Stone 12th Anniversary Bitter Chocolate Oatmeal Stout

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

Dark black pour, Dark brown 2 finger head. Some lacing on glass. Slight burnt masty smell, taste is the same with a hint of chocolate and oat. Hard to tell 9.2% well put together stout. Will drink again.

Not the best stout I’ve had, but very solid. Aroma isn’t anything special, palate isn’t the most exhilarating either. However, flavor makes up for it in the end.

jet black pour with a one finger dark brown head. Aroma isn’t too complex, lots of bitterness, oatmeal and malt. Flavor is mostly roasted malt, some notes of chocolate. Palate is smooth, alcohol is very well hidden. OK impy, but nothing too impressive for the style.

Bottle: Poured a pitch-black color stout with a dark brown color head with good retention and good lacing. Aroma is totally dominated by some bitter chocolate note (not at all surprising when you consider the label) with not much discernable hops. Taste is also dominated by bitter roasted malt with some distinctive chocolate notes. I was expecting more hops considering the brewer reputation but this one is really dominated by chocolate. Full body with a creamy texture and good carbonation and also nom discernable alcohol were noted. I think I preferred the Southern Tier Choklat a bit more then this one but this is still a winner.

Bottle. Jessup Plaza. Nice dark pour with a small head. Aroma of coffee, chocolate, nice rich flavor, very enjoyable.

This is what I was looking for from the 11th Anniversary brew. A marvelous Imperial Stout with so many great flavors I was practically salivating between sips. Very blad color with a small tan head. Black coffee, rich malts, like a great Oatmeal Stout infused with chocolate. Mild bitter finish. Great body, great mouthfeel, everything about this one was solid. Killer beer. Highly recommended.

poured a deep black hue almost oily looking a thin brown head that had mild retention. Aroma had heavy roasted cocoa notes and a mild leather note. Initial flavor was of heavy bitter dark chocolate/dark coffee followed buy a smooth oat note. But in the end the roasted qualities rained supreme. A nice dry finish.

Got the last bottle at Mustard Seed on Route 18 in Montrose Ohio. Pour is a thick black with a dark brown head. Aroma is really dry, it warms up to some subtle chocolate bits and a little bit of...oatmeal? Flavor is amazing. Its well balanced between bittersweet chocolate and the smoothness of an oatmeal stout. Thankfully this has a minimal hop profile, keeping the meat and potatoes of the beer- the chocolate and oatmeal- right in the front lines of flavor. The dryness of the beer really makes this amazing. Smooth, sweet, bitter, dry, rich. Just delicious. Too bad this was the last bottle I have seen anywhere.