Stone 12th Anniversary Bitter Chocolate Oatmeal Stout

From the Jug at the GABF Colorado Convention Center, Denver 10/10/2008 Roast aroma. Beige head. Black strong in alcohol and rich on the palate with a crisp and bitter lasting chocolate roast finish.

Very dark, bakers chocolate and roast in the aroma. Tastes of slight roast with a long bitter finish, like bakers chocolate without the hearty chocolate taste.

This is great freakin’ beer! My first true Stout from Stone. I have to admit, I was hesitant as I didn’t want their track record (with me) marred by an average beer, or a beer I didn’t like, but this stout has been executed perfectly. Firstly I’d say it gives any Mikkeller or Amager Stout a good run for it’s money, except (dare I say it) I feel this could surpass my experiences with those beers, purely on flavour balance. Well it looks magnificent in the glass, towering like an unholy black monolith,with a creamy frothy head that looks reminiscent of some kind of storm cloud, all deep browns and tans swirling beautifully, the head must be at least an inch high. Aroma is gorgeous. Softer coffee notes, cream both bitter and milk chocolate, and some coffee made with condensed milk. It’s all about the flavour with this beast, not as bitter as I had been bracing for, and I like it for that quality, when I say it’s balanced, it really is, the sweet/bitter ratio is 1:1. Creamy, soft with roasted malts, toasted oats, then a good whack of bitter chocolate, coffee then (and this is my favourite part) just the right amount of earth. Now I love the earthy qualities of beers like Beer Geek Breakfast and Amager’s beers, but this brew points out the virtues of handling those earthy notes with a degree of subtlety and balance, they are honed here and only let of the leash to creat maximum depth without ever getting in the way of the overall flavour ( not that Mikeller etc. aren’t honed) but tasting this balance here is an eye opener to me. You can have the earth and the sweetness with good bitterness and still have a beer very easy to drink. I suppose that’s what I’m trying to say, the beer is massive but easy to drink, one sip inviting the next, which is not always the case with Impy’s. Palate is of course splendid, creamy and thick with great texture. Overall this beer could well be a new best friend in the Stout arsenal. Easy going but big and beasty at the same time. Like Mohammed Ali, floating like a butterfly stinging like a bee. Awesome!

Pours dark with a uniquely dark chocolate-milk colored head. Big roasty flavors with lingering dark chocolate bitterness that is masked upfront by a tangy saltiness that reminds me of soy sauce, teriyaki, or smoked malts. Great balance of creamy mouthfeel and carbonation.

Bottle courtesy of Ibrew2or3. Pours pitch black. Booze, fig, dark cherry, malt sweetness. Flavor is charred malt, over-ripe cherry, marachino cherries, coffee and roasted malts. Very nice!

Poured into a goblet, thick black with a dark brown head. Tastes of thick chocolate and coffee and bitters well with the alcohol. Excellent!

Very dark pour with a thin head, great aroma, taste and mouth feel. It is everything you would want in a stout, add bitter chocolate what a treat.

A black beer with a thin brown head. The aroma is sweet with strong notes of roasted malt and medium notes of sweet malt, oatmeal, and coffee. The flavor is sweet malty with notes of roasted malt and oatmeal, as well as lighter notes of alcohol, that is felt on the tongue, leading to a dry and roasted finish.