Stone 12th Anniversary Bitter Chocolate Oatmeal Stout

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

pitch black appearance covered with brown head, it has deep coffee aroma, slightly burnt, and chocolate flavor. full bodied, very delicious.

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.

Bomber shared by tjthresh. Pours a deep, dark chocolate brown with zero head. The nose is of smoky, chocolaty, roasted, peaty malt. Medium-bodied and silky slick (almost flat) with a dry, flinty finish. The flavor is of ashy, chocolaty malt with a lightly sour and tannic/dry finish. An interesting stout; thanks for sharing this with us, Tom.

Bottled sample via oakbluff. Jet black in colour with low to moderate carbonation. Aromas of dark chocolate, dry red wine , dark toffee, and a bit of oatmeal. Very dry in the mouth, with more dark chocolate and vineous notes. Additional elements of minerals (flint and chalk), light molasses, medium roast coffee, and caramel are also present. Heavy in the mouth, in spite of how dry it is. Good, but not great overall.

Bottle thanks to BMan1113VR. Pours dark brown with big brown head. Nose has chocolate and roasted malt on the nose. Flavor has a nice bitter bite up front with chocolate and coffee. Nice mouthfeel with nice bite on the finish as well.

From a bottle poured black with a small head. Nice slightly sweet malty chocolate flavor with a quick finish.

22oz bottle. I had this on cask at the Real Ale Fest and was not impressed, although I was not impressed with many beers that day so I figured I would give it a shot under more controlled circumstances. Pours pretty thick black with a thin, crisp but creamy, brown head, good lace. Smells of dark and roasty toasty malts and dark, unsweetened chocolate. Tastes dark and malty roasty, malts are somewhat sweet after the roastiness. Bitter dark chocolate finish, some alcohol flavor as well. Full, thickish body with nice, smooth carbonation.

Bottle from Discount in Milwaukee. First off, pour is black and thick, dark brown head that eventually goes away. Nose is strongly chocolate and Nutella, a little bit of fusel alcohol as well. This, to me, blows Stone RIS out of the water. Taste is much roastier and rich, very dry and distinct bitterness. If this had another 6mths on it, it would be perfect. As it stands, a bit alcoholic and boozy. There is some burnt cherries in the finish. Very damn fine beer, wish I had more to lay down...