Stone 12th Anniversary Bitter Chocolate Oatmeal Stout

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

22oz bottle. pours dark black, dark brown head.Huge chocolate, coffee aroma. Roasted malt. Burnt oat, malt. Flavor is sweet, some heat, but overall... super smooth. so delicious. the only bitterness that seems to linger is the roast and some unsweetened cocoa. The best!

Bottle from my Secret Santa. Thanks! Dark brown pour with medium head. String oatmeal aroma with chocolate, smoke, sweet malt. Taste is bitter chocolate with notes of malt and oatmeal. Well balanced. Smooth, silky mouthfeel.

It’s rare that I get to see a Stone beer that I haven’t had, not because I’ve had so many, but because the parts of the world I frequent typically don’t have them or carry a very limited range. The beer is a very dark brown, appearing black in the tulip glass in which it was poured. The head is a creamy tan that doesn’t get very big, but lasts. The aroma is dark chocolate, husky grains, and roast. The flavor is a little harsh in the finish, but there’s a marshmallow like undercurrent cutting through it. Enjoyable stout.

Black, fast fading brown head.Nose of chocolate & alcohol.Harsh alcohol heat,espresso and bitter chocolate profile,bitter chocolate most noticeable in finish Once again, the alcohol is too overpowering, as with most Stone brews.

Bottle from State Line, enjoyed on this beautiful Labor Day at the pool. The pour was quite motor-oil thick, super gloppy consistency, excellent choco-colored head, full black appearance, quite nice looking, and great lacing all the way down. The aroma was rich chocolate, roast, some faint pine hops? The flavor far exceeded my expectations, was expecting a bit of harshness after hearing about this when it was released not long ago. Alcohol was smooth, no aging needed on my bottle. The top flavors were chocolate for sure, firm and full bitter roasty/smokiness, licorice, hints of molasses, a very faint spice presence like anise or something, all coming together quite nicely and finishing with a detectable resinous type hop. Mouthfeel was as to be expected from the appearance, full viscous body, but seemingly light (low density?) in the mouth, not sticky. Nice one, Stone, along with your resurgence with your 08 RIS, you’re back with black!

Bottle: Poured a pitch-black color stout with a dark brown color head with good retention and good lacing. Aroma is totally dominated by some bitter chocolate note (not at all surprising when you consider the label) with not much discernable hops. Taste is also dominated by bitter roasted malt with some distinctive chocolate notes. I was expecting more hops considering the brewer reputation but this one is really dominated by chocolate. Full body with a creamy texture and good carbonation and also nom discernable alcohol were noted. I think I preferred the Southern Tier Choklat a bit more then this one but this is still a winner.

On draft at Toronado San Diego. Pours with a black body topped by a medium thick, brown head with lots of lacing. It’s malty and roasty with coffee and bittersweet chocolate notes. Full bodied, slightly tingly from the carbonation and warming.

Bottle from Bevmo. Black with a brown fizzy head. Sweet roasty chocolate and grain aroma. Sweet mildly bitter dark chocolate taste, good roasty taste with a bitter malty finish. Pretty good.