Barney Flats Oatmeal Stout
Anderson Valley Brewing Company

 

Drunk at The Good Beer Company in Singapore in October 2023.

L: Jet black with a thin off-white head. No carbonation can be seen because the beer is opaque...

S: Very mild chocolate and cocoa and maybe a bit of dark fruit but I had to work hard to find it.

T: Raisins and other dark fruits. Molasses. Chocolate and cocoa. The beer comes into its own as it warms, but I wonder if the average drinker will have the patience to tease it out.

M: Smooth and silky as expected for an oatmeal stout. Carbonation minimal bit correct for style.

O: For the first half of the beer I struggled to detect aroma and flavour. The beer opened up as it warmed but the start was so neutral that it detracted from the end result.

Cheers!
#337

 

 

 

 

A well carbonated black body with a brief brown head. Roasted smokey malt profile that takes on dark choclate, coffee, tobacco, and dark fruit notes with a fair amount of sweetness throughout. Pretty enjoyable oatmeal stout with an complex and satisfying flavor profile more reminiscent of a Russian imperial stout than an oatmeal stout.

 

Good head production and decent retention. Attractive enough beer overall.

Very traditional roasty aroma with a hint of oxidation (two year old can). Prune, burnt coffee, bitter chocolate, raisin, toast, molasses, and perhaps a bit of licorice. Really excellent aromatic profile considering the modest ABV.

Appropriate for the ABV, this isn't a particularly thick stout, although it does come across as fuller bodied than you might expect. Very smooth and silky - again, quite appropriate as an oatmeal stout.

Flavor profile is really smooth. While the nose implies some strong roasty bitterness, it's quite even on the palate. Granted, those notes tend to smooth out over time, and this is an aged can. Tasting notes of prune and raisin immediately, followed by licorice, caramel, molasses, grape, toast, light bitter chocolate, and coffee, leading to more dark fruit and cola on the finish (seemingly influenced by age and a touch of oxidation). Very flavorful, although the profile is a little bit fruitier and sharper than I'd prefer; think of this as an evolution of the Guinness profile, not a radical mutational leap.

Overall a very nice beer, especially for the ABV.

Look: Dark black pour with about a finger length of foam risen to the surface.
Smell: The smell was instantaneous, it has a strong sweet oatmeal, chocolatey smell.
Taste: Notes of oatmeal followed by chocolate. Kind of reminds me of a Persian dish called lavashak - acidic fruity especially one that's a Burberry flavor.
Feel: light to medium bodied with light carbonation.
Overall: It's a good experience but wouldn't buy again. Better than most oatmeal stouts but then again - oatmeal stouts aren't my cup of tea. I like milk sweet stouts.

 

 

355 ml bottle, from Voldby Købmandsgaard. Pitch black colour, moderate tan head. Pleasant aroma of moderately roasted malts, caramel, oats, mild coffee and woodwork, hints of chocolate and liquorice. Nice flavour too, medium dry, with the same elements as the aroma. Very moderate hops. Smooth mouthfeel.

Surely the Premier version of the style. This is the perfected art of what an oatmeal stout is supposed to be. I can't imagine will ever be able to top it

 

LOOK - dark brown / black - no light shines through - nice frothy 2 finger head out of the 12oz can - recedes quickly but some lacing and activity thereafter
SMELL - some tobacco, coffee, and chocolate - woodsy / burnt wood - not very aromatic but hints
TASTE - bitterness from burnt grains greet you at the beginning - it gets just a touch sweet before the bottom drops out and it goes completely dry and bitter - a lot of charred grains in this one - not very rich on flavor - the coffee/chocolate/wood/and caramel are all in there but pretty light
FEEL - pretty thin really for a stout - activity is not the best / feels pretty flat
OVERALL - an ok stout - I have seen/heard about this for quite some time - I think that it is over-rated - not a go to stout for me - it is ok to try - it is bitter and chalky without really having the powerful flavor to back it up - I can't really get any type of hop presence - an oatmeal stout should have a much fuller body and creamy mouthfeel - not impressed

 

12 oz. cab poured into a tulip glass.

A- Deep brown, with a light brown head. Retains at 1/4" with some minimal lacing left behind.
S- Sweet notes; caramel/toffee, vanilla. Undertones of roasted malt and burnt sugar.
T- Sweet, toffee and brown sugar, with a mild bitterness crisping it up.
M- Nice full oaty body. Thick but still drinkable. Bitterness and some roast level out the sweetness.
O- Pretty tasty, well balanced stout.