Imperial Oak Oatmeal Stout
Saint Patrick's Brewing Company

 

the fact that this thing is a lager is simply mind bending to me. these guys do some amazing stuff with lager yeast, but this might take the cake for me so far. inky black highly viscous brew, not a ton of head, but intimidating looking and impenetrable to light. it smells like wood chips, definitely like lager yeast, and like a ton of dark chocolate and specialty dark malt. its heavy on the roast, its almost got a crude oil minerality to it, and plenty of alcohol, but its softened and mellowed by the wood, which i think is a nice but also highly necessary touch. tangy for a second in the middle before the yeast comes in, imperial stout lager, a really cool concept i think. layers of chocolate and caramel and charcoal all come in, and the beer is a tad sweeter than i think it needs to be. its also almost still in terms of carbonation, which i have noticed in a lot of bottles from these guys. maybe something with the lager yeast not waking back up to charge the bottles, but they have been flat or near it across the board. i dont really mind it in this style though, and it keeps getting better as it warms up with licorice creeping in. an enjoyable and wholly unique beverage. id like to sit in on brew day and hear how they make this thing!