HopTown Oatmeal Breakfast Stout

Formerly brewed at HopTown Brewing Company
Style: Sweet Stout
Pleasanton, California USA

Sampled April 2007
Pours with a three-finger thick, creamed-chocolate colored head that leaves a nice layered lacing pattern as it slowly subsides. The beer shows a clear, dark chocolate color as I pour it, but sits in the glass an opaque, almost black color. The aroma has light notes of chocolate, roasted barley. Really what becomes noticeable as I dig around in the aroma is a nice, toasty grain character that is a mix of biscuit malt, toasted grain, and a touch of browned grain husk aromatics.

The beer has a medium-full, soft, creamy mouthfeel to it up front. It is perceived as quite dry, with a solid backdrop of burnt grain acidity that does not quite meld with the rest of the beer. Roasted grain notes of espresso are noticeable especially at the forefront, but then again in the finish where a nice toasted grain character takes hold as well. As I work my way through this beer it becomes quite a bit lighter and not nearly as creamy as it first seemed. The acidity seems to have softened a bit as well, but I wonder if this is the reason it lost it fullness. The beer definitely finishes with a bit of astringency that seems to be a mix of burnt acidity, and harsh roast grain husk flavors. This is not a bad beer, it is just a touch out of balance; cutting back on the dark grain would help, or using a smoother variety might help as well.

22oz bomber, no date. Black with ruby edges and a creamy one finger brown head that fades to a thick film after a couple minutes. Aroma of a chocolate malt, roasted grain, oatmeal. Flavor is coffee, bakers’s chocolate (not sweet), light sweet raisins, toffee, and a dry roasted malt finish. Smooth medium body with slightly prickly moderate carbonation. Not too sweet, but pretty good nonetheless.

Bottle. Very dark brown beer with a dark tan head. Roasty, coffee aroma with some chocolate. Roasty flavor with coffee and backing malts. Some bitterness and coffee lingers. Medium body. Oatmeal just there to smooth it out without giving a big flavor component. A bit of lactose. Not bad, but it just doesn’t do it for me.

Lots of coffee in the aroma.Pours black with a tan head.Flavor is pretty much the same as the aroma.Thin mouthfeel with some coffee and bitter chocolate in the finish.

Thanks to Stoutlover72 for sending this to me. Coffee aroma foreshadows things to come. Pitch black body has a medium palate. Coffee dominates the taste with roasted malts coming through. Easy to drink stout.

Pours black, with a dark tan THICK foam head that lasted quite a while.Smell is very full of chocolate, and malts with only a hint of the alcohol. Taste is pretty much the same. Chocolate flavor with little alcohol bite that goes down smooth. Very good brew, and one of the better stouts i’ve had since trying more of them.

(Bottle) Pours a dark brown body with a small tan head. Aroma of chocolate, oatmeal, and roastiness. Flavor of roasted oats, chocolate, lactos, and hops with a dry, bitter finish.

Nicely chocolate aroma with hints of dark fruit. An opaque brown/black color with a tan head that is so vigorous I suspect this is unpasteurized. Starts a bit thinnish, nice roasted malt, hint of bitterness, followed by burnt toast reminiscent of the old Guiness. Swishing strengthens the mouth feel. There is some nice balancing hop bitterness at the end. Not the best, but it isn’t all that far off.