Oslo Havrestout

Brewed by Oslo Mikrobryggeri
Style: Sweet Stout
Oslo, Norway

Draught, Oslo Mikrobryggeri. Promising soft lactic and roasted wafts, dank leaves, milky hazelnut, chocolate Cornetto. Mahogany with red edges, beige rim thinnning to nothing despite the....ahem, ’theatre of the pour’. Opens with stale burnt cereal, softening into dusty choc and lingering nuttiness. Not bad, but undermined somewhat by the 10min pour, the collapsing condition, the stale papery notes....and the fact I had to buy Dirtman a pint of the damn stuff because he whupped me at Top Trumps on the plane. Next time we’re going to the UAE, and I’m dealing...

On tap at the brewpub, half pint. A dark, dark brown beer with a reddish hue. Beautiful, beige to tan head. Lasting dense, creamy head leaving lacings. Smooth, roasted nose with some sugars. Borderline peaty. Chocolate, fruityness and the house character as well. Roasted, mocha flavor with some chocolate. Fruityness in the background. Obvious house character too, but quite subdued. Roasted and hoppy bitterness. Creamy, smooth, dryish mouthfeel. Finishes roasted and dry with some supporting fruityness. I really enjoyed this one, so flavorful and quenching it could go down easily anytime. (090313)

Half pint that took some time to get ready. Almost jet black body under a pretty off-white top head. Moderately aroma of dark malt. Taste of roasted oatmeal, coffee bitterness and grainy chocolate. Smooth bitter endnotes. Well bodied and pleasing (draught at the brewpub in Oslo, 15.03.2009).

Draught at the brewpub. Fine roasted malt, toast, a little smoke or burned wood. Nice lingering smokey finish. Their best beer for a long time.

Settles slowly, taking ages to pour. Big dark brown head looks like whipped cream, lasts forever. Opaque black body goes just barely dark translucent red at edges. Faint, roasty minty aroma. Dry-sour burnt vinegary taste with pine needle notes. Soft, velvety mouthfeel. Can’t analyse any more, because this is horrible, undrinkable muck, due to the infection. Feels like the original beer was quite good, though. Should rerate if there ever is another batch. (0.5l draft at the brewpub,)

Draught@the brewpub. Beautiful two-finger latte head with a density like whipped cream. Body is near black and opaque with a ruby shade around the edges. Dry, powdery malt aroma with notes of unripe berries and old coffee. Initial flavor is dry dark malts with a distinct roastiness. Then some minty tones, bitter coffee and a certain sourness takes over. No sweetness detected. Light astingent finish. Not the perfect Oatmeal Stout in my book.

On tap at the brewpub. Black with a solid, creamy beige head. Coffee, berries and chocolate aroma. Quite a bit of tart berries flavours, milky sweet oatiness gradually balances together with roasted coffee. A bit hard and watery for an oat stout. A very good oat stout- the tartness prevents it from becoming overly sweet (though the tartness leads the thoughts to an old-fashioned porter.)

1 pint draught at the brewpub. Black with a brownish hue at the edges. Medium-sized light beige creamy head. Mellow creamy oat aroma with a gentle roastedness in the background. Served very cold, but as it warms up it releases a nice velvety dark chocolate flavour. Hints of roasted coffee. Minty hops. Very smooth texture. Rich, but is not particularly complex. Raisiny notes come through after a while. Drinks very easily. Finishes with a light metallic hop bitterness. An excellent oatmeal stout, but should have been served much warmer. The body is also perhaps a tad too light, but that could have been caused by the cold temperature.