12th Anniversary Bitter Chocolate Oatmeal Stout
Stone Brewing

 

Bottle at Echarle Huevos, served at home in a snifter glass. Pours a black colour, medium dark chocolate head sith shor retention. Almost no lacing.
Aroma of chocolate, rum, wood, vanilla, spices, herbs.
Medium body, creamy texture, normal carbonation. Bitter finish.
Taste of chocolate, dried fruits, herbs, rum, spices vanilla.
Very good.

A: dark black in color with a tan head.

S: sweet up front with a touch of Orange peel, and perhaps a hint of smoke. It almost had a Islam scotch aroma to it.

T: not getting the orange peel as much, but info get smoke, toffee, and chocolate.

M: medium thick with a creamy feel. Moderate carbonatuon.

O: tasty, but the aroma far surpasses the flavor.

 

Pours a hearty black, but slightly less than their classic RIS. Still has the brown head cap on it in the 1/2" range. Looks very good like every other Stone stout made. Aroma hits the chocolate malt and roasted malt notes. No surprises here like Radiohead said.

Taste is a well made beer that stresses its chocolate malt without dropping a bunch of sugar on the drinker. Still hides the alcohol quite well without the use of aforementioned sweetness, this is baker's dark unsweetened chocolate malt if you will. Lays off the dark stone fruit bitterness thankfully. Slightly bitter and roasty throughout the lifetime of the beer. Neither of which is excessively done. One of the nicer things about the beer is how it didn't go for the biggest thickest kind of angle, its all screw your Chicago pour, you can dome this all by yourself. One of the few examples of a bomber that wasn't some ridiculous price per oz. A solid offering.

 

 

 

 

**
08/11/2017

22oz Bottle (01/10/2016) to snifter. Aged 19 months.

Thought I had rated this back in early 2016, but I guess not. Remember it being good, not great; possibly to benefit from some age. Maybe 19 months is a bit long for this sub-10% beer. Still tasty, but I feel like it has degraded a little.

LOOK: dark black pour; decent brown head. Retains decently, excellent considering age.
AROMA: I get wood, cocoa powder, with some hints of hay/grass.
TASTE: Bitter chocolate is nice. would complement a sweeter dessert well. I also get notes of raisin and fig. I don;t necessarily taste oatmeal; but there is a grainy taste that I am attributing to the oats in the malt.
FEEL: full bodied; light carbonation, but better than expected for style and age. dry finish.

All in all a pretty solid beer; like Belgian chocolate meets Irish stout. I wish I had jotted down my notes the first time i had this to compare. Opening a 1 year old OAKMEAL next to compare barrel aged vs. non barrel aged of the same beer.

**

 

 

 

 

 

 

silky, chocolatey, tasty