Bitter Chocolate Oatmeal Bourbon Barrel Stout
Stone Brewing in Escondido, California, United States 🇺🇸
Stout - Pastry / Flavoured - Imperial Rotating Out of Production|
Score
7.64
|
|
Stone 12th Anniversary Bitter Chocolate Oatmeal Stout aged 7 months in American Oak Kentucky Bourbon Barrels
Originally inspired by recipes of two Team Stone members, Stone 12th Anniversary Bitter Chocolate Oatmeal Stout became an instant classic. The onyx-hued beer also proved to be an ideal barrel-aging specimen, thanks to its rich, thick mouthfeel and chocolate-heavy flavors and aromatics.
An already magnificent beer’s mouthwatering recipe of unsweetened chocolate, flaked oats and dark-roasted malts is made even more deliciously complex care of oak barrels that previously nurtured bourbon. These amazing vessels impart oak and coconut-like flavors upfront while accentuating the silky smooth midpalate with oak vanillin notes. The finish is long and intense, with layers of chocolate and oak vanillin. You might be tempted to lick the glass for every last drop of this delectable adult confection.
Originally inspired by recipes of two Team Stone members, Stone 12th Anniversary Bitter Chocolate Oatmeal Stout became an instant classic. The onyx-hued beer also proved to be an ideal barrel-aging specimen, thanks to its rich, thick mouthfeel and chocolate-heavy flavors and aromatics.
An already magnificent beer’s mouthwatering recipe of unsweetened chocolate, flaked oats and dark-roasted malts is made even more deliciously complex care of oak barrels that previously nurtured bourbon. These amazing vessels impart oak and coconut-like flavors upfront while accentuating the silky smooth midpalate with oak vanillin notes. The finish is long and intense, with layers of chocolate and oak vanillin. You might be tempted to lick the glass for every last drop of this delectable adult confection.
Sign up to add a tick or review
8/10
—
Appearance 8
Aroma 8
Flavor 8
Texture 8
Overall 8
This beer pours a brown-black color with a medium foamy tan head that diminishes steadily to a film. Partial rings of lacing on the glass. Aroma of roasted malt, oak and hops. Full-bodied with flavors of dark chocolate, oaky bourbon and roast malt. The finish is oaky and roasty with a malt and bourbon aftertaste. Good beer all around.
Tried
on 22 Dec 2016
at 21:26
8/10
—
Appearance 8
Aroma 8
Flavor 8
Texture 8
Overall 8
Bottle shared. Pours a deep black with a finger of foam that dissipates. Big roasted cacao nib, oak, coconut and vanilla with some lighter milk chocolate as it warms. More of the same on the palate with a creamy, roasty character...like an espresso almost. Dry cacao on the finish with a touch cream that lingers. Solid drop from Stone.
Tried
from Bottle
on 22 Dec 2016
at 16:25
7.9/10
—
Appearance 8
Aroma 7
Flavor 8
Texture 8
Overall 8.5
500 c&c from Corti Bros. Pours very dark brown with a very dark tan head. Aroma of slightty/lightly sour chocolate. Med + body. Flavor is very bourbon, a very slight sour aspect, very chocolate, very dark malt, and something like wood astringency. It seems pretty dry to me. Heat is present, but it’s just a flavor additive. This is really off the usual IS bourbon barrel path, but it works marvelously. Finishes bourbony, chocolaty bitter. Nice.
Tried
on 11 Dec 2016
at 20:09
7.4/10
—
Appearance 8
Aroma 8
Flavor 7
Texture 8
Overall 6.5
500 ml bottle. Roast, brown sugar, molasses, chocolate and bourbon barrel. Some roast fruitiness. Moderate dark malt acidity, picks up too much in the taste. Some vanilla. It wants to get sweeter and fudgier in the finish but the barrel reigns the beer in more than is good for it. A little too much booziness. Sorta harsh on the palate. Moderate bitterness. Some body but like the base beer, I feel like the name of the beer oversells things on that front. Dark chocolate is decent. Pretty meh bourbon flavor. Too bitter, too harsh of a barrel character. Not a bad beer but not worth the price of admission. Black body with a good sized light brown cap.
Tried
from Bottle
on 20 Nov 2016
at 01:23
8.6/10
—
Appearance 8
Aroma 9
Flavor 9
Texture 8
Overall 8.5
4700th review! 500 ml bottle into snifter, bottled in 7/2016. Pours dense pitch black color with a 1-2 finger fairly dense dark tan head with good retention, that reduces to a small cap that lingers. Nice spotty soapy lacing clings around the glass, with a moderate amount of streaming carbonation retaining the cap. Aromas of big milk/dark chocolate, cocoa, coffee, caramel, toffee, vanilla, coconut, bourbon, toasted oak, dark bread, light char/dark fruit, and oak/roasted earthiness. Fantastic aromas with awesome complexity and balance of dark/roast/bready malt, cocoa, and bourbon barrel notes; with great strength. Taste of big milk/dark chocolate, cocoa, coffee, caramel, toffee, vanilla, coconut, bourbon, toasted oak, dark bread, light char/dark fruit, and oak/roasted earthiness. Moderate roasted bitterness and bourbon/oak spiciness on the finish; with lingering notes of milk/dark chocolate, cocoa, coffee, caramel, toffee, vanilla, coconut, bourbon, toasted oak, dark bread, and oak/roasted earthiness on the finish for a while. Incredible complexity, robustness, and balance of dark/roast/bready malt, cocoa, and bourbon barrel flavors; with a great roasted malt/bitterness and bourbon/oak spiciness balance; with zero cloying flavors after the finish. Light dryness from bitter/oak spiciness as well, lightly increasing through the glass. Medium carbonation and fairly full bodied; with a very smooth, creamy/silky, and lightly sticky/chalky balanced mouthfeel that is awesome. Alcohol is very well hidden with only a small warmth lingering after the finish; with minimal barrel booziness. Overall this is an incredible barrel aged imperial chocolate stout! All around fantastic complexity, robustness, and balance of dark/roast/bready malt, cocoa, and bourbon barrel flavors; very smooth and easy to sip on for the huge ABV. This basically mutes all hop notes of the base beer, and replaces them with barrel notes; with similar oaky spice intensity and a silkier mouthfeel. A really amazing offering.
Tried
from Bottle
on 07 Oct 2016
at 22:09
7.6/10
—
Appearance 8
Aroma 7
Flavor 8
Texture 8
Overall 7.5
Caged and corked 500mL bottle, where the cork was a real work-out to remove, pours with a deep dark body that supports a dark mocha colored head that leaves behind some spotty lacing. The modest aroma offers up bourbon, some chocolate, a dash of dark roasted malts and then a light sense of vanilla amid the boozy bourbon at the end of the draw. The taste delivers some rich chocolate and molasses and malt sweetened dark roasted malts before it quickly gets into firm levels of bourbon booze followed by a bit of vanilla and sweetened spicy oak. The chocolate is pretty nice and sits level with the bourbon influence but I feel the barrel character is still a little too strong and bourbon forward but at the same time in no way crushes the beer flavors. A few more sips and the balance becomes even more pleasing as yummy chocolate, slim dark roasted malts and molasses and caramel take the lead ahead of the bourbon booziness. Decent where a lighter barrel character would make this great.
Tried
from Bottle
on 01 Oct 2016
at 23:18
8/10
—
Appearance 8
Aroma 8
Flavor 8
Texture 8
Overall 8
Fromma bottle at Stone in Escandido. Pours black with a tan head. Bourbon aroma. Flavors of bourbon and charred oak. Bitter roast finish.
Tried
from Bottle
on 25 Sep 2016
at 16:06
8/10
—
Appearance 8
Aroma 8
Flavor 8
Texture 8
Overall 8
On tap at Brouwer's Cafe, pours black with a small tan head. Aroma of roasted malt, caramel malts, dark fruits and bourbon. Flavour of dark fruits, molasses, wood, nuts and bourbon. Wonderful.
Tried
from Draft
on 05 Dec 2010
at 18:48