S - Initial aroma is dark roasted malt paired with toasted grains and oats. Some chocolate and subtle coffee notes also emerged, as well as a decent amount of mild earthy hops.

T - Lots of dark roasted malt, toasted grains and flaked oat maltiness in the flavor, with a bit of chocolate and milky lactic notes to sweeten the pot. Finishes with some earthy bitterness and a touch of nutty astringency.

M - Medium bodied, though a tad thin and watery perhaps, with a smooth, creamy texture and soft carbonation. Nice bitterness in the finish with a slight dryness on the palate.

D - Smooth and easy to drink, this oatmeal stout is another quality brew from Rock Bottom KOP. I've been pleased with everything I've had from them so far, and this is no exception.
Mar 09, 2009
More User Ratings:
Photo of deapokid
Reviewed by deapokid from Pennsylvania

3.46/5  rDev -12.4%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5
Drank at the bar on 2-15-11. Reviewed from notes.

Chalkboard above bar notes a birthdate of 2-12-11 (Fresh!) and an ABV of 6.1%.

Pours a nutty, brown color, with a thick finger of white foam and bubbly carbonation. It's so lively and viscous that one could mistake it for being a nitro pour.

Aroma is milky, featuring caramel sweetness, some spicing (cinnamon, nutmeg) and an oat backbone. Imagine if Cheerios had a brown sugar flavor and you'd be heading in the right direction. Personally, I like this style to have a deeper oat scent, but the brewer leaned towards the sweet side, which is fine by me.

Thankfully, the oatey characteristics are right up front in the flavor, followed by a bitter, dry conclusion and a touch of honey and brown sugar. There's also a doughiness to the malt, which is pleasant, allowing the bitter aspects to linger on the tongue for a bit.

Mouth is nice and creamy, reminding me of Young's take on the style, with a calm dryness and a sugary sweetness that makes its way out as the beer warms. This creaminess makes it very easy to take down.

This is a solid entry from the team at Rock Bottom. My only recommendations would be to work on the aromatic aspects, but, that being said, this is a fine rendition of the style.
Apr 13, 2011
Photo of Kegatron
Reviewed by Kegatron from Pennsylvania

4.25/5  rDev +7.6%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 5
On nitro-tap @ the King of Prussia Rock Bottom on 11/24/10. Served in an oversized mug.

Pours black with a finger of frothy and bubbly looking mocha colored head. Retains with some very good retention, staying very rich and frothy, while drenching the sides of the glass with sticky creamy lacing. The aroma smells of roasted chocolate malts that are mellowed in the nose by a smooth oatmeal presence. A touch of milky sugars sweeten this up some while some floral and green citric hops sit in the background.

The taste is equal parts roasty and sweet, with chocolate and sugars making a definite impression while flaked oats add a tremendously silky feel to the profile. There is a nice amount of balancing earthy bitterness here that hangs with some dryness and spice in the finish. The mouthfeel is medium bodied and is as silky, smooth, and easy feeling as you could possibly want in a beer. The oatmeal just combines with the nitro to give this an unbelievably creamy feel and I can't believe how fast I ripped through this big mug of it!

I don't know that I've ever considered an Oatmeal Stout to be refreshing but this one came pretty darn close! This was just delicious as heck, well balanced, and did I mention how creamy and easy drinking it was? This beer was excellent and really made my visit on this trip here.
Nov 29, 2010
Photo of HURTemHIZZY
Reviewed by HURTemHIZZY from Virginia

3.46/5  rDev -12.4%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5
Decent brew. Looks very nice after the pour. Near opaque black. one finger tan head that had nice retention and left decent lacing behind. Subtle aroma, but not bad. Bit of nuttiness, with a hint of bittersweet chocolate. Straightforward.

Taste is better than the aroma. Chocolate, some caramel, and a tiny bit of hop bitterness. Nice creamy mouthfeel. Overall a decent brew.
Sep 29, 2010
Photo of allforbetterbeer
Reviewed by allforbetterbeer from Colorado

4.2/5  rDev +6.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Served in a tall mug.

A: Deep amber (appeared black) with a dark tan smooth head. Laced exceptionally well.

S: Dark roasted malts with a nice complexity. Some burnt coffee and cacao underneath, roasted oats to finish.

T: Lightly bitter roast malts hit the tongue first followed closely by semisweet chocolates. All of this builds in complexity and roastyness till the bitter-sweet oatmeal finish.

M: Smooth and full, with a hint of pleasing stickiness I imagine was imparted by the cask conditioning.

D: Dangerously drinkable.

Overall: The best oatmeal stout I have tried. What an excellent stout.
Dec 30, 2009
Photo of Biscuit033
Reviewed by Biscuit033 from Pennsylvania

4.18/5  rDev +5.8%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5
A: Deep brown with a creamy tan head and very nice retention and lacing.

S: Milk Chocolate, earthiness, and oats.

T: Chocolate, cream, roastiness, and earthy hops.

M: Smooth and creamy witha slightly bitter dry finish.

D: This a great easy drinking Oatmeal Stout.
Feb 25, 2009
Photo of hopdog
Reviewed by hopdog from Pennsylvania

3.75/5  rDev -5.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4
Cask at the KoP location.

Poured a deeper and muddy brown color with a small sized off white head. Aromas of chocolate, roasty, and nutty. Tastes of chocolate, roast, oats, and lighter nuttiness. Lighter coffee in there too. Body a tad on the thinner side

Notes from and tasted on: 2/22/09
Feb 23, 2009
Photo of spointon
Reviewed by spointon from Illinois

4.23/5  rDev +7.1%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 5
I had this one at the Rock Bottom in Orland Park on 11/13/2008.

A= This stout poured a deep dark brown/black color (slightly more brown than black) with a 1.5" chocolate brown head. The head showed great retention, slowly dropping to a 1/4" cap and leaving huge amounts of clingy lace.

S= Smell was dominated by roasted malts and coffee notes, with milder bits of chocolate, hops, and alcohol in there as well.

T= Very decadent flavors of roasted chocolate-y coffee and treacle, followed by a brief flash of hops and a long dry finish. Deceptively simple, yet full of interesting flavor.

MF= Heavy side of medium bodied with a creamy silky mouthfeel. Carbonation was crisper than a lot of stouts but the body was enough to keep it from feeling sharp.

D= What a treat! A great oatmeal stout brewed 25 minutes from my house. I will be back many more times for more of this before it runs out. Very sessionable.
Nov 14, 2008
Photo of HopDerek
Reviewed by HopDerek from Pennsylvania

3.91/5  rDev -1%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
On tap at the brewpub on 11/8/08, served in an oversized Mug Club mug.

Poured a dark brownish black with nice creamy light tan head after the fall. Great retention left nice clinging lacing. Smells of dark chocolate, oats, and roasted malt, but really had to work at it. Tastes of roasted malt, dark chocolate, oats, and a touch of coffee and grassy hops. Medium full in body, smooth and creamy but with some chewiness to it as well. Nice and roasty, with a good bitterness in the back end. A really nice stout, very easy to drink on nitro.
Nov 10, 2008
Photo of DrJay
Reviewed by DrJay from Texas

3.96/5  rDev +0.3%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4
Super dense, creamy tan cap from the nitro dispense. Superb head retention with thick rings of foam clinging to the glass. The colour was your basic stout black, not much in the way of edges or highlights. The aroma was quite mild, composed mostly of some roast and chocolate. Good, but nothing out of the ordinary. Very nice flavour overall, moderate bitterness with faint spicy/citrus hops. Roast and dark chocolate, malted milk and faint caramel sweetness. Just more than medium bodied, a bit chewy with very low carbonation. Quite smooth with just a hint of astringency from the dark grains. Highly drinkable with lots of flavour. Good stuff.
Nov 09, 2008
Photo of FtownThrowDown
Reviewed by FtownThrowDown from Ohio

3.85/5  rDev -2.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4
Pours a very dark brown with a nice half inch head. Smell and taste is predominantly all coffee. No complaints here. This is nice. Full and nice in the mouthfeel. Very creamy and full on the mouthfeel. Very nice. The best Rock Bottom beer of the day.
Feb 08, 2008
Photo of treehugger02010
Reviewed by treehugger02010 from Pennsylvania

3.58/5  rDev -9.4%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 5 | overall: 4
I had this one at Rock Bottom Restaurant and Brewery in King of Prussia, Pa.
Appearance: Deep drown body, not quite black, with a very thick tan head, good lacing with awsome retention.
Smell: Roasted malts, bits of mocha.
Taste: Roasty, toasty, kind of oatmeally but not too much, a bit watery.
Mouthfeel: Very, very, very smooth and thick.
Drinkability: Pretty darn good.
Don't drink and review.
Jun 28, 2007
Photo of tgbljb
Reviewed by tgbljb from Pennsylvania

4.1/5  rDev +3.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5
Served as a deep brown, almost black beer with creamy tannish head.
Smell is loaded with roasted malt, and some coffee and chocolate as also detectable.
Taste follows through with a nice roasted flavor and some sweet coffee flavors.
Very smooth and creamy in the mouth leaving a very pleasant feeling.
Very drinkable. Another nice beer from this brewpub.
Feb 09, 2007
Photo of brewdlyhooked13
Reviewed by brewdlyhooked13 from Ohio

4.62/5  rDev +17%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 5 | overall: 5
Appearance - deep and dark, one to two fingers of mocha on top. A trace of garnet around the edge. Some thin but patchy lacing.

Aroma - a pleasant roasty blend of malt, coffee and chocolate. Soft-spoken intensity but better than average staying power through the entire glass.

Taste - a rich roasted grain and bittersweet chocolate start. Mild balancing hops and coffee flavors abound on the swallow. Dries out on the finish with a very tasty coffee and dark chocolate follow-through, maintaining the mild bitter edge.

Mouthfeel - properly smooth and medium-bodied. Restrained carbonation is right on the money.

Drinkability - a full-flavored stout with outstanding drinkability. I don't often polish off a whole growler but hey, Bengals 13 Ravens 7, there is a time and a place...
Jan 30, 2007
Photo of BuckeyeNation
Reviewed by BuckeyeNation from Iowa

3.88/5  rDev -1.8%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Melted chocolate brown with old penny colored edges. The golden ecru cap was a fat one finger to start and fell to a barely covering film by the several minute mark. I initially spotted a solid, although thin, curtain of lace that turned into delicate, feathered rings that marched down the glass as the beer fell with drinking.

The nose smelled primarily of cocoa powder and secondarily of fruit. Specifically, apples and grapefruit. I often appreciate apple esters in beer from this brewpub and attribute it to the ale yeast strain (whether rightly or wrongly). The grapefruit wasn't nearly as noticeable in the aroma as it was on the palate and almost certainly originated from one or more of the C-hops. Unfortunately, the nose wasn't quite stout enough for me.

Oatmeal Stout struck me as somewhere between a dry stout and a standard oatmeal stout, if there is such a thing. It was more bitter than it was sweet than it was tart. The finish was especially bitter, but in a hoppy way rather than an overroasted malt way. I'm betting that either Cascade or Centennial was in the house.

An apple fruitiness was present on the palate as well. Even though I'm mentioning it last, a bittersweet chocolatiness was the engine that made Oatmeal Stout go. I'm not exactly going out on a limb in guessing that the malt bill is made up of chocolate and black malts. I don't often run across simple, straightforward, high quality American stouts. I'm glad I did so today.

I could go one of two ways on the mouthfeel score... and will pick the higher of the two. While my preference runs to stouts that are a wee bit more full and less carbonated, OS's mouthfeel matched the rest of its attributes quite well. I can't let my personal bias take over every review, now can I?

I'm glad that my local Rock Bottom has both a rotating stout and a rotating wheat beer because it gives wdmrock an opportunity to brew variations on a theme (and it gives me the opportunity to drink them). Oatmeal Stout is an approachable beer that should please just about anyone who gives it a whirl.
Dec 08, 2006
Photo of Bierguy5
Reviewed by Bierguy5 from Ohio

3.87/5  rDev -2%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3 | overall: 4
Dark brown in appearance, with some ruby highlights around the edges of the glass. Thin tan head disappears almost immediately. A bit of chocolate, and a whiff of fruityness in the nose. Nice chocolate flavor, however not as rich as I would hope for. Lacks the silkyness of a top notch oatmeal stout. Medium body, with appropriate carbonation. Not bad, but not outstanding.
Nov 14, 2006
Photo of oberon
Reviewed by oberon from North Carolina

3.98/5  rDev +0.8%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5
A new offering from RB poured a very nice creamy looking black with a great looking creamy well retained head,aroma was lightly sweet and roasted.Taste started out pretty soft and round nicely into some dark coffee roast flavor with a light marshmellow feel.very easy to drink and flavorful a real winner here.
Nov 19, 2003
Oatmeal Stout from Rock Bottom Restaurant & Brewery
Beer rating: 88 out of 100 with 17 ratings