Oatmeal Stout
Oak Creek Brewing Co.

 

Sampled 1702, Tucson; November 2011
Arrives from the tap with a lightly browned head that sits on top of a deeply, dark brown, almost black colored beer. When held up to the light it is mostly opaque but does show some brown hues around the edges. The aroma smells of smooth roast, buttery diacetyl, perhaps a touch of dark chocolate, a toothsome toasted grain character, some brown bread whole-grain notes, and some cold pressed roasted coffee like notes. The diacetyl seems to dissipate a bit after some time, though it never disappears from the nose entirely.

The beer has a soft sweetness to it that lingers through the long finish; this is boosted by a hint of noticeable diacetyl derived buttery character. The roast flavors are quite smooth and well integrated; it provides a touch of bitter roast malt character, a richly roasted mocha coffee note, lots of dark chocolate and a well integrated, dark malt sweetness / maltiness that provides a chewy quality to this fairly light bodied beer. This is actually light and quaffable, but still has a creaminess and texture to it (perhaps provided by the oatmeal) that provides enough viscosity to keep this from seeming watery.

Despite the noticeable diacetyl, this beer is actually fairly good; it would have been better without it, but there is not so much that it severly detracts from the overall character of this beer.