Dominion Oak Barrel Stout

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

12 oz bottle (bottled 06.09.05, sampled July 2005): black colour with a tight bubbled, tan foam that dies into a thin gray film. Darkly toasted wood aroma with thick, chocolaty caramel and burnt pine. Vinous cherry esters tingle the nose hairs. Thick, chocolaty and sticky palate. Plumy, raisiny flavours delivered on a syrupy, lightly bitter and sugary mouth feel. Bits of darkly roasted honey stick in the throat as a long, woody and charred finish lingers…pretty nice.

bottled, jet black w/ a brown head. aroma of coffee and chocolate, medium bodied, flavor of roast barley and coffee. bittersweet.

RBSG2005. Couleur brune opaque, peu de formation de mousse. Arômes de chênes, d’essence de bois, de vanille, de crème glacée à l’érable, de sucre brun et de cassonade. Les arômes se transportent bien en bouche, le sucre se fait beaucoup moins intense en bouche, ce qui agrémente l’expérience, en tout cas pour moi. Corps d’épaisseur semi mince, faible carbonatation, amertume moyennement prononcée en finale. Un peu de réchauffement de la part de l’alcool.

Opaque black color. Predominant roasty aroma and flavor. A good amount of vanilla in my beer, and some oak. Body was medium. A found the vanilla flavors slight overbalanced, especially if the beer is served cold.

Head is initially small, fizzy, brown, fully diminishing. Body is dark brown to black. Aroma is moderately malty (chocolate, caramel), with a strong note of vanilla. Flavor is moderately sweet, lightly acidic, lightly bitter. Finish is lightly sweet, lightly acidic, moderately bitter. Medium body, watery texture, lively carbonation. The vanilla is somewhat overwhelming in this one, and frankly I don’t find a lot of depth or elegance here. It’s enjoyable, just not particularly inspiring.

Thanks to B for this one too. the aroma was pretty oaky and woody with some malts and smokey roasts. a hint of some sort of astringent aroma on the end. weird. the flavor will be vanilla and LOTS of roasted malts. good chocolate flavor and some cafe mocha. pretty thin and not much head but it was pretty good on the flavor and aroma

Pours a medium viscosity, jet black in color, with a dense, foamy, thin, tan head. Aroma is enticing: chocolatey bitterness, oak chips, cedar panels, smoke, vanilla and bourbon. Some wafts of brown sugar and molasses. Flavor is not as robust as aroma indicated. The oak is definitely drawn out and there are some bitter nodes, but the chocolate, roasted and coffee aspirations are fairly reserved. Slight sneak peak of a vanilla sweetness manifests on the tail end. Slightly thin bodied, with gentle hops and gentle malts. Finish is cocoa powder and coffee grinders.

I came back from the beach and my wife was almost done drinking this very delightful beer up. The oak aroma was there and I detected vanilla and coffee flavors in this beer with a nice nutty finish. The only downside is its a bit too much on the light side to make it a top 50 beer in the JFURYCAT book of records. But it surely rocks. Next time I will hide my beers better. Rerate 5-15-08: what a difference a few years make in the palatte department: texture is quite creamy but the flavor is nice but not stellar. The oak seems subbdued with vanilla and chocolate dominating but not overdoing it.