Stone 12th Anniversary Bitter Chocolate Oatmeal Stout

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

Poured from a 22oz. bottle into a pint glass. The color is a dark black with a brownish head and some nice lacing that hangs to the class. The smell is dark chocolate like a Mr. Goodbar, has a bit of a nutty flavor with some oat feel. The taste is bitter, some dark hop flavor with some dark chocolate flavor. This has a nice creamy feel that coats over some nice oat hints. Has a nice mix of flavor together, balancing all of these together with an easy mouthfeel, just nice. This is just another nice Stone beer. Each beer I try I am floored by how good this beer is and each time I really enjoy each flavorful beer. The feel of this beer is slightly heavy but really smooth. It has a nice drinkable flavor to it and it only gives off a slight sting to it while mixed in some nice creamy flavor.

650ml bottle from Utobeer market stall. Pours jet black with a tan head. Aromas of dark chocolate, oats, coffee, dark fruits, roasted malts. Flavours of smoke, dark chocolate, licorice, dark roast coffee. Extremely well balanced. Finishes malty, dry and bitter-sweet. Yum.

A very warm ale, with incredibly powerful coffee, roast and chocolate notes. Burnt character, incredibly bitter, with slight toffee, oatmeal, vanilla, molasses and bark-earth. This is a much dryer and bitter beer than their usual imperial stout, and has a greater hop presence and bitterness in the finish.

Had on tap a couple times when it released a year ago, but this rating based on a bomber from brewery ($5.50). Pours an opaque black with a lovely dark brown head. Aroma of heavy roasted and slightly burnt malt along with some nutty oatmeal. I don’t get much of the chocolate in the nose. Flavor of is initially roasted malts with a bit of sweetness, some coffee, and only a slight hint of the oats. Then the bitter chocolate taste comes in strong toward the finish and then lingers. The taste is good until that chocolate kicks in and then it’s great. Full bodied and thick. Another excellent and unique one from Stone. On days like these, I’m so happy to live in San Diego -- they don’t call it America’s Finest City for nothing.

This is great freakin’ beer! My first true Stout from Stone. I have to admit, I was hesitant as I didn’t want their track record (with me) marred by an average beer, or a beer I didn’t like, but this stout has been executed perfectly. Firstly I’d say it gives any Mikkeller or Amager Stout a good run for it’s money, except (dare I say it) I feel this could surpass my experiences with those beers, purely on flavour balance. Well it looks magnificent in the glass, towering like an unholy black monolith,with a creamy frothy head that looks reminiscent of some kind of storm cloud, all deep browns and tans swirling beautifully, the head must be at least an inch high. Aroma is gorgeous. Softer coffee notes, cream both bitter and milk chocolate, and some coffee made with condensed milk. It’s all about the flavour with this beast, not as bitter as I had been bracing for, and I like it for that quality, when I say it’s balanced, it really is, the sweet/bitter ratio is 1:1. Creamy, soft with roasted malts, toasted oats, then a good whack of bitter chocolate, coffee then (and this is my favourite part) just the right amount of earth. Now I love the earthy qualities of beers like Beer Geek Breakfast and Amager’s beers, but this brew points out the virtues of handling those earthy notes with a degree of subtlety and balance, they are honed here and only let of the leash to creat maximum depth without ever getting in the way of the overall flavour ( not that Mikeller etc. aren’t honed) but tasting this balance here is an eye opener to me. You can have the earth and the sweetness with good bitterness and still have a beer very easy to drink. I suppose that’s what I’m trying to say, the beer is massive but easy to drink, one sip inviting the next, which is not always the case with Impy’s. Palate is of course splendid, creamy and thick with great texture. Overall this beer could well be a new best friend in the Stout arsenal. Easy going but big and beasty at the same time. Like Mohammed Ali, floating like a butterfly stinging like a bee. Awesome!

Poured from a bottle that has been aged for a year. It pours very thick and dark, almost like unrefined crude oil. The body on this beer has held up well. There is predominate taste of dark chocolate, with a few notes of coffee reminiscent from their imperial russian stout. The bitter chocolate gives way to a few notes of sweetness as the beer warms up. disclaimer: I tend to strongly favor just about any stout Stone has put out so if you like those you’ll definitely enjoy this one.

22oz. bomber: This one pours an inky, very opaque dark brown. There was just a wisp of a brown head on it, and that was gone almost immediately. Complex aroma. Chocolate stands out, but not overpowering. Some roastiness and woodiness in there. Hint of some fruits, possibly cherries. Somewhat heavy, slick feel on your tongue. A complex taste also. Chocolate, roasted malt, coffee, bitterness. This is very nice.

Bomber: Pours black. No ruby edging, just black, with a medium sized fluffy tan head, huge chocolate, grain and coffee nose, starts bitter and ends more bitter. Oily, slick mouthfeel, mild carbonation, thick bodied. Alcohol is well hidden.