Stone 12th Anniversary Bitter Chocolate Oatmeal Stout

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

Poured a nice black color with a small tan head. Aroma was very strange, i guess it was the bitter chocolate, and some licorice. Flavor was a bit better than the aroma, just very bitter, but not in a good way, the oatmeal and sweet chocolate flavors I expected werent there at all. i was very disappointed with this.

Pours Black! Aroma is slight coffee, not much chocolate slight hop aroma, smokey. The head is light brown and creamy, mostly diminishing with a little lacing. The initial flavor is bitter chocolate lasting on the back of the tongue, a little alcohol burn in the stomach. The body is medium, the texture creamy. I loved the 11th anniversary and this is right up there, I have a few in the cellar but I’ll be getting more of these to drink now.

Bottle: Pours very black. Aroma seemed a little light, that was the worst part about it. Rich tan head. Strong expresso taste with a sweet finish. lightly carbonated. after a few sips (or the temp rose) the alcohol was more noticable. Drank at about 55 F, as stated on the bottle. Perfect temp.

Served in tulip glasses for the whole family at dessert, the beer pours night black with about 2 finger tan head. Head retention is good, lacing is excellent. The aroma is impressive, it smells like roasted malt, semi-sweet chocolate, coffee, oats, caramel and some dark fruit. The taste is similar to the aroma, it tastes like semi-sweet chocolate, roasted malt, coffee, oats, caramel and molasses. Mouthfeel/body is full, it’s creamy, a bit oily and very, very smooth. Drinkability is very good too, it goes down very easy and the alcohol isn’t very noticable at all. Overall I think this is a very good beer. I’ll definitely have to keep some of this around.

22 oz bottle. Almost black with a brief tan head. Nose is coffee, chocolate and molasses but not really sweet. Medium body with a smooth mouthfeel ending with a tang. Taste is bitter chocolate, ash and club soda with a just a touch of brown sugar. Usual Stone quality but I found this pretty one-dimensional.

Very dark opaque chocolate/black with a one finger, rather dark brown head and good lacing. Aromas were not as strong as I expected, but still had plenty of dark chocolate and espresso with some oatmeal evident. Strongest flavors were the oats and espresso. Dark chocolate, toasted grains, dark fruit, and molasses were also clear. Smooth, even a bit oily, lightly carbonated, thick and full bodied, and warmly alcoholic.

Pours opaque black...rich brown head, like cocoa....very dark sweet malt aroma + the chocolate smells rich and dark...silky in the mouth, the bitter chocolate is quite apparent...front, middle, and especially the finish....alcohol shows up in the finish with a shot of espresso (extra bitter)....lots of heavy malt & sweet throughout the entirety of this solid beer, the lacing decided to hang around as well....bitterness seems to increase as my glass empties--as it warms up that bitterness seems to disappear, or I’ve just gotten used to it...this baby needs to mellow out a bit

Pours close to black with a dense dark tan head. The aroma has tones of dark bittersweet chocolate, roasted malt and some char. It doesn’t seem overly complex, but it is very nice and inviting. Medium / full body with soft carbonation at first and then it seems to turn a bit sharper. The flavor starts creamy with lots of dark chocolate and noticeable abv. The finish has a ton of char making it a quite bitter experience. A very nice beer I’ve enjoyed revisiting a few times now.