In-House Stout
Sand Creek Brewing Company

Poured from a bottle into a snifter. It pours a very deep, dark brown/red. It is almost opaque when held to the light. A very minimal tan head forms and is gone shortly thereafter, leaving no lacing.

The aroma is primarily of coffee (more specifically roasted espresso) with some dark chocolate and oatmeal notes.

The taste is similar to the aroma. The coffee notes are readily present. There is a very quick dark chocolate note up front and it finishes with a reasonable level of coffee bitterness and oatmeal.

The mouthfeel was weak to me. There is a level of full-bodiedness to this but is seems to quickly become light. The carbonation makes it fairly crisp and a mild dryness lingers on the tip of your tongue.

Overall, this is a reasonable oatmeal stout. I don't think it is great, but it is a little above average. The coffee components are quite good, as expected from a very nice coffee and beer store. However, it could use a little TLC to improve the stiffness of this beer. Worth a try.

Sand Creek's In-House Stout, received as an extra in an RB trade. Split at a tasting with friends, with my portion poured into a brandy snifter.

Appearance: Pours a deep, dark, black bodied brew with a two-finger tan head that fades relatively quickly into nothing but a thin collar and a spiderweb-like sheen of froth. Very little lacing, so there's not much to it, though it's not unappealing.

Aroma: The first (and largely, only) note I get is of intense, dark, black espresso roast, only faintly sweet in places. It's just very heavily toasted. No overt notes of oatmeal per se, though there are a few "wholesome," grainy aromatics.

Taste: Much heavier oatmeal than in the nose, which - in conjunction with tons of black malt, heavily kilned, which comes off very earthy and coffee-like, with notes of faint chocolate - makes for a pleasant addition. Very wholesome, with faint and nondescript fruit notes, as well. There's even a slight acidic note that comes through at some points, likely from overly roasted (or heavily roasted, rather) malts.

Mouthfeel: Relatively thick and heavy bodied, with a minimal carbonation, though somehow it's still relatively even and crisp. Not quite creamy, however, like I'd expect an oatmeal stout to be, as it's a little coffee-esque oily/spritzy in places.

Drinkability: An interesting brew, and one I'm glad I tried. If you like coffee oatmeal stouts, this is the one for you, and I'd classify this as a coffee stout before an oatmeal stout. As a coffee fan, I enjoyed it a lot - flavorful, presumably relatively low in alcohol, and, though it's not terribly balanced, I'm ok with that.

This is a beer made by Sand creek for "The Coffee Grounds" in Eau Claire.

Quite dark, but not pitch black; there is still some translucency, a reddish hue. Tan head, poor retention.
Aroma is coffee, some oatmeal, but not very strong. Thin on the palate for the style, lots of coffee on the taste, roasted malts, not a lot else.
Very nice store (Coffee grounds), not very nice beer. Just OK.

Appearance: Pours a black body with a intolerably large (though it soon settles), fizzy, khaki-colored head.

Smell: Black malt aroma with full notes of fire-scorched coffee grinds and charred dark chcolate alongwith odd, stray hints of noxious garden weeds.

Taste: Heavily roasted maltiness with plenty of dark roast coffee, dark chocolate, and a subdued sweetness. Herbaceous hops. Hint of smoke. Light acidity. The roasty coffee character dominates the flavor and brings the lion's share of the bitterness, too.

Mouthfeel: Medium-bodied. Fizzy carbonation.

Drinkability: A bit coarse even for a coffee stout, but with some slight tweaks here and there and a toning down of the carbonation it could be quite nice.

Black beer with a brown head. Lace is good. Decent coffee aroma mixed in with roasted malts and a little caramel sweetness. Body is light and mouthfeel is watery. Needs some more residual sugars, dextrins, something, anything for some more body. Taste is all out coffee and roasted malts. And it's not bad, but there's definitely a watery element to this beer that detracts throughout. Not in the same league with Town Hall or Bell's Coffee beers.

This is a special brew made by Sand creek for "The Coffee Grounds" in Eau Claire using coffeee from their establishment.

It is billed as a Chocolate Oatmeal Stout with a rich coffee flavor...My guess is it's their Oscars stout (formerly from Pioneer)infused with the coffee..

Pours a scarlet hued black....Great nose of pure coffee grounds...not much else...body is OK....maybe slightly watery...mild creamy mouthfeel....

Taste is big on the coffee but also has a subtle sweet milk chocolate note....finish is slightly acidic but not in a bad way.

Overall I'm not a big fan of coffee beers but this is a solid offering. Would be great by the campfire with some eggs and bacon as the sun rises in the Wisconsin Northwoods...