OMS
Hamburg Brewing Company

 

A latent lingering dark chocolate taste flare. Interesting bitter roasted / malt complexity. Nose is lush sweetness with notes of grain and malt.

Look: dark brown and a bit more clear than I’d like for a stout. Moderate beige head that fades pretty quickly with only minor lacing.

Smell: charred grains, a bit of hops, and quite a bit of malt. The aroma opens up more as it warms from fridge to room temperature.

Taste: much more complex than I expected for a 5.3% ABV from Hamburg. There’s some sweetness from the lactose but it’s not dominant or overpowering. The bitter roasted (maybe even singed?) grain taste is there, especially on the backend, and gives definite dark roast coffee vibes as the beer warms.

Feel: this is the only area where this beer falls short. There’s too much carbonation for a stout, and there’s a lingering syrupy coating on my tongue and in my mouth that is not especially enjoyable.

Overall: a solid mashup of oatmeal and milk stouts. I’d buy this again as long as the price was reasonable.

 

A solid milk stout that gives you that hint of sweetness with a solid malty flavor. I don't think I'd had one both oatmeal and milk together before but that combination works really well.

 

 

Moderate head production; good retention and very nice lacing. Body is a bit lighter in color, somewhere between a dark brown ale and a porter or milk stout.

Roasty nose, featuring cola, toast, cream, coffee, toffee, caramel, and red grapes.

Flavor follows. It's a very straightforward and roasty oatmeal stout, and quite enjoyable. Plenty of toast, dark chocolate, grains, unsweetened caramel, cola, prune. Bitter and toasty finish.

Creamy body. Smooth and lively.

 

 

 

 

 

Disappointing. I love a good oatmeal stout. This is not a good one. Smells and looks great but that's where it ends. A large lack of character. It's hard to distinguish much of anything here.

Poured into a grip shaped goblet: color is brown, amber edges, head is tan with fine bubbles and head presents 1/2 inch thick and lingers through entire tasting.

Smell is quite pleasant with light lactose, soft bread and hints of chocolate malts.

Taste follows the aroma with lactose, hints of oatmeal and toast, then light chocolate, roast is limited. Sweetness is not overdone and the oats add some depth.

Mouthfeel is moderately carbonated with lingering light sweetness from the oat and lactose.

Overall a solid hybrid style is easy drinking but a bit limited in roast stout flavor.

 

 

 

 

Should I be concerned OMS ("oatmeal milk stout") is only about as dark and opaque as its bottle? I'm of the belief that anything with 'stout' in its name should be black but what's in the glass is unmistakably brown, even when viewed away from the light. And it's appreciably clear too. The lackluster head doesn't instill much confidence either...

But aroma is the true test for any kind of stout - do I smell tastefully roasted, even lightly singed grain with nuances of chocolate and a creamy, nutty, nougat-y center? Do I even smell some chicory coffee? Yes. Yes I do. And that combination of flavours is not only inviting but also seamlessly balances the bitter and the sweet.

"Oatmeal" and "Milk (or "Sweet")" Stouts are respective styles in their own rights. There's nothing that says you can't combine the two and, admittedly, it's often difficult distinguishing one from the other. Indeed, the residual vanilla-like sweetness of the lactose tastes natural when paired with the innate coffee-and-cream flavours of dark roasted grains.

Likewise, the milky element added in the mouthfeel department doesn't detract from the oily, velvety-rich oatmeal qualities but, rather, adds another dimension on top of it. Immensely drinkable, I think I'll skip the hot chocolate next time and opt for a mug of this instead (given the milk sugars you don't even need to add marshmallows).

Hamburg OMS is about as toothsome and approachable as stouts get but is none the worse for that. There's a lot to be said for being able to offer prominent roasty, bittersweet flavours at a PG-rating. This well-calibrated recipe makes for an excellent 'crossover' candidate and aught to be shared with every Guinness drinker you know.