St. Ambroise Oatmeal Stout

Brewed by McAuslan Brewing
Style: Stout
Montreal, Canada

11.2 oz bottle

I decided to give this a try this week after having it for a while now. I’ve been sampling too many mediocre and so-so beers without giving the cream of the crop a shot. This one toes that line for me. It might just be that I am not a huge fan of releases which taste like thinned black coffee but something kept this from making the jump from "excellent" to "outstanding". Nonetheless it is worth tracking down if you ever drive through Ohio.

Aroma / Appearance - A thin tan head was less than I’d been expecting though still nice to look at. Underneath was a deep black body with fluidity that rivaled lighter stouts. The nose was that of a standard American breakfast - black coffee without cream, oatmeal and jam on toast. It was on par with Breakfast Stout (another beer that I don’t like as much as others).

Flavor / Palate - The first sip felt as if this had been cut with a bit of water. Once I got past that it was a solid experience of hot cocoa with cinnamon, strong black coffee and a resiliant bitterness that punched through everything. I can’t say that I am a huge fan of the coffee stout style but this one is one of the best that I have had to date.

12 oz bottle from Jimbowood. This beer pourse a Nice dark color, with a killer looking head. Aroma is of burnt coffee and chocolate. Flavor is fairly nice, but just too watery and thin for my liking. This is a style I just have a hard time getting into.

Bottle. Black with small tan head. Smokey roasted aroma with bitter chocolate notes. The taste was the same with lite sweetness and oatmeal smoothness going on. Oily and creamy on the palate with bitterness in the finish.

Bottle from Tertons. Just about opaque black in color with a light brown head, great appearance for a session stout. Aroma is chocolate, molasses, a bit of roast with some dark fruits. Taste is chocolate, dark fruits, light roast with hints of chalk. A decent amount of oatmeal sweetness in the taste which rounds out the body incredibly well. Finishes with light roast, and smooth chocolate. Great oatmeal stout. Thanks Nelson.

Received a bottle via Secret Santa 07 and shared with group at Cellar’s Wine & Spirits in St Paul, Minnesota. Pours an opaque dark brown brew with a thick creamy head that quickly dissipates to a fine film. Aroma of smoked pork, roasted dark malt, some flowery hops molasses, and some chocolate. Taste is full bodied, light carbonated with a big taste of smoked beef jerky, roasted dark malt, some coffee and brown sugar. Finish remains the smoked malt aftertaste that finishes with a light coffee flavor.

Bière noire d’ébène, opaque mais brillante. Donne un très mince col de mousse café au lait qui s’accroche longtemps. Le nez est torréfié et terreux : café brûlé, farine rôtie, mélasse, sésame grillé, argile. Le goût reprend les arômes, pas trop sucré ni trop amère : très bien équilibrée. Même si on parle en général de café, de moka et de chocolat, moi ce sont les arômes de terre qui me frappent et me séduisent particulièrement. Ça évoque le souvenir des ragoûts qu’ont prépare avant Noël. La bouche est assez crémeuse et un peu poudreuse. La bière est bien pétillante, sans trop mousser. J’ai été surpris de voire cette bière parmi les meilleures au Québec, devant la maudite, mais je comprend maintenant pourquoi. Il faut dire que l’habit est modeste, plus proche d’un embouteillage commercial que d’un produit raffiné. Elle me ramène à l’un de mes genres préféré, la stout.

Many thanks to Mr. Skyview! Black color with a thin head. Slightly smoky aroma with a little Lysol character. Very peppery taste. Black pepper. It’s kind of like eating kippered beef jerky. Salty and bone dry malt. A little chocolate and coffee. I don’t know how they think this could be a sweet stout, but I love it all the same.

Bottle from homebrew mystery swap. Dark brown to opaque black with beautiful dark brown medium head. Aroma is really smoky, rauch-like with burnt chocolate malt, pretty dry, some vanilla, pretty nice though one-sided. Once again rausch flavor with burnt malt, some coffee, but still smoke dominated. Very thin body but somewhat creamy. Nice smooth body with nice flavor and aroma but still very one sided, though I can see why this beers stands up amongst the others.