Stone 12th Anniversary Bitter Chocolate Oatmeal Stout

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

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.

Bottle. Pour is a dark brown (thick looking body) with a medium sized brown head. Aromas are a little mild... dark chocolate, a kind of cream or dairy edge, oats and kind of a dusty smell. I was expecting a little more robust nose on this one. Flavor is a little milder than would have guessed, too. Don’t get me wrong, this is pretty darn good... chocolate is well developed yet doesn’t get out of line by being too cloying or overpowering the oat flavors that lie underneath. Mouthfeel is almost the texture of milk... kind of goes well with the flavors that are mixing together. Pretty much the label sums up the complexity of the beer... bitter chocolate oatmeal stout... I’m not finding a lot of extra flavors entering the fight, but Stone does a darn fine job with the palate they are using.

Drank it with the Castas during the Mexico - El Salvador. Heavy bodied, thick mouth feel, great taste of dark chocolate, heavy on the alcohol nice warm feeling. Too bad we lost!!

Pitch black body with a fully lasting creamy dark brown head that leaves a dense lacing. The aroma is dark chocolate with oatmeal and light hops. Not very strong, however. The flavor reminds me of a Bell’s Expedition Stout in that it’s got that heavy stout with nice chocolate and strange weird bitter yeasty thing going on that I’ve only ever had from Bell’s until now. Not quite as complex, however. And the oatmeal overpowers but works with this. The palate is sweet and has a long mouthwatering thing. Medium-full creamy body.

Pours a dark opaque black colour with a very little head. Hardly any carbonation, the body is extremely thick, almost syrupy as comes out of the bottle into the glass. Taste is rich, alcohol infused, caramel, coffee grounds, burnt toast. Aroma is the same, noticeable alcohol and bready. Dark fruits, cherries and overripe apples. After a long day of tasting beers, this was by far the best one.

Poured black with brown around the edges, light brown head. Smell some mocha and toasted malts, slight alcohol. Had some coffee and roasted malt, more baker’s chocolate/dark chocolate. The alcohol is not real well hidden, but I don’t really expect that in a RIS. Warm finish of alcohol, coffee, some bitter chocolate lingers. A little astringent. Could have had a little more sweet malt, dark red fruits, but still pretty good.