Stone 12th Anniversary Bitter Chocolate Oatmeal Stout

22 oz bottle; july release. Pours a deep black. The first layer of head is a lasting and fine caramel colored ring with a crown of creamy white superfine head. Smoke and alcohol dominate the aroma but it also includes roasted malts and sweet coffee liquor. The bitterness is more than expected and very welcome for a stout. This is no doubt from the rich cacoa that dominates initial taste. This is followed by a medium bitterness and a long, very pleasant, smoked coffee finish. My expectations from a stone are relatively high and this did not dosappoint. An excellent desert in itself.

Pours a dark dark brown with a thin dark tan head. Aroma of chocolate and roasted coffee. Bitter finish.

Great, complex beer. It has a woody-roasty aroma. The flavor is well balanced and has a roast flavor, not too much sweetness. Great to sip on.

Pours a very dark chocolate fudge brown with a small brown head. Aroma of semi-sweet chocolate and roasted coffee beans. Taste is well balanced, only a small chocolate sweetness at first with a likewise smooth roasted flavor settling in with a sweet coffee finish. Finish lingers nicely with a little dry bitterness as well. A little plain and low keyed.

Pours black with a thin tan head. Aroma is sweet coffee and chocolate. Nice creamy mouthfeel. Flavor starts with sweet chocolate and has a hint of hoppiness in the background. The flavors are good but not that powerful. Its very nice and smooth, easy to drink for an imperial stout, but there are none of those blow me away flavors that I prefer in and imp. stout.

Date: 08/18/2008, 22 oz. bottle

Aroma - Prominent chocolate, some coffee, burnt caramel, peppery spice, bu thte chocolate is certainly preeminent

Appearance - Black through and through, large, creamy, light brown head settles slowly, decent lace

Flavor - Actually more bitter than I had expected, but not a bad thing in and of itself. Still, I think it could use a sweeter entry, but the bitter chocolate, dark malts, and hop presence is too much of a barrier.

Palate - Full body, lightly carbonated, astringent, quite dry

Overall - Oatmeal in the grist usually tends to soften the flavor, but this isn’t really the case here. We’ll see how it is a year or two down the road, but for now, it seems s little unbalanced. That being said, it still quite good. Stone sets the bar high for itself, and expectations of enthusiasts are similarly high. I think it’s a little off the mark.

Smells thick and sweet, heavy with sweet malts and chocolate. Pours an opaque black with a deep brown color when pouring. A thick brown head that fades fast. Tastes rich and chocolaty, some coffee notes with a sharp alcohol presence. Very nice stout

Pours a dark black with just an outstanding tan head. This beer looks great. It has a very strong chocolate and roasted malt aroma. It is hard to pick up anything else in the aroma because that is so overwhelming. It tastes of chocolate and cream. It certainly has some bittering hops in there as well. A friend pointed out that he picked up an espresso like taste and by the second bottle I was picking that up. This was a pretty thick and full-bodied beer but I wasn’t chewing on it. There was a moment when I picked up some of the alcohol but that faded quickly - the 9.2% is hidden well.