Dark Horse One Oatmeal Stout

Brewed by Dark Horse Brewing Company
Style: Sweet Stout
Marshall, Michigan USA

Bottle into stem glass. Purchased at Discount Liquor, Milwaukee. Opaque black in the glass. A winey film covers the side instead of lacing. Smell: some oatmeal mustiness and a slight acidity reminiscent of bourbon, plus unmasked alcohol. Acidic in the mouth. Chocolate flavor is thin in the middle, but lingers a long time. The middle is mostly grainy and musty. Finish is acidic and chemically dry, with nice oats and a hard sweetness late. Moderately roasty.

Bottle. Heavy nose of roasted malt, oatmeal, toasted marshmallow. Some alcohol and a whiff of smoke. Pours like motor oil. Jet black with a rich, reddish amber head. Flavor was lots of dry roasted malt. Some nice hop bitterness on the back end. A hint of vanilla and coffee. Fairly full bodied and creamy on the palate.

Thanks to someone (Immy perhaps?) for sending me this bottle. It’s a nice stout for sure. It had a few things that could either be better or more pronounced, but the sum of the beer was clearly above average. The beer pours out of the bottle in a thick streak of ooey black goodness. It hits the glass and immediate creates a light chocolately brown head with tiny bubbles being the base for some big foamy bubbles. The head disappates rather quickly unfortunately and what’s left is a black coffee looking brew with no semblance of a head. My sniffer picks up anise immediately. Sweet, roasted, wet malts are next. Some obvious coffee notes too. But underlying all of it is this odd irony, metallic character that is really unpleasant. It kinda reminds me of drinking a stout from a can character. Mouthfeel is smooth with a hotness brought on by the alcohol content, but as it warms up that disappears a bit. Flavor isn’t horrible. Perhaps a step-up from average. Strong with coffee with a shot of alcohol clearly present. Some vinous notes started creeping in as it really got to room temp. Subtle chocolate notes that I wish were more prevelent were also popping up. I’d like to have my sweet stouts a bit sweeter than this as this was a bit dry I thought. Overall not bad. Not sure if I could (or would) drink more than a pint of this. It could have been more smooth, less alcoholic, a bit sweeter with more complexity. Overall, a nice beer.

TRUMP! Wow, this brew pours black as 30wt with 100k miles on it. The creamy spattered froth only rises a fingers width, but has a beautiful bronze color. Head retention is a little short lived and rduces to a partial yet fluffy lace. Aromas of creamy roasted leathery malts makes my mouth water. Full nectar w/ soft and velvety residual effers creates a rather sensuous brew. The brew glides in silky then turns to velvet on the way down. The mildly sweet flavor profile starts out w/ heavily roasted viscous malts. Then the defined asprin bittering component kicks in to balance. Roasted coffee bean, bitter cocoa, leather, and bit-o-black cherry. The finish is long and savory leaving behind a tastey roasted cocoa residue and a perfect bittering component. Highly recommended.

Bottle courtesy of puzzl (thanks Andy!). Poured black with no head at all, just a tan ring. Slight aroma of roasted malts and chocolate. Taste is mostly chocolate, with some roasty coffee flavor in the background. It’s got that oatmeal smoothness I enjoy so much on the palate. Finish is more on the roasted coffee end. An enjoyable brew. Can’t wait to try the rest.

12oz. pours black with tan creamy head. nose is oats, milk chocolate, wet grains, and coffee. flavor is rich milk chocolate, roasty, dark coffee, and oats. mouth feel is creamy this is a nice stout. I like most of the stouts in the series but really hate the artwork.

Bottle: Pours black with a brown head, little lacing. Nose is mild of roast with coffee and cocoa. Flavor is true to the oatmeal stout with nice accents of coffee and chocolate, light roast. Solid. Thanks EithCubes.

Pours black with a brown, mild head. Light aroma of coffee and chocolate. Thick mouth feel with a strong bitter, back mouth flavor. Very heavy qualities of coffee and chocolate. Strong alcoholic warmth at the end. Not a bad beer, but it is a little two-dimensional