Cottonwood Oatmeal Stout
Carolina Beer Company

From notes. Found this one passing through Charlotte airport. Pours dark brown, clear, tan head lasts and lasts. no lacing. SMEll is roast and sweet. Balanced but not complex. TASTE is roasty and hoppy bitter. Balancing malt doesn't support well enough. Some sourness, like the brown had. FEEL med fiz, thin, bitter/sour. OVERALL the lines may be dirty or this may be a bad sample? Disappointing regardless. sour flavor may be an "off" flavor?

On-tap at Charlotte airport's Carolina Beer Co. restaurant outpost. Poured into a shaker pint.

A--Looks great: deep almost black brown with faint ruby hints along the bottom rim of the glass. Half finger off-white head lasts in a skimmy rim and laces. Inviting!

S--Enh, a little bit downhill. Not much roastiness or chocolate from the malt, and even less toffee or sweetness from the oat mash. Just not what I expected, or not as much I guess I should say. There is some breadcrust and maybe a faint trace of coffee bitterness, but it smells mostly like a weak porter, not an oatmeal stout.

T--Same as the nose, and disappointing after seeing it. This too watery to be enjoyed, in my opinion. Like drinking fizzy black water. To call this a stout is like calling a Pekingnese a guard dog. No thanks, guys.

Mouthfeel, again, is watery and unimpressive. Not something I'd refuse if offered, but I wouldn't seek it out, either. Especially given all the wonderful examples of the style both abroad--Sam Smith--and at home--Goose Island, Sixpoint Otis.

This brewery kinda stinks out loud, judging by the two brews of theirs I tried. Stick to Highland in Asheville, I'd say.

edit--Just read the other reviews: This is a /special/ offering?! Eegawds.

On-tap at the Carolina Brewing Co. in the Charlotte Airport
3/18/09

A: Pours a deep brown. Served with no head. No lacing.

S: Dark chocolate with a nice Kahlua aroma.

T: Balanced with flavors of bold coffee, anise, and tobacco. Taste is fleet.

M: Light-bodied with medium carbonation. Quite thin for the style.

D: Not bad. Nice taste, yet the texture is too thin and light for the style.

Ok, just had this one at the brewery today(10/18/03). It's still 2 weeks before it comes out on the market, so I got an advanced tasteing. They plan on it only being in kegs, but hopefully they will go for the bottled area too.

I must say, this is by far the best Oatmeal Stout I have ever had, and that's saying a lot. It was jet black with a dark brown head that lasted quite a while. The smell was very coffee like, but also had the presence of chocolate, which was the main malt they used for it. The taste was similar to the smell, but way more intense. It had an earthy taste to it for the first 1.5 seconds, then switched over to a very strong chocolate taste. It was almost like a chocolate bar, but with alcohol. It coated your mouth sooo nicely and had a bit of carbonation to tickle the toungue. As far as drinkability, I could drink this stuff all damn day! Too bad there's none up here where I live. 8( If you get the chance to try this one, do not pass it down. I can honestly say that this far exceded my expectations with this brewery.