Stone 12th Anniversary Bitter Chocolate Oatmeal Stout

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

Bottled. Amazing that Stone has ti distribution to get this beer to 500 ratings so quickly! Great pour, very black, smallish but lovely head. Very strong aroma, a lot of vodka, peanut, coffee roastiness. The vodka component is nearly unbearable. Taste is quite nice, with no alcohol burn like the aroma, instead just a lot of roast and pure dark chocolate. Smooth and thick and fairly drinkable, though the vodka from the aroma is felt a bit in the finish. A pretty solid beer. This sits pretty evenly between the classic, dry, lower ABV Imperial Stout and the new mega 13% and really sweet stouts.

Bottle courtesy of Hogtown Harry. Black with brown notes, not too much head. Roast aroma, some chocolate, some alcohol. Taste is very bitter, very bakers chocolate with roast and a ton of alcohol. I loved it, it was so dry and bitter and exactly as advertised. As it warmed the alcohol really hit me, but it was also at the end of a heavy drinking day. Good stuff.

Bottle: Opaque pour with a deep brown head which falls to a film. Very simple aroma. Tons of alcohol, dark chocolate, soy sauce, and even more ethanol notes (smells like vodka) Slick body with an extreme alcoholic flavor. Tastes like vodka with a homogeneous charred bitterness. The forefront of the flavor offers some bitter dark chocolate/bakers fudge (as notalush mentioned), as well as a salty soy sauce note. There’s just too much apparent ethanol, which is frusturating because this stuff is only 9.2% ABV (which is low, relative to many of those alcohol monster Imperial Stouts, which many happen to have less apparent alcohol flavor than this particular one) I wasn’t able to pick up on any subtleties of the malt, or any nuances at all. Reminiscent of charred vodka. I may have to re-visit this with some years behind it.

[2023-20090227] 1pt6floz bottle. Minty roasted malt aroma with some dark chocolate notes. Dark brown black body with a quick foamy light brown head. Lots of chocolate roast malt flavour has a dense base and a long roasted finish. Full body. Drinkable and stouty, two of my favourite beer things.
(w/ jerc)

Bottle: The aroma is a very nice combination of dark chocolate, oatmeal, roastiness, light cocoa powder, faint fruit (cherry?), and some faint burnt notes. It pours a dark brown, virtually black, with a moderate brown head that fades to a thin film after a minute or so and leaves minimal lacing...really the only thing keeping it from a 5 in appearance. The flavor starts with a nice dose of dark chocolate that only gets stronger in the finish along with some light roasted coffee. The finish has some bitter chocolate, burnt notes, black licorice, some light plummy sweetness, and alcohol. The alcohol isn’t overbearing or hot by any means, but it’s definitely there. Medium bodied with soft carbonation and a very creamy mouthfeel. Pretty damn good in my opinion. I will be stocking up on this one.

Appearance: Pours an inky black body with a tall, though collapsing, dark tan head. Smell: Malty aroma smelling of freshly pulled espresso and dark chocolate sauce, with accompanying notes of prune skins, soot, and rubbing alcohol. Taste: Thick, luscious maltiness with a sharp taste of espresso and burnt cocoa nibs. Light trace of fruitiness midway. Coarse, roasty tar component, maybe a touch of creosote. Very minor yeastiness. A bit hot on the roasty, creme da cacao finish. Mouthfeel: Full-bodied. Medium carbonation. Rather chewy mouthfeel. Drinkability: Paired well enough with the movie "Ben-Hur". An epic brew for an epic film. A little harsh and rough around the edges at this present stage, but hopefully some time spent mellowing in the cellar will do wonders for it.

Pitch black body with a fully lasting creamy dark brown head that leaves a dense lacing. The aroma is dark chocolate with oatmeal and light hops. Not very strong, however. The flavor reminds me of a Bell’s Expedition Stout in that it’s got that heavy stout with nice chocolate and strange weird bitter yeasty thing going on that I’ve only ever had from Bell’s until now. Not quite as complex, however. And the oatmeal overpowers but works with this. The palate is sweet and has a long mouthwatering thing. Medium-full creamy body.

Bomber. Aromas of coffee, burnt wood tobbacco and roasted oat grains. Black body with dark tan head. Flavor of roasted oats , coffee and some coco in the mix. Creamy body texture was present at some times and thin alacohol at other times. Dry bitter with dry cooffe grains aftertaste lingers abit. Good brew