Stone 12th Anniversary Bitter Chocolate Oatmeal Stout

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

A black pour throws up a tall, long lasting head of tan. Aroma is dark roast coffee, cocoa powder and alcohol. The flavor is bitter and smooth with a touch of alcohol on the tongue.

Sample from a 22 oz brown bottle this beer poured a black color with a medium sized dark brown head. The aroma was bitter chocolate and light ripe fruits. The flavor was bitter chocolate, roasty malts, ripe fruits and notes of sherry, oatmeal, cardboard and cherry. The finish was bitter chocolate. The mouthfeel was silky smooth. Interesting and complex.

Thanks to Dave @ By the Bottle for sharing this beer with me--Poured an abysmally dark black body with a one-finger grey-brown head. Mildly metallic nose with a lot of chocolate and oatmeal notes. The alcohol became more evident at the beer warmed up. Creamy, smooth, and big chocolate. Lush like I like my stouts. Sharp bitter, dry yet still creamy finish. Awesome beer!

Bomber. Has most the standard Imperial Stout appearance characteristics: Opaque black, dense and somewhat lacy tan head. Kinda boozy in the nose, but there’s some licorice and chocolate there as well. Bitter chocolate taste that seems just a little sour. Lots of other little bits and pieces in the taste, with vanilla, brown sugar, espresso and roasty malt showing up. Medium body and light carbonation. Hot baking chocolate finish. Not bad, but they didn’t knock this one out of the park.

Pitch black oil pour with milkshake-thick head. the head eventually settles to nothing but a ring of dark suds around the glass. the nose starts burnt but starts to show some complexity as waves of fig, charred fruit, roasted marshmallow, smoke, tar, permanent marker, and tree sap follow. The beer feels somewhat chalky in the mouth as it’s thick and accompanied by very weak carbonation and the chocolate bitterness/ hop harshness start to feel extremely astringent after a while. The ending feel in the mouth is one of warmth to possible burning sensation and a flemmy milk-like aftertaste. The flavors are primarily faceless malts with sharp bitter chocolate overtones but not exhibiting the smoky tar-dripped burnt fruit of the nose. Bitterness makes itself quite evident here with the bitter chocolate hop sharpness. However, other than this sharp bitter-chocolate, the rest of the beer feels muddled and confused and the thick under-carbinated body makes it crash into a mess in the finish. ---NOTE---->>T above description was taken from a 55 or so degree sample...Cool the stuff down a bit and it becomes a little more congruent and less muddled..but of course, colder temperatures hide the flavors that are there in the first place...so it’s irrelevant...though its a much easier swallow at colder temps..

22oz bottle from BevMo. Pours black with a creamy milk chocolate head. Tons of chocolate, coffee and toasted malt on the nose. Flavor and finish carried bitter chocolate and licorice. Not my favorite Stone Anniversary, but a good one.

Bottle shared by MiguelMandingo, I believe. Thanks man!
Pours a dark black with a light, short lived beige head. Smell is slightly sweet and roasty with some oats and subtle alcohol. Taste is dark and roasty with some ashiness, along with a slightly sweet rich dark chocolately malty flavor. Medium bodied and not very rich for an imperial stout, but not too thin either. Appropriate carbonation, and a nice bitter chocolate taste as the name would suggest. I look forward to trying this again for sure.

Jet black pour with dark brown head and lace. Burnt chocolate and coffee on the nose. A rich sweet chocolate flavor on the front followed by a hint of abv. A light bitter finish. Very smooth creamy mouthfeel with good carbonation as well. A very special beer with a bitter that grows on you after the deed.