Highland Oatmeal Porter

Brewed by Highland Brewing Company
Style: Porter
Asheville, North Carolina USA

Bottle courtesy of Suttree: Dark, deep brown in the glass with a small creamy light brown head that quickly falls to a small ring. When held up to the light, the body appears a clear deep ruby - almost purple in color. The aroma has some chocolate, roasted malts, sweet coffee, a hint of grapes, and a very light pine hops scent. The first taste to hit my lips is coffee and mild pine hops (I’m drinking it too cold at this point, so the hops may be more evident). As it warms notes of chocolate, roasted malt, prunes, grapes, and a bit of sweetness (from the oatmeal?) come through. Finish is roasted malt, mocha, and a hint of pine-like hops. Medium bodied, medium-lively carbonation, slick & oily mouthfeel that ends up crisp. I was expecting this to be a bit more full-bodied and creamy based upon the oatmeal in the name, but I do like the light pine notes from the hops which keep it drinkable and refreshing.

bottle. This robust beer is not black in color, rather it is an apparent dark ruby with a decent tan head. This is the best beer at the local grocery store in my opinion, so I drink it fairly often and it never gets old. The aroma has notes of coffee, tobacco, baking chocolate, and dry nuts. Mouthfeel is fairly carbonated for a porter, but not overly fizzy. A very tasteful, sharp roastiness is present along with Latin American coffee flavor, soy sauce, peanut skin, mocha, and a nice creamy quality I would guess could be attributed to the oatmeal presence. Maybe some hops nip at my tongue in the finish, it’s faint. This one is a little more American in attitude than the other Highland offerings. Good stuff.
[June 16, 2008]
Bottle. Pours a very dark brown which appears to be near black. The aroma is heavily roasted and noticeably bitter. Hints of cacao, coffee, soy sauce, and some bitter hops come out. The palate is a little fizzier than I’d like for the flavor profile, but not too bad. This is a sharp, nutty, and bitter porter but is executed quite well. A faint sour tinge is noticed. The bittersweet dark chocolate is the most forgiving thing in this roasty, bitter porter, but again it’s a cleanly sharp flavor I really like.
[September 27, 2008]
Bottle. Pours really dark, dark ruby which appears basically black in most lighting. This stuff smells great. Smooth chocolate, semi-sweet oats, roatsed coffee. The mouthfeel is lively and works well with the bitterness which is present. Dark chocolate, coffee, soy sauce, ashes are all hinted at here and the abrasiveness is delightfully balanced with suggestions of chocolate and oats. This is a fantastic session ale.
[November 29, 2009]
Bottle out of the mixed pack. Pours a very dark brown with a faint head. Aroma is roasty with hints at oats, chocolate, coffee, and toffee. Flavor is solid and follows the aroma as expected. It’s dry, smooth, and roasted all around. The mouthfeel isn’t that heavy for a porter, but not too light either. It works well with the dark chocolate and coffee flavors. Oats smooth everything out and make this almost creamy. This is a most drinkable porter.

Bottle: Courtesy of BlueDevil0206 via trade. Aroma of chocolate, roasted grains, and light pine hops. Pours a dark brown with red hilights when held to the light. Decent tan head with fair retention. Okay lacing. Lots of chocolate in this one. Starts light up front with a cafe mocha flavor and some roasted malt. Finishes with light pine hops, roasted grain, and an increased chocolate presence. A nuttiness lingers throughout. Aftertaste is almost all chocolate with the slightest hint of roasted grain.

Black m\in color with a small light tan head. Aroma of chocolate,roasted malt and dark fruit. Flavor is malty with a bitter/hoppy finish.

Draft, Bier Garden, Asheville NC. Dark Brown, almost black with brown head. Not as much on the nose as I was expecting from the appearance-- slight subtle roasted and smoky aromas. Smooth, medium body, with very rounded and blended flavors of roasted coffee, toffee, toast, etc. A round finish, not as dry as I expected. Not as "creamy" as other Oat Porters I’ve had, but a nice beer.

Draft at Brickstore Pub in Atlanta. Opaqe dark brown pour. Chocolate aroma and flavors. Some coffee, a little bitter, not a whole lot. Not much roastiness going on, more like a sweet stout to me. But thin if you are thinking of stouts.

not much aroma. balck in color with brown head. too thin for a porter especially with oatmeal in the ingredients. nothing stands out. nothing much here. 3/14/08 - black but not opaque. small head. aroma is a little on weak side but has notes of chocolate. flavor is better than i remember with lots of milk chocolate and coffee. sugary but not too sweet.

this was deep dark brown and black. with tan head, about a 1/3 inch. it had good malts , toasted just right and tasted like almonds, and marshmellows. lots of dark chocolate, and lots of smokey flavors