Stone 12th Anniversary Bitter Chocolate Oatmeal Stout

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

In short: A highly roasted black chocolate stout with a good bitter hops bite. Nothing more, nothing less. Very good at what it is.
How: Tap at Blind Tiger Ale House NYC (3.9) and fresh bottle (3.7)
The look: Black body toppedy by a long-lasting medium tan head
In long: Roastiness level on the high side of things without being extreme. Crunchy bitter black chocolate abound. Not the smooth round chocolate, this is high-cacao % bitter black chocolate I’m talking about. Fruity notes, coffee notes or anything else are nowhere to be found. This is roastiness and black-chocolate. Despite all that the beer had a good bitter hops bite that went above the inherent black chocolate bitterness. Of all the classic respected black chocolate stouts (Brooklyn, Southern Tier Choklat, Youngs, Rogue) this one is probably the less creamy and round and in a way the less pure chocolaty of them all. Certainly not as rich and decadent as a Brooklyn or even less a Choklat the Stone 12th is nonetheless a pleasant addition to the genre. Anyway you know what you’re in for when you order a beer called “Bitter Chocolate Stout”. If only all beers would be named with such honest self-descriptive name. That would be cool. A Fantôme would need to have its name printed in separate a booklet attached to the bottle and would contain a bunch of 15 letter words.

Shining, black body under a small, tan head. Inviting aroma of sweet, lightly roasted malts. Very rich flavoured ale with cocoa, vanilla and chocolate up front successfully mixed by late and dried fruits. Lingering smooth bitterness to the aftertaste. Very well bodied with tingling alcohol on the tongue. Wonderful and superb. This ale has got almost everything - maybe except for the oatmeal (my best drink at this year’s GBBF, 06.08.2008).

Huge aroma of chocolate and roast coffee! Black, pours a small cappuccino head. Taste is strong black coffee, rich malt and treacle, some light liquorice notes too. Full bodied, really well balanced, mouthfeel is lovely, silky smooth and bitter. Fantastic! Thank You Ron!

22. This is yet another damn fine impy. No, it doesn’t revolutionize the style, nor does it show you a lot you haven’t seen before. They’re really out front with the whole cookie thing, hoping to stand out, but, facts are facts: if you like big overbearing impies, you’ll like this one. If not, not. The undecideds are a pretty small percentage of the drinking populace at this stage of the campaign.
Pours jet baclk with a dense, moussy, but short-lived burnt-tan head. Nice chocolatey sweet roasty nose. Creamy, goopy body not far off the consistency of chocolate chips oozing out of the cookie fresh from the oven. Then again, most big impies boast that consistency, so no extra points there or anything. Roast, baking chocolate, some ashy charcoal and sharp hop bitterness at the end. A fairly simple mid-palate, actually, with a dry and softly lingering finish.
I’m definitely not tired of impies yet. This one’s right on the spot for autumn drinking.

Pours deep dark brown with thin mocha head. The aroma is full of big inviting dark chocolate notes pulling me toward the glass. I also get layers of toffee, roasted malts and a bit of caramel. Solid. The taste is nearly the same with thick rich dark chocolate that has that bit of velvetiness to it. It then moves into molasses, toffee, smooth roasted malts and a sense of coffee toward the finish. Yummmmmy.

Pours black with a smooth brown head. Rich roasted chocolate nose, dark chocolate and vanilla notes. This is one of the best anniversary beers I remember when it is fresh, many of the others have been very hot, this just feels blended very well. Long drawn out smooth chocolate flavor, beautifully balanced.

Aromas of dark chocolate, oats, dark fruits, and alcohol. Light roast as well. Pours black with a nice brown head that hung out for a minute. Rich flavors bitter chocolate, roast, earth, softer oats, alcohol. Pretty big body; heavy creamy mouthfeel with a good deal of alcohol. Sticky chocolate ’resins’ coat the mouth. Pretty nice, but a little hot. I bet this would be amazing in a year or two.

Bouteille de 22 oz, partagée avec des amis, chez American Flatbread (Burlington, VT). Arôme: Odeur de chocolat avec une pointe d’alcool. Apparence: La couleur est noire opaque. Présence d’un fine dentelle sur le verre. Saveur: Goût de chocolat et de café avec une pointe de vanille. Courte durée de l’arrière goût. Palette: Le corps est moyen avec une texture légèrement crémeuse. Faible effervescence en bouche. Arrière goût légèrement chocolaté. (Rating #1849)