Oppenheimer Oatmeal Stout
Atomic Ale Brewpub And Eatery

I sampled this brew along with my beer buddy imacoug. We wanted to try each of the beers offered by a local brewpub.

A: It poured a very rich dark black body with a healthy dark tan head that receded to a persistent ring around the collar that fed a nice even lacing.

S: I worked the beer to secure the aroma of toasted malts and dark fruits. However, the aroma was not pronounced and did not come forward.

T: It had a distinct deeply toasted, but not quite burnt, malt flavor that turned acidic as the drink progressed. I expected a bitter chocolate but found no such flavor. Moreover, given the "oatmeal" claim in the name I expected a creamy richness that again was not to be found. Rather, I experienced a one dimensional flavor in a flat and thin body.

M: Thin and watery with a sightly bitter aftertaste.

D: Not much of a stout and missing the oatmeal. Disappointing but not oppressively bad. Having one is worth the experience but there are so many other brews that I would rather spend time with.

“Now I am become death, the destroyer of worlds.” Somehow I just can’t separate the thought of Robert Oppenheimer from that famous quote of his that he borrowed from the Bhagavad Gita. It’s somehow comforting that the designers of the original atomic bomb had a sense of poetry, isn’t it?

I wonder what Oppenheimer might have thought about having an oatmeal stout named after him.

I digress.

Anyway, this may be Atomic’s most drinkable beer. It has a predominantly roasted character with an abundance of roasted barley taking it to the threshold of being charred. Still, it’s charmed. A dark caramel aroma somehow emerges to compliment the strong roasted flavor. It’s not especially creamy, but the flavor is engaging and none too shy. Customary appearances and a stretched finish define the rest of it. Offered on a rotating basis.