22 October 2008

Beer Review, Stone Bitter Chocolate Oatmeal Stout

Stone 12th Anniversary Bitter Chocolate Oatmeal Stout

Appearance: Velvety black body, thick brown head with lots of independent bubbles. Leaves light lacing. 4.0/5

Smell: Dry malts up front, with the grainy oatmeal after. Notes of coffee present way down at the bottom, but with only the tiniest hints of chocolate. 4.0/5

Taste: The alcohol gives this a highly astringent opening. This is followed by a strong malty backbone, quite a bit of sweetness, and the aforementioned graininess due to the oatmeal. Hints of chocolate as it goes down, and strong notes of bitter coffee in the aftertaste. Would get a higher rating if the alcohol was better-hidden. 4.0/5

Mouthfeel: Low carbonation, high bitterness, moderate mouthfeel. Goes down smooth considering the alcohol, but the astringency is not quite as pleasant as I'd like it to be. 4.0/5

Drinkability: This is a a pretty good beer, but this is one of the few times that I think it would have been better with less alcohol. Stone is normally top-notch, but this one is not one of their best offerings, and to be honest, I'm probably tougher on it knowing it's from them instead of a lesser brewery. 4.0/5

Overall: 4.0/5

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