Wagner Valley Caywood Station Oatmeal Stout

Brewed by Wagner Valley Brewing Company
Style: Sweet Stout
Lodi, New York USA

Bottle (12oz). Like pretty much all their beers, foamed up like crazy on pour - it looked, acted and sounded like root beer - fizzy, deep almost opaque ruby, big creamy/frothy lasting tan head. The aroma’s pretty astounding, really - light molasses, fresh herbal/mint hops, very dry, with undertones of cocoa and licorice. The taste has all the elements of the aroma - it’s very heavy on the licorice and molasses, with dry yeast and a ton of strong black tobacco and leather - a little too much in that direction for my tastes, but still pretty good based on the current rating. The body is actually somewhat light, but extremely sticky and syrupy, and the carbonation huge - too much so for a stout. While I loved the aroma and can appreciate its taste profile, it’s still not a world-class stout. Still way better than I expected, though.

Brewery Tasting: A A very nice beer. A solid coffee flavor with touches of chocalate.

12oz bottle. Pours a beautiful, dark black appearance; cocoa-colored head with excellent retention and lacing. Sweet, cocoa and roasted malts in the aroma; slightly smoky. Medium carbonation. Velvety mouthfeel: cocoa and milk chocolate upfront; some smoke and roasted malts; satisfying density and very drinkable; light hoppiness. Lengthy, dry chocolate and cocoa finish.

Decent sized dark brown head of dense and creamy bubbles. Minimal carbonation. Kind of weak aroma with some sweet malts, roasted grains, lactose and milk chocolate. Color is an opaque brownish black. Big roasted malt character, sweet honey caramel, a bit of coffee and some smoke. A little bit of dry bitterness. Finishes dry and sweet with a lingering roastyness. Decent.

bottle - 12 oz) Dark black pour with a thin and quickly fading brown head. Aroma is light but rather roasty with some chocolate and caramel malts. Flavor is bitter and roasty with a smooth and chocolate middle and a very nice and creamy finish. Rather nicely balanced. I was expecting something much thinner.

Courtesy of Coldbrewky, thank you Steve. Black with a nice, creamy head. The aroma has notes of roasted malt and some licorice/cough medicine. The flavour has a roasted bitterness and some licorice notes, but IMO it’s body is thin and lack complexity and the nice features of an oatmeal stout. 2037

The label must have changed. This bottle says nothing about Caywood Station. The pour is black and only with a vigorous finish did I manage to get a very thin and quickly diminishing tan head. All that is left is a creamy tan ring. Aroma is dark bitter chocolate, but not very strong. Pretty subtle. The flavor is quite bitter, probably from the hops. If they were going for a dry stout or a regular stout I could see going this route; but I expected an oatmeal stout to be much creamier and sweeter. The roast and the hops are what dominate this beer, the oatmeal flavor I was looking for is moping in the background. Decent, but disappointing for the style.

(bottle - 12 oz) Dark black pour with a thin and quickly fading tan head. Aroma is light but rather roasty with some chocolate and caramel malts. Flavor is very bitter and roasty with a smooth and chocolate middle and a very nice and creamy finish. Could use a little more oatmeal and a touch less hops. Not bad though.