Dominion Oak Barrel Stout

Brewed by Coastal Brewing Company
Style: Stout
Annapolis, Maryland USA

Pours a dark brown color with a thick brown head. Aroma is strong with coffee and oak with a hint of chocolate and caramel. Flavor is strong with coffee and oak as well, with hints of vanilla and chocolate. Was unsure about this brew but was surprised, not my favorite but definately delicious.

This brew has a dry smoke aroma. Body is dark red and crystal clear. Dry, somewhat sour flavor. Not bad.

Very dark brown, nearly black, with red highlights. Short tan head, short-lived, little lace. Aromas of malt, vanilla, hops, smoke, tannin, leather, earth, berries and a touch of yeast. Flavor is a bit weak, with subtle notes of smoky oak, peat, tawny port wine, vanilla, coffee, herbs, tannin and grapefruit, all nicely in balance. Flavor’s a bit watery, surprising for the dark color and robust aroma. The flavor is unusual, but just how is difficult to describe. I suppose the oak chips are an attempt at a shortcut to an oak barrelled character, but it fell short of a stout barrelled in, for instance, port, madeira or bourbon casks. Mouthfeel is a tad thin. If there were such a thing as "lite stout" this would be it.

Bottled 1-26-06. Pours black with and nice 1/4" brown head. Aroma has a rich creamy sweetness along with cocoa and vanilla. Initial flavor of mulchy wood chips is strong, which then transitions to strong vanilla notes. Some hop bitterness in the finish, but then goes down like a stale cola. Mouthfeel is thin and has an unpleasant fizziness. I had real high hopes for this one, but I ended up very disappointed. Not much complexity. To sum it up, it’s a watery stout with nothing more than wood and vanilla flavors.

I really liked the vanilla in this beer. It dominated the aroma, which was good, but played along with others in the flavor, which was good as well. I think I would have liked it even better a bit sweeter along with the vanilla, but it pulled off dry nicely.

Jim Beam aroma. Fairly flat pour with small beige head. Thin in body and tingly in the mouth. Sweet cherry malts dancearound with vanilla and whiskey flavors. Decent, but not my flask. Thanks to Zach for the local trade.

12 oz bottle, via OhioDad. Almost black body with chestnut highlights. One finger fizzy light brown head. No sediment noted in bottle. Aroma of roasted malt, vanilla, chocolate pudding, and if you try real hard, a smidge of oak. Roasted and burnt malt up front, with vanilla mid-swollow, followed by a light astringency and mild charred oak on the finish. The lingering finish is fairly hoppy as well. Mouthfeel is a little thin and the carbonation too fizzy and feels very force carbonated. Overall, very subtle among the barrel beers. The oak became more prominant as it warmed to room temp. Worth seeking out.

(Bottle (bottled 06/05) via trade with <A HREF=http://www.ratebeer.com/ViewUser.asp?UserID=2 target=blank>OhioDad, thanks Scott!) Pours very dark mahogany brown with a tannish head. Mild aroma has some vanilla, burnt molasses, oak, sweet malt. Only small traces of lacing. Mouthfeel actually pretty thin. Flavor has oak overtones overlaying roasted grain; also a bit of coffee and very slight vanilla. Pretty good, but aside from the oak, which does leave an aftertaste, didn’t think this had alot exceptional to offer.