Crown Island Chocolate Vanilla Oatmeal Stout
Bolton Landing Brewing Company

 

interestingly they mention neither the chocolate nor the vanilla on the chalk board menu i ordered this from, so i had no idea i was getting that, but its a nice pint, maybe a tad thin as an oatmeal stout base, but the added ingredients are tastefully dosed and this comes together pretty well, not way too sweet or anything, even though there is some residual sugar on the finish. shiny and dark in the glass but decidedly brown and not black, short but sturdy tan head. the nose and taste are about the same, not too much vanilla but its definitely present, i get it mostly on the finish, and it brings out some of the chocolate malt character this has in it. the cocoa is deep and roasty and bitter, pairs well with the malt, and doesnt get too desserty. i immediately kind of wished it was just a plain oatmeal stout, it was my first time in here and i was interested in something dark and simple on a rainy day, a little hard to evaluate a place based on a flavored beer like this, but its good for what it is, a little more oat body would be cool, smooth this out and fill it out a bit, but they did a good job here overall, the fermentation is clean, and on the whole this is solid. not so sugary i couldnt have a few of them, which is a bonus!

Dark brown appearance with a foamy tan head, low retention, and minimal lacing. Cocoa, vanilla, dates, fig, roasty malt. Medium body, medium carbonation.