Stoudts Fat Dog Stout (Vintages 2004 and later)

Brewed by Stoudts Brewing Co.
Style: Imperial Stout
Adamstown, Pennsylvania USA

Pours a rich brown color with thin mocha head. Aroma is of rich milk chocolate, roasted malt, light coffee, and oatmeal. Taste is milk chocolate, oatmeal, and light alcohol. Carbonation is moderate and the finish is a bit thin, but overall it’s a creamy enjoyable impy stout.

Pours a pitch black with a thin mocha head that leaves little bubbly lacing. Aroma is chocolate, dark roasts, coffee, molasses, and vanilla. Taste is chocolate, coffee, with some strange bitterness on the finish that just turns me off a bit. Otherwise, it is solid.

12oz. Pours a semi-thick black. head is minimal; lacing is spotty. Aroma of chocolate, very ripe cherries, and some nuttiness. Quite an amazing mix of flavors- they flow together seamlessly! The 9% is hidden well. The flavor doesn’t become bitter in your mouth. Easily the best offering from Stoudts- and by far my favorite Imperial Stout.

Tap at Ginger Man. Aroma of sucrose, mild nuts, overly sweet chocolate, and some odd medicinal blueberry notes. Flavor is just pure cough syrup to me. Chalky, lightly astringent body. Not a fan, perhaps something went wrong somehwere here...

Very deep cherry-brown pour with a creamy decently thick and lasting tan head. Excellent lacing throughout. The flavor is of roasty sweet malts with decent bitterness that blends well with the a.b.v. You’re left with a warming and pleasant after taste. Great beer!

Pours a dark, dark reddish brown with a decent creamy, tan head. Roasted malt on the nose. Ordinary roasted malt character with a nice honey finish. Very slight hoppy bitterness. Reminds me of the way Sam Adams Honey Porter used to taste...only better. Sweet lacing.

12 oz bottle. Pours an opaque black with a thin tan head. Sweet malty aroma. Flavor has hints of coffee and bitter chocolate. Slightly more harsh to the palate than I though it would be seeing how it appears fairly thick. Pretty nice overall but not quite what I was expecting.

Up until now, I had only partaken of one of Stoudt’s beers, their German Style Pils and it was excellent. I have heard many good things about their Fat Dog Bottle-Conditioned Oatmeal Stout which has also won various brewing awards, but for me, my tastebuds are always the final deciding factor for my palate. But that many drinkers and that many judges can’t be wrong, right? I hope so because I do love oatmeal stouts; so good and thick and nutritious, one could enjoy one with breakfast if they wanted.
She poured a thick oily black with a huge tan head topping off the bounteous wealth below. The head is in no hurry to go anywhere, and quite a few minutes pass before she settles into a content blanket presiding over her domain. As soon as she settles into her new home, a welcoming gift of rich milk chocolate with nibs of bitter dark chocolate, licorice, cream, vanilla, and soft oats is bestowed upon my humble person. Most divine and decadent, I can only offer my thanks by wasting no time in delving into her full body. Almost immediately I am greeted by a creamy full mouthfeel and body which is pleasantly chewy thanks to the oats used in her brew. She is an oatmeal stout, after all; it isn’t just a name with no purpose. Sweet caramel espresso crema, milk and dark chocolates, licorice, and oats embrace my tastebuds completely. Refreshing crisp lemon and a faintly dry finish offer a perfect balance. Not to be outdone, some bitter dark chocolate, toasted oats, and espresso grinds can also be found in the lingering finish. As a bottle conditioned oatmeal stout, she has had quite a few months in her bottle stewing and improving, and given many more months, I am sure she would be just as divine, though maybe a wee bit different then she is now. I near the end of my glass, embracing my Stoudt’s Fat Dog Bottle-Conditioned Oatmeal Stout one last time with much chocolate, chewy oats, and rich espresso and cream pleasure. My only desire is that we should at some point in the future once find ourselves together.
As I contemplate wasting no time and delving into the other Stoudts beer in my fridge, I am reminded of how easy it can be in my ever growing world of beer wonder to forget the ones who have been around forever and a day. While not as old as, say, Anchor Brewing, Stoudts has withstood the many tests of time for good reason; her beers are good and great. As I try to balance my fridge between new and tried beers, there will always be room for a Stoudt’s Fat Dog Bottle-Conditioned Oatmeal Stout.