Belfast Bay McGoverns Oatmeal Stout

Brewed by Shipyard Brewing Company
Style: Sweet Stout
Portland, Maine USA

12oz bottle popped open with some enthusiasm and poured out a dark liquid carrying a six finger tall mocha head. There seem to be plenty of time to assess the nose as I await the subsiding head to make it down to the beer. The aroma has roasty malts heading toward dark roasted malts and a note of astringency. I do get the odd oatmeal twang lurking off in the background with burnt malts. The lively carbonation hurriedly ushers in dark roasted malts, burnt malts, some drying and mildly tart malts astringency and a bit of coffee. It ends with burnt malts, coffee and chocolate malts. The over carbonation disrupts the anticipated oatmeal enhanced creamy mouth feel.

Bottle. Pours a dark brown with a thick quickly dissipating head. The aroma was alcohol, grain, and roasted oats. Taste was oat and a bit sour and some burnt sugars. A thin bubbly brew.

Pours a very dark cola brown/mahogany that is just slightly transparent at the far edges. A large, foamy, dark tan head settles slowly t a thin layer, leaving virtually no lacing behind. The nose is very roasty, with notes of baker’s chocolate, coffee with milk, vanilla, and a touch of charred wood. The flavor is again quite roasted, and not as sweet as I expected. Bitter chocolate, oaky vanilla, scorched caramel, and coffee are all draw together by a light lactic sweetness. Thin for a stout, the palate is dry as a bone, leaving the mouth parched after about half a glass. It goes down smooth, leaving a lingering roast on the tongue, but is just so darn dry. Overall, this one smells and tastes pretty good, but the mouthfeel just brings the whole experience down, ruining this beer’s sessionability. Still better than most of what Shipyard’s lineup.

Tap at Barcade: Deep brown, with a watery looking texture. Very chocolaty aroma with some mocha roast as well. Fizzy, watery body with a low quality malt character that only gives off a burnt flavor and an unpleasant bitterness. I didn’t enjoy this one at all.

Bottle... Pitch black ale with a fizzy, overflowing, well-tanned head. Excellent retention. Nutty, mocha nose. Medium to full-bodied with spritzy carbonation. Leans slightly on the bitter side of balance by providing charred and acrid, coffee ground notes. Thin, crisp, lightly bitter finish.

Pours jet black with a monster, foamy, well-retained light brown head. The aroma was heavy on the chocolate, very syrupy, with good doses of caramel, and a slight acidic twinge. The flavor was lightly roasty, with mostly chocolate and dark malt caramel shoving all other flavors aside. Very soft and easy on the palate, medium-bodied, with maybe a touch of that acidity showing up in the finish. Aftertaste was lightly bitter and roasty. Decent sweet stout, drinkable, but mildly flawed.

Poured a rich and deep ebony color, head is thick and tan. Aroma is fairy mild, wisps of roasted coffee, an odd acidic note (?), seem to be nicely intertwined. The flavor is more assertive than the aroma, but is not memorable. Average stout.

Pours pitch black with a dark tan head that is pretty big. Nose is roasted malts that have a very slightly smoked quality to it. Flavor is heavily smoked malts. Off the first sip I wonder if it will be too much. We shall see. Interesting. Something just hit my brain. Blue cheese. You know that funky edge you get off some blue cheeses? That is what I just pulled off this, and in a firm way. Feel has a full carbonation and the liquid is good too. Overall a good stout. Definitely well bodied and with a defined character. Worth trying.