Breakfast Oatmeal Stout
Lakefront Brewery

 

 

Pours a black color with a 1/2F tan head with very light lacing.

Smells and tastes of roasted malt, molasses, bourbon, coffee and chocolate with an alcohol warm lightly bitter finish.

Heavy body with very light carbonation. Lush, syrupy mouthfeel.

This is a very strong, big, bold boozy sipper.

 

creamy sweet alty stout great malt flavor in every sip

 

12 oz bottle from the Wall of Beer in Clemson SC ($3.69) served in a Belgian snifter. Bottling date: 12 October 2021.

This pours with a nice, clear, very dark reddish-brown body but comes with a minimal tan head that quickly reduces to a thin ring.

Coffee, hops and wood dominate the lightly smokey aroma while tasting gives much more bourbon, chocolate and dark roasted grains. The flavor is bold for the style with an appropriate mix of bitter and sweet. It's a bit less boozy than expected for 13.3% ABV.

Mouthfeel. Smooth, full bodied and well (lightly) carbonated but high ABV is evident.

L - Poured black with a one finger tan head that dissipated quickly to a thin film. Moderate lacing.

S - Nose of dark chocolate, oak and light coffee.

T - Pronounced taste of bourbon barrel, followed by dark chocolate, coffee and malt. This also has a noticeable sweetness. The oak is pronounced on the finish but with an unusual metallic hint. As you sip this brew, the different flavors take turns being highlighted. The booze comes through right up front to let you know that it has a high ABV. About 2/3 of the way through this beer, I found myself sighing and pleased as it seemed to improve as I continued to drink. Of course, it could have been the high ABV. ;) PS - the flavors and nose really improve has it warms.

F - Moderate-full bodied and smooth. No oiliness. Low carbonation.

O - I find this to be a very interesting stout and will try it again.

 

Decent barrel stout but the wrong barrel and coffee choices and not enough chocolate. Looks nearly black with thick mocha colored foam. Smells like maple, oak, coffee, and malts. Taste is dominated by bourbon barrel oak and vanilla, complimented by dry black coffee, some maple sweetness, oat flakes, and charred malt. Medium mouthfeel. Not bad but not worth seeking out.

Look
Impenetrable dark crimson brown, really dark red, or brown, but basically a color which is not fazed by direct sunlight or other bright light, and almost black. Excellent lacing. Also, this one is Clear: No turbidity or haze-Bro, here.

Smell
HUGE coffee (mocha) character, with rounder and lighter notes of bourbon (barrel and wood). Lighter cocoa (chocolate… without milk) seems to be the most expressive aspect.

Taste
Soft and smooth on the first sip, with lighter carbonation. Surprisingly sweet, and almost dry, which is admirable in a beer of this strength and style. Bourbon/barrel character is most expressive at the end of the drink, at which point the strength is also most apparent. Good overall mouthfeel and goes a long way toward fully “coating” the upper and lower palate, but not sweet, much less cloying or “oily” (which is of course meant in a good way). Seems almost a little too thin, but that isn’t a ding or mark against it.

Later on (midway through the glass, so maybe ten minutes in, as it’s had some time to warm) there are lighter notes of oxidation which aren’t necessarily a bad thing in such a big beer, as I’ve also noted the same in barleywine and strong ales both domestic and imported. But I’ve never experienced it in a stronger ale which is less than a year in the bottle (October of 2021, according to the label), so it’s worth noting and mentioning.

Feel
Excellent drinkability. Lighter, “thin”, but substantial, and probably dangerously drinkable, and therefore a true dipper.

Overall
I have had this one once before, and recall liking it enough at the time. It’s definitely worth a re-visit, and may be worth seeking out if this nexus of flavors is up your alley. A great beer from what I have long considered to be a great brewery.

 

 

 

 

12oz bottle. Poured out an opaque, jet-black color with a small, light brown head of foam. It left sudsy trails of lace on the glass. It smelled of chocolate, toffee, bourbon, oak and vanilla. Sweet chocolate taste with toffee, strong bourbon and subtle vanilla taste.