Stone 12th Anniversary Bitter Chocolate Oatmeal Stout

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

22oz - Aroma is full of deep chocolate, vanilla, ashy dark malts with an oatmeal finish. Pours black with a small brown head. Flavor matches aroma. Palate is sticky and lasting. Alcohol is well hidden. This is a very tasty brew.

Boy is this something different. Pours a deep dark black with tan head. Aroma of dark chocolate and slight alcohol. Flavor is bitter as in dark chocolate. Some notes of black licorice. Really interesting and a nice alcohol finish. Good job guys.

Bottle from South Bay Drugs and Liquor. Aroma gives off a pleasant and delighting chocolate olfaction as well as lightly roast malt. The stout creates a firm layer of beige colored foam while a pitch black fluid is waiting to be consumed. The initial flavor is pure roasted dark malt with only a slight hint to chocolate but it’s clearly obvious cocoa is the strong backbone to this stout. Texture is rich and creamy with a minor tingle sensation from very refined carbonation bubbles. The presence of alcohol is noticeable even when served at a cold temperature. Aftertaste is sweet and leaves behind a taste as if I just ate a chocolate bar. Overall, I’m glad Stone decided to release an anniversary since they announced early this year they wouldn’t.

Draught at GABF 2008. Pitch black coloured with a medium sized beige head. Roasted aroma dominated by dark chocolate. Roasted flavour of dark chocolate, coffee and liquorice with notes of hops and alcohol. Roasted and hoppy finish.

Pours black with frothy tan head. Aroma of cocoa, and dark fruits. Taste is bitter chocolate and roasted malt. Silky smooth going down. Very good brew.

Poured black... very black, with a dark brown head. Sweet aroma of milk and dark chocolate, some dark fruits, some alcohol. Flavor is very bitter chocolate, more like unsweetened cocoa powder. No mistaking it here. If this were actually chocolate, it would probably be too bitter to consume. But given that this is a beer, it works out fine. Chocolate slowly fades to some fruity and peppery alcohol. Body feels somewhat softer than I was expecting. Must be the oatmeal. Between that and the somewhat subdued alcohol, which although not invisible does is not indicative to me of a 9+% beer, makes this feel almost like a session. So I’m having trouble with the "imperial stout" classification, but I guess it fits, according to the "standards". Just doesn’t feel like it. Anyways, although I haven’t had a beer like this from Stone in quite a while, I think they did well. I think of them as a brewery that doesn’t pull punches, and I don’t think they have here. The bottle says "bitter chocolate oatmeal stout", and that’s exactly what it tastes like. Good job, Stone, though I’ll be looking forward to something more "traditional" from you when the hop price (hopefully) goes back down.

Wow. Lots of chocolate. Very rich. Very dark. Very creamy. The taste sits for a long time in my mouth. Awesome. Why did I buy only one bottle? What an idiot. I should have stocked up on this one. Excellent.

Godd stuff. Pours a beautiful dark brown with a nice nutty head. Flavor is very tart and bitter, with hops and malt, nicely creamy to finish.