Stone 12th Anniversary Bitter Chocolate Oatmeal Stout

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

Dark, cloudy brown, shy crema head. Medium roasted coffee, dark chocolate and raisins in aroma, very earthy. Initially creamy and full, round feel, switching into a fully roasty flavor, tons of roast here, but not ashen. Like sipping espresso and eating some good dark chocolate at the same time, all with a bit of tartness. Full and effusive, nicely done. Long lasting, moderately bittered finished.

Aroma is bitter chocolate (holy shit, really?), sweet and malty, yum Taste is bitter chocolate, but not overly bitter. Lots of chocolate. Tastes almost purely malt derived, only a little bit of a fake-plastic taste, some oakiness, maybe I am on some mad crack, but it tastes very similar- maybe that is vanilla and alcohol. Finishes sweet and lingers, but not overly. The bitter-sweet chocolate is great in the finish.

22 oz bottle purchased at Beverages for less in Santee. A very nice imperial stout with bitter chocolate flavors.

Big thanks to jlozier for trading this to me. Decided to break this one out with a possible tropical storm brewing. Pours very heavy, opaque black color, very thin dark brown head and a spot of lacing here and there. Aroma is dark chocolate, roasted malts, oats, and a little bit of alcohol which blends nicely together. This is full-bodied, rich and chewy but with excellent drinkability. Bitter unsweetened dark chocolate flavor up front with some bold coffee beans then roasted malts and a generous dose of molasses following. Finishes bitter and a bit dry. Aftertaste is bitter coffee. A well-rounded Imperial Stout. Nicely done Stone and thanks again jlozier!

Black pour (duh), decent tan head. Aroma has some cocoa, roasted malt, some smoked notes and alcohol aromatics. Flavor follows but is lower on chocolate than expected - it should be more up front. The smoke aspect almost gets me to smoked porter. Some fruity esters come in, a bit of dry cocoa. Mouthfeel is dry but a bit of silky smooth, lower body than expected. This beer opens up and gets more complex as it warms. A nice beer, although the end result is not quite meeting the name/description.

22 oz. bottle. Pours a delightfully dark tan, almost brown head, which settles into a nice tiny bubbled foamy layer, good attractive lacing, color a lucious blackish brown, through which light does not penetrate....nose of coffee, chocolate malt, chocolate, bit of hop....tastes initially of hops, coffee, chocolate, then on to other layers of roasted, burnt malts, finishing with Stone’s routine lingering bitterness. The mouth feel was absolutely superb. I agree with other comments about the hidden ethanol. It looks a lot like a Gargantuan cup of espresso.

Dark as a moonless night. Big brown head - makes it look like a german chocolate cake. Big roasted malt backbone. Very dry with lots of flaked oatmeal with a very soft presence adding much to the mouthfeel. Soft milk chocolate notes with wisps of dark chocolate. Not very complex for an IS but still a nice drink.

pitch black with tan head. very little carbonation. flavor has a lot of crystal malt for a stout and obvious roasted and chocolate components. the mouthfeel and sweetness of oats, the bitter chocolate aspect doesn’t really become obvious, maybe it is a combination of the hop bitterness and the chocolate malt? the beer becomes so much more flavorful when it is near room temperature. very nice though