Stone 12th Anniversary Bitter Chocolate Oatmeal Stout

Formerly brewed at Stone Brewing Co.
Style: Imperial Stout
Escondido, California USA

Like eating a very bitter Hershey bar. Over the top. Not subtle. Full bodied, creamy. Use earplugs.

Bottle courtesy of Hogtown Harry. Black with brown notes, not too much head. Roast aroma, some chocolate, some alcohol. Taste is very bitter, very bakers chocolate with roast and a ton of alcohol. I loved it, it was so dry and bitter and exactly as advertised. As it warmed the alcohol really hit me, but it was also at the end of a heavy drinking day. Good stuff.

20080728 Bomber thanks to dickinsonbeer. Black with brown, lasting head. Aroma of vinyl pool toys, roasty coffee. Dry and harshly astringent stuff. Nothing about it says oatmeal stout, but quite a bit screams Stone. harsh, but drinkable and would probably give it another shot.

The pour was expectedly dark with an off-white head that was creamy and produced good lacing. The aroma was lots of dry baking chocolate, roasted malt and light sweetness. The flavor was dry, dark chocolate with toasted oats. The mouthfeel was bone ass dry. Nice. Could have used a touch more sweetness in the flavor to balance it out, but overall it was very good.

Thanks a lot Mark. The body is perfectly black with a surprisingly dark brown sugar color. The aroma is massive with dark chocolate and raisins. There is a persistent musky note throughout. The taste is strong brewed coffee with some bitter cocoa. As I drink more, the bitterness is slightly balanced with some molasses, but then it gets overwhelmed in the finish. A good beer for those that like bitterness from a source other than hops or coffee.

Bottle black pour was much more viscous than I was expecting. Aroma of cocoa, smoked meat, some vanilla, earth and smoke. Almost smells barrel aged. I really liked the aroma, much more than I would have thought. Sort of a mishmash of components. Some smoked elements Imperial Stouts Baltic Porter and sweet stout. The flavor didnt match up to the fantastic aroma. Not very bitter in the finish. The flavor oscillated between smoky malt, cocoa and vanilla/milk/sweetness. Not sure how much I like this. It is definitely good, but not great. Would have liked some more bitterness.

Pours black with a thick brown head. Smells more toasted and smoked than sweet or bitter chocolate. Slight alcohol smell, too. Taste is smooth and creamy and more sweet chocolate than bitter. Surprisingly easy drinking and just sweet enough.

Bottle. Pours black with a small, frothy, dark brown head, mostly diminishing with spare lacing. Aroma is heavy malt (molasses, chocolate, toffee), heavy hops (flowers, perfume, pine), average yeast (leather) with notes of raisin, plum, smoke, tar, and vanilla. Full bodied, oily texture, lively carbonation, and a bitter finish. Long duration, heavy sweetness and bitterness, moderate acidity.