Stone 12th Anniversary Bitter Chocolate Oatmeal Stout

At Vero. Dark black-brown warm and milky hue. Sweet malty aroma beckons and reveals a super-smooth, silken and sweet body. Really nice and smooth throughout, neither too roasty nor too sweet. Good job.

Dark pour, minimal tan head. Nose is somewhat floral rounded out by light citrus, hops, and dark chocolate. Flavor is bitter (surprise!), with molasses and an overall roasted flavor. Not unlike the Russian Imperial Stout by Stone. Moderate fizzy mouthfeel.

Bomber->snifter: Pours a rocky, light brown head that exhibits spare lacing atop a muddy amber body. Aroma is of toasted and/or burnt toffee, light hops, and of course a wonderful chocolate aroma. The body is medium, the texture oily, and the finish bitter. Long duration on the flavor and moderately sweet and bitter as well. A great beer for sure!

Pours thick and solid black with a creamy brown head. Slightly lactic aroma, burnt with leather, cocoa and smoke. Big body for sure but the flavor is somewhat rough, acrid and alcoholic. Little in the way of hop flavor with muted chocolate and no noticeable oat flavor due to the huge alcohol and roasted grain component. Perhaps this would mellow with age but as is it is rough.

On tap at Zeno’s Pub - State College. Aroma is really subdued, in light cocoa dust and dutch chocolate liquer. Pours a deep brown black with a darker than expected brown head, lacy. Flavor is good. Dense, cool cream sugar carries a bit of 60% Ecuadorian single estate cocoa bean, melded with plain sugars. Minimal caramel character. A very clean, cool chocolate sugar, blended with clean alcohols, a really bright fresh Northern Brewer hop presence. Hmm. I actually wouldn’t have guessed that this was an Imperial Stout. Strong and somewhat sugary, but surprisingly drinkable. Carbonation lays low. Hop character is really juicy and fresh. Bright. Not bad. Clean flavors, mild, and balanced. Maybe a little lean on the flavor profile for an Impy. Also, when you put Bitter Chocolate in the title, it makes me think I’m going to be sinking my teeth into a fresh bar of good chocolate, so when the character doesn’t begin to approach that feeling, I feel a little let down. Nothing I’d run to.

Bottle from secret santa, summer of 08. Thanks! Pours black with a tan lace. Nose is sugar, alcohol ,chocolate, light roast, raisins and coffee. Flavor is similar with a light smokey character and a very astringent and bitter finish. This beer was hard to drink at times and I poured out the last 1/3 of the bottle. It was very sad.

22 oz. bomber picked up at Woodmans in Madison, WI. Pour is dark black with a thin tan head. Very nice aroma of chocolate, coffee, vanilla, cocoa. Easy drinking for the strength here. Silky smooth palate, rich, with a bitter finish. Unlike a lot of Stone’s beers, I do not detect a ton of hops used here. Not my favorite Stone beer, but not bad by any means.

SIlkscreened 22-oz bottle. Motor oil black, with a viscous look. Chocolate head. Smoky alcohol fumes. Cocoa (very bitter) undertones with some coffee bean action. Thicky oily feel; roasted espresso plus cocoa. Silky smooth. A dessert sipper. I enjoyed it.