Town Hall Black H20 Oatmeal Stout

Brewed by Minneapolis Town Hall Brewery
Style: Sweet Stout
Minneapolis, Minnesota USA

black with thin off white head. smells of coffee. tastes strongly of coffee. quite pleasing actually for someone who doesnt drink coffee. creamy mouthfeel although alittle thin. i will be drinking this alot

Black body, beige/brown head standing throughout consumption. Aroma of light caramel. Not too dark. Smooth palate, slightly biting hop yet clean finish. I will try this again for sure.

The first thing you notice is all of the big beautiful cascading going on from the cask pour. Once that settles down (several minutes later) you see that the beer is a deep inky black, with a good two inches of thick brown foam. Even a couple minutes later, this solid cap of foam remains. Each sip leaves a bit of lacing on the side of the glass, but this slowly slides down to rejoin the rest of the foam. So, good foam briefly, or no lace whatsoever, depending upon when you look at it. Solid, but not bold roasted malt and chocolate in the aroma. The malt dominates this brew, mainly a sweetened roasted coffee flavor, but also some bittersweet chocolate and light vanilla. The hops are there, but not prominent. It seems like the bitterness from the coffee, chocolate, and roasted grain is balancing the sweetness. Exceptionally smooth, medium to full bodied, with a soft but prominent carbonation. So tasty the angel on one shoulder says, “Hey, pace yourself, this is nice and rich.” Then the angel on the other shoulder says, “No, don’t listen to him. Don’t pace yourself at all. Drink up, call the bartender over, and order another one.” Which ever angel you listen to, you won’t go wrong. Savored slowly, with a couple refills (thereby pleasing both angels),

There was a lot to like about this beer. I thought it exhibited the dry-roastiness of an Imperial Stout while maintaining a lightness on the tongue and dryness of an Irish stout and delivering the light sweet finish of a breakfast stout. So, I would say this is a very pleasant blend of all three styles! It pours very dark, although not inky like an imperial stout, with a thick nude pantyhose colored head. Aroma was roasty. Flavor was extremely roasty, with hints of coffee, and some slightly sour sweetness at the finish. Mouthfeel was light yet substantial (and wonderful!), and not at all syrupy the way some heavier stouts can be. I found this to be an extremely drinkable, yet extremely flavorful, stout and enjoyed it immensely. Highly recommended.

Original Rate - June 29, 2004: Nice black color with a tan head.Aroma is a little dim, but hints at chocolate and roasted malts. The taste is good. It’s more like a porter than a stout. It certainly did not seem like a sweet stout. More chocolate, coffee, malt. Very, very thin body, probably the thinnest I’ve ever tasted for a stout. 6-4-8-4-16 Re-rate on cask - December 9th, 2004: The first main difference is the body. H2O on cask is incredibly smooth and creamy with just a gorgeous head. The taste picked up an amazing chocolate covered cherry surprise. Fantastic! 7-5-9-5-17

Black with brown head that laced the glass. Aroma of oatmeal and coffee. Improved over previous tasting. Great flavor of roasted coffee. Recently tried this on cask. Incredibly smooth and full bodied.

Oatmeal stout ranks high among my favorite styles, and I'm up to try any example, but this one went far beyond any expectations! Appearance: a very perfect darkness, but perhaps soft around the sides, and not fully black, though entirely opaque, with a solid, standing 1/2" head of cocoa-colored foam. Aroma: light and creamy on the very first sniff, but thereafter, bitter, but softly so, and rich and redolent with espresso character. This has to be the coffee-est of non-explicity-coffee-stouts I've encountered, and it's no wonder that Town Hall's Coffee Stout, made with this beer, drenched in grounds and such, has to be ranked as my favorite coffee stout of all, beating out Bell's Java, Z St. Mocha, and any/all comers. On the tastebuds, every flavor found in the aroma has it's way with the senses. Fully flavorful, all the way, not too bitter, not too sweet, just perfect! Rich, roasty, rewarding. Malt is huge, hops small. Body isn't exactly full, finish is smooth and coffeeish to the last. A very easy-drinking stout, and extraordinarily packed with flavor for a style that doesn't often live up to it's potential, in many examples. This is definitely my kind of stout. And this new assessment makes it harder to decide on my favorite beer from Town Hall. Too many good ones! I took notes on a cask version at the end of last year...infinitely smoother, and the coffee character still stands tall. P.S. I still don't know if the Doobie Brothers inspired the name of this beer, investigation is still pending...

cask. they just started serving this from the cask recently. tons better than the tap... slight aroma of berries and coffee. much more lacing and denser head w/the cask version. lots of chocolate, slight coffee flavors. creamier than guinness. lots of flavor. much more flavor than the regular tap version and sweeter. a very delightful glass of beer.