Stone 12th Anniversary Bitter Chocolate Oatmeal Stout

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

Bottle from River’s Bend. Poured a black color with an average creamy brown head that mostly lasted and produced good lacing. Heavy roasted malt and chocolate aroma. Medium to full body with a smooth texture. Good complex roasted flavor with a medium to heavy roasted bittersweet finish of long duration. Good complex standout brew.

Cask, GBBF 08. Near black with no head.n Aromas are sweet molasses with lots of herbal notes. Coffee and chocolate with woody notes. Flavours are dark chocolate with coffee. Sweet molasses with smoky tobacco. Vinous, fruity and dry on the finish. Great.

Bottle. Pours a black color with a small tan head. Has a roasted malty bitter dark chocolate aroma with some hints of coffee. smooth roasted malty bitter chocolate flavor. Has a warming roasted malty bitter chocolate finish with some bitterness in the aftertaste.

Cask conditioned - gravity dospense - GBBF 2008. A dark, dark brown beer with some chocolate and alcohol in the thinner than expected aroma. The taste is full bodied boozy alcohol, chocolate and hops. Very tasty, and very American.

Bottle from Capone’s. Pours onyx with 2-fingers of dark brown head. Great look on this. Nose is roasty dark malt, oats, dark choc, molasses, hops, and mild rauchy peaty notes. Tastes of dark chocolate, roasty rauchy dark malt, and hops. Palate is rich, creamy, velvety, staying a tad dry throughout, with a great complexity. Yet another winner form Stone.

Jet black with a small, light brown head. Aroma of malt, toffee, licorice and bourbon-like alcohol. Roasted malt flavour ranging from licorice to charcoal, some alcohol in the finish

A deep dark stout with a thin moka head, viscous appearance. Sweet chocolate aroma, chalky, licorice, and alcohol. In mouth, a bitter chocolate, chalky and powdery, smotth hops, rich and pleasing. Bottle at American Flatbread, Post Vermont Brewfest Dinner, July 19 2008 with TaktikMtl and Goldorak.

Bottle. Head is initially average sized, frothy, brown, mostly diminishing. Body is opaque black (flashlight tested). Aroma is moderately malty (husks, roasted/burnt grain, chocolate), with notes of varnish, alcohol, plastic, sour apple, hint of nail polish. Flavor is moderately to heavily sweet, lightly acidic, lightly to moderately bitter. Finish is lightly to moderately sweet, lightly acidic, heavily bitter, slightly husky. Medium to full body, watery/syrupy texture, lively carbonation, moderately alcoholic. I hate to preface ratings with "I’m honestly not a hater of this brewery, but..." I mean, the more good beers I can get locally, the better for me, yes? Stone is available locally, so I am literally rooting for them to make some tasty beverages. The 11th Anniversary was actually pretty good. This one is...well...kinda embarrassing. Unpleasant off notes in the aroma right from the start, and they don’t go away. Not to mention burnt and husky and oh-so-crude. The saddest part for me is that I was really in the mood for a stout tonight, but I can’t even drink this, much less rave about it.