Oatmeal Vanilla Black Lager
Cowbell Brewing Co.
- From:
- Cowbell Brewing Co.
- Ontario, Canada
- Style:
- Schwarzbier
- ABV:
- 4.8%
- Score:
- +2 ratings needed
- Avg:
- 3.46 | pDev: 17.34%
- Ratings:
- | reviews: 4
- Status:
- Active
- Rated:
- Jan 26, 2026
- Added:
- Feb 28, 2019
- Wants:
- 0
- Gots:
- 1
NO SCORE
-
-
No description / notes.
Recent ratings and reviews.
Rated by paylstep from Canada (ON)
2/5 rDev -42.2%
look: 2 | smell: 2 | taste: 2 | feel: 2 | overall: 2
2/5 rDev -42.2%
look: 2 | smell: 2 | taste: 2 | feel: 2 | overall: 2
not super interesting...
Jan 26, 2026
Reviewed by talisen-crw from Canada (ON)
4.25/5 rDev +22.8%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
4.25/5 rDev +22.8%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
At my lady Pamela's house; canned and chilled, 473mL in a pint glass. From my favourite LCBO at Tecumseh Mall in nearby Windsor. Canned August 1/25. My eleventh beer from the Blyth, Ontario brewery, and fifth for 2025. Ignored for bathing by Sundae the cat...
Oct 25, 2025
Reviewed by taxandbeerguy from Canada (ON)
3.67/5 rDev +6.1%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
3.67/5 rDev +6.1%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
Out of retirement it would seem. Or perhaps a rebranding of an existing beer. 473 ml can served cold into a chalice. LCBO purchase. Canned August 1, 2025. Listed at 4% ABV.
Appearance - Impressive deep brown color with a finger plus of foamy tan head. Very solid staying power.
Smell - Lots of vanilla and some oats, lightly roasted aroma too. One dimensional in nose, but it's a pretty good dimension.
Taste - Vanilla, a bit artificial tasting but balanced with a nice roasty lager. Something almost mint-like coming through at times. Some coffee in there too. A bit too sweet and unbalanced, but decidedly flavorful with nothing off.
Mouthfeel - Nice aggressive carbonation with crisp finish. Body is semi-dry with some malt flavors sticking too much to the mouth (vanilla sweetness)
Overall - Pretty solid attempt and good intensity of flavor for a 4% beer. Feels a bit forced, but nonetheless an enjoyable quaff with the vanilla being just a bit to prominent from otherwise a fine little black lager.
Oct 04, 2025Appearance - Impressive deep brown color with a finger plus of foamy tan head. Very solid staying power.
Smell - Lots of vanilla and some oats, lightly roasted aroma too. One dimensional in nose, but it's a pretty good dimension.
Taste - Vanilla, a bit artificial tasting but balanced with a nice roasty lager. Something almost mint-like coming through at times. Some coffee in there too. A bit too sweet and unbalanced, but decidedly flavorful with nothing off.
Mouthfeel - Nice aggressive carbonation with crisp finish. Body is semi-dry with some malt flavors sticking too much to the mouth (vanilla sweetness)
Overall - Pretty solid attempt and good intensity of flavor for a 4% beer. Feels a bit forced, but nonetheless an enjoyable quaff with the vanilla being just a bit to prominent from otherwise a fine little black lager.
Reviewed by TerryW from Canada (ON)
3.5/5 rDev +1.2%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
3.5/5 rDev +1.2%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
Vanilla. Vanilla. Vanilla.
Yeah. Vanilla. Drinkable, but quite one dimensional. Some chocolate and coffee lurk, but vanilla. Attractive on pour, but no retention or lace. Thin bodied with a slightly bitter dark chocolate finish. Fine as dessert beer.
Nov 22, 2020Yeah. Vanilla. Drinkable, but quite one dimensional. Some chocolate and coffee lurk, but vanilla. Attractive on pour, but no retention or lace. Thin bodied with a slightly bitter dark chocolate finish. Fine as dessert beer.
Reviewed by thehyperduck from Canada (ON)
3.48/5 rDev +0.6%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.5
3.48/5 rDev +0.6%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.5
473 mL can from the LCBO; two of these are included in Cowbell's current Winter Collection mixed pack. No canning date; served barely chilled.
Pours an opaque, cola-like brownish-black colour, sporting more than a finger of foamy, beige-coloured head that recedes within the next three minutes or so. A messy curtain of arcing bands of lace has been splattered about in the process, with a tight collar of frothy suds being the other remnant - it's an attractive glass of beer, for sure. Vanilla is a dominant force within the aroma, though complementary notes of milk chocolate, brown sugar, oatmeal and espresso helping to integrate it somewhat. It's saccharine compared to a traditional schwarz, which is not my preference for dark lagers, but your mileage may vary.
The nose had me worried that this would be a mess, but the components do a decent job of balancing each other out in the flavour. Vanilla is still a big player right from the start, sharing the stage with hints of espresso coffee, milk chocolate and cocoa, as well as oatmeal sweetness towards the front end of the sip. Roastier notes of coffee grounds develop near the finish, with vanilla and chocolate lingering into a lightly roasty aftertaste. Light-ish in body, with low carbonation levels that weakly nudge the palate; feels silky-smooth on the palate, with fair drinkability.
Final Grade: 3.48, a B-. Cowbell's Oatmeal Vanilla Black Lager is a mixed bag: the vanilla is a little overplayed IMO, and the whole thing is a bit more sugary than I prefer my lagers, dark or not. That being said, I found no crippling problems with this beer - it's not fatally flawed or anything, it's just not tailored towards my preferences, and that's ok. The base dark lager is largely overpowered by the vanilla, so my suggestions for improvement would be to either a) tone down the vanilla, or b) beef up the roastiness. Either that, or just use a stout as the base instead of a schwarzbier.
Dec 04, 2019Pours an opaque, cola-like brownish-black colour, sporting more than a finger of foamy, beige-coloured head that recedes within the next three minutes or so. A messy curtain of arcing bands of lace has been splattered about in the process, with a tight collar of frothy suds being the other remnant - it's an attractive glass of beer, for sure. Vanilla is a dominant force within the aroma, though complementary notes of milk chocolate, brown sugar, oatmeal and espresso helping to integrate it somewhat. It's saccharine compared to a traditional schwarz, which is not my preference for dark lagers, but your mileage may vary.
The nose had me worried that this would be a mess, but the components do a decent job of balancing each other out in the flavour. Vanilla is still a big player right from the start, sharing the stage with hints of espresso coffee, milk chocolate and cocoa, as well as oatmeal sweetness towards the front end of the sip. Roastier notes of coffee grounds develop near the finish, with vanilla and chocolate lingering into a lightly roasty aftertaste. Light-ish in body, with low carbonation levels that weakly nudge the palate; feels silky-smooth on the palate, with fair drinkability.
Final Grade: 3.48, a B-. Cowbell's Oatmeal Vanilla Black Lager is a mixed bag: the vanilla is a little overplayed IMO, and the whole thing is a bit more sugary than I prefer my lagers, dark or not. That being said, I found no crippling problems with this beer - it's not fatally flawed or anything, it's just not tailored towards my preferences, and that's ok. The base dark lager is largely overpowered by the vanilla, so my suggestions for improvement would be to either a) tone down the vanilla, or b) beef up the roastiness. Either that, or just use a stout as the base instead of a schwarzbier.
Rated by Pmicdee from Canada (ON)
3.63/5 rDev +4.9%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.5
3.63/5 rDev +4.9%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.5
March 14 2026
Nov 10, 2019
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