Fitgers Big Boat Oatmeal Stout (Whiskey Barrel)

Sampled during ABR ’07 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Pours an opaque dark brown brew with a flat dissolving off-white head that leaves behind a thin off-white head. Aroma of dark roasted black malt, some bourbon character, oatmeal, and some oak barrel character. Taste is full bodied, light carbonated with flavors of dark roasted malt, some bourbon/coconut character and a touch of vanilla. Finish is smooth, creamy with a bourbonized dark malt aftertaste. The bourbon character over-powers the dark oatmeal malt flavor.

On tap at FoBAB 5. Poured very deep brown with a loose cap of off-white head. The aroma picked up sweet and soft oatmeal notes with just a hint of fresh oak accent.. a bit too sweet and somewhat artificial was my overall impression. The flavor was sweet with lightly-roasted chocolate and oatmeal laced with some bourbon sugars.. some darker chocolate appeared toward the back. Sweet, yet sharp on the palate.. the oaky sourness was more abrasive than enjoyable. This one wasn’t so good.

FoBAB 2007: My last call rating, opaque with a small creamy head. The aroma has notes of oat, coffee, liquorice, minor vanilla and oak. The taste has a big coffee presence up front with bittersweet chocolate in support and finished with a moderate oak and whiskey note. The mouth feel is oily, silky and lush. A darn nice stout and a great way to end the fest. Still I wish is was a tad less boozy.

ABR 2007. Massive oak on the nose with fain head. Bourbon and oatmeal on the nose. More of the usual suspects in the body (vanialla, oak, biscuit). Heavy bourbon dominates the oatmeal in the body, but it’s still there.

On tap at the brewpub (named Bourbon Barrel Aged Big Boat). Black color with no head. Big aroma of bourbon and oatmeal. The sweet malt and oatmeal of the stout blends very well with the vanilla, oak and whiskey of the barrel. Incredibly smooth and slides down dangerously easy. An absolute winner.

Autumn Brew Review ’07
Very smooth sweet flavor. Complex with chocolate, oak, and of course oatmeal. The oak aging seems to be done pretty well here. I enjoyed this and will have to try the regular big boat oatmeal stout if I ever venture up north.

Pitch black pour, with a thin tan head, that’s more refined that straight BBOS, but it doesn’t sustain. Aroma of rich sweet cherries and melted dark chocolate with a hint of ginger. This is over oak and a hint of liquor. Roasted coffee wafts blend with a hint of English Breakfast Tea. Enticing. Flavor is a bourbon-hinted cherry sweet copy of the Big Boat. I think it was a fine palette to paint upon, with sweeps of refined chocolate, coarse coffee and lots of roasted hazlenuts. The texture is phenomenal, a silky slick moving in the mouth, luciously coating everything with a warm, creamy sensation. A fantastic use of a Barrel, without any alcohol hotness or imbalance. Towards the end a good run of caramel, apricots and dates and raisins emaciated in rum and brandy. Truly a "winter warmer" as Hoops was hoping to achieve. Finish and smack are a touch oaky dry bitter, with some dry cherry and plantiness.

On tap at the 2005 Great Taste of the Midwest: Pours a nearly opaque dark brown with a thin, lightly-lacing tan head. Aroma is oaky and buttery with a touch of roastiness. Body starts semi-sweet, malty and oaky with a lightly warming finish. Could use a little more sweet balance and less buttery character.