12th Anniversary Bitter Chocolate Oatmeal Stout - Bourbon Barrel-Aged
Stone Brewing

How can this be retired? It is 12/14/2019 and I am sitting in Stones Taproom drinking one! It’s fabulous, great feel, nice lace on the glass, well balanced with a nice bourbon background. I hope they brought it out of retirement!

 

 

 

 

 

L: decent head, slight lace. Dark black.

S: slight chocolate and malt.

T: more chocolate than the nose. Finishes with a dark chocolate taste. Slightly bitter. I don't get much bourbon though. But very good.

F: smooth all the way through.

O: good beer. I like the bitter chocolate. Would buy again.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Pint on tap at the Most Arrogant Bar Bash at Barleys in Greenville SC. Woohoo!

Opaque black with a modest sized but durable mocha brown head.

The aroma is sweet, with an obvious bourbon barrel component. The bourbon barrel is even more obvious in tasting, and lends a nice, albeit high ABV quality, to the flavor. Still, the high ABV is partly hidden. Lightly sweet and highly flavorful. Very good complexity and balance. Long lasting aftertaste.

 

 

 

 

 

 

On tap at Congregation Ale House in Pasadena, CA.

Pours an opaque black with a foamy dark khaki head that settles to an oily film on top of the beer. Thin rings of lace line the glass on the drink down. Smell is of dark roasted malt, cocoa, vanilla, wood, and bourbon. Taste is much the same an alcohol kick and woody finish. There is a mild roasty bitterness on the palate with each sip. This beer has a low level of carbonation with an almost flat mouthfeel. Overall, this is a good beer that is tasty but has a better smell in my opinion.

 

 

1092nd Review on BA
Draft to 4oz taster

WinterStorm 2012

App- Very much a black pour. Had a super creamy pour with only about 1/16th-1/8th of bubbles in a dark brown color. Zero cling or lace.

Smell- Big notes of oats, bourbon, bits of chocolate chunks and a bit malty. Very smooth and very creamy on the nose.

Taste- Very smooth. Much more smooth than the 2008. Expected because of the ingredient profiles. The oats come in 1st again with more of the smoother bourbon (still prickly). I like the tempered chocolate and bourbon.

Mouth- A medium to low body on this one with a medium prickly carbonation. Residual booze and a bit of creamy chocolate.

Drink- I liked this one better than the 2008 but not by much. A bit creamier and a bit more smooth. I like this beer a lot.

 

 

 

 

12/31/2011

On tap at Stone's New Year's Eve party.

A: Black motor oil with a small light brown head.

S: Bourbonic dark chocolate cake with caramel drizzle and light vanilla notes. Roasted grains are pronounced and pervasive. Smells great.

T: Cocoa and bittersweet dark chocolate with an evenhanded bourbon presence and light vanilla notes. Lower moderate bitterness with earth and a little licorice. This is very sweet.

M: Full in body with upper low carbonation.

Overall: Not as good as the 2008 Bourbon Barrel IRS which was also on tap, but still enjoyable enough that I had 20 ounces or so. Recommended.

 

 

 

 

 

On Tap

Stone 15th Anniversary Celebration
CSU, San Marcos
San Marcos, CA

(Aged 3 years at the brewery)

A menacingly thick and black pour with a thin brown, persistent head. Thick and oily in the glass and leaves plenty of lacing. Looks mean and menacing but beautiful.

Roasted malts, caramel malts, and plenty of dark chocolate in the nose. The bourbon is very faint but is present. It adds a nice, earthy warmth, without being at all overpowering. The burnt chocolate and char aromas I experienced in the non-barrel aged version are gone now, fortunately.

Rich chocolate, creamy oatmeal, lots of roasted malts, and just a hint of bourbon. I'm actually pleasantly surprised at how faint the bourbon is on this one--it doesn't cover up anything, only accentuates.

Creamy, thick, chewy in the mouth, which is appropriate and expected for this style, but not quite as velvety and full as the standard Stone RIS.

A delicious and subtle bourbon barrel aging of a delicious chocolate oatmeal stout.

Appearance: Served up a raven black body under a thin sheet of light tan-colored suds.

Smell: Soothing aroma smelling of creamy bittersweet chocolate fudge, chilled coffee, vanilla, coconut cream, and zesty wood. It's just a joy to cram up against one's nose and give it a whiff.

Taste: Deep, dark maltiness tasting of bittersweet chocolate fused with a small shot of espresso and a little helping of vanilla bean. The vanilla flavor moves to the front, joining with toasted oak and dark brown sugar. Hint of dark fruitiness and coconut shavings. Lightly earthy, roasty bitterness which ramps up on the back half, though the chocolate and bourbon hold on strong until the finish.

Mouthfeel: Medium-plus body. Medium-light carbonation. Smooth, creamy mouthfeel.

Drinkability: Quite nice! The bourbon barrel aging here made, for me, a marked improvement over the original beer, smoothing out its coarser elements and adding a new level of deliciousness.

Takeover at Duckworths. From notes.
Near black pour, dark tan head. So far so good.

Roasty malt and vanilla with some oaky woodiness.

Taste is a very nice blend of roast malt, dark chocolate, vanilla and oak. Oaky tannic barrel lingers forever. Finishes a little more caramelly and dry.

Near full bodied, creamy mouthfeel. Exceedingly smooth. An excellent version of the 12th which I already greatly enjoyed.

Thanks to Habmike for the chance to try this brew.

From a 16oz growler into a snifter, this brew appears black in color with some lighter brown showing around the edges. The head is darkly tanned which rapidly fades to a thin layering around the top of the brew.

The aroma includes some mellow vanilla and a lightly oxidized touch. A bit of an indication of grain like caramel and chocolate with some citrus hops and a layer of cocoa.

The taste of this brew is dark bitter chocolate that has a touch of citrus and herbal hops. It is lightly oxidizes which adds an interesting complexity to this brew. The alcohol becomes increasingly evident as the brew warms. It is reinforced with some faint bourbon notes.

This is medium bodied with a smooth, light level of carbonation. It has a longer lingering aftertaste of bitter chocolate and herbal hops. The bourbon is evident in trace amounts. I think this brew is too similar to the non-barreled version. I would have liked to see more a barrel presence in this beer instead of just a mellow smoothness that is readily notceable when compared to the normal version.