Don't Poke The Bear
DryHop Brewers

 

Pours a deep dark brown, nearly crossing over to black with a minimal head. Huge roast and oat in the nose, would definitely pick this as a oatmeal stout if I were smelling/tasting this blind. Taste features chocolate, smoke, heavy roast and a touch of cream. Mouthfeel has medium body with low carbonation. Overall, this is a very stout like brown. Not really a bad thing considering it is quite enjoyable, but it lacks some of the more mild brown malt qualities that bring a touch of sweetness to a brown ale.

On-tap at DryHop. 10oz mini-pint glass.

A - Dark tan foam settles to a near-complete cap, leaving behind splotchy lacework. Hazy unfiltered medium-dark brown body.

S - Chocolate, light smoke, milled grains, roast, and some actual oatmeal character. One of the few beers I've had where the oat addition actually manifested in the aroma and flavor.

T - The taste is more roasty and less sweet, with cereal grains, baker's chocolate, and perhaps a faint hint of tobacco and earthy hop to it.

M - Creamy and smooth, as you'd expect from the oats, but with a touch of roast dryness in the finish. Moderate-to-low carbonation, and a sufficiently hefty medium body for the listed 5.9%. Not alcohol, as one would expect.

D - A well-crafted brown ale that I enjoyed. Like the mix of sweet and roasty flavors, as I find a lot of brown ales too sweet. I'd order this one again, and could see myself tackling a 32oz growler with a friend.