Anderson Valley Barney Flats Oatmeal Stout

Pours a dark brown color with frothy tan head. Aroma is light chocolate and light toasted malt. Also has a slight buttery nose to it so I’m guessing this bottle is past it’s prime. Taste is light chocolate and coffee with a mild hop finish. Finish is a bit too bitter for my liking. Meh.

Dark brown color with a mocha head of about a finger. Leaves some solid lacing on the glass. Chocolate and roasty aromas emanate from the foam. Flavor is hearty chocolate malt with a little fruity hop character. Too much carbonation hurts the mouthfeel and disrupts the richness of the body.

Poured from the bottle into a pint glass. The aroma was heavy with malt, mostly chocolate character, with some lighter coffee and caramel notes, and a touch of hops. A thick, black color with a creamy, dark tan head that had average retention and size. Sweet, malty and chocolate/coffee-like flavor, with some bitterness for balance. The palate was a little bit too watery, with average carbonation, but some good fizz; a creamy, wetter mouthfeel. Definitely a very solid oatmeal stout, but falls short of some of my favorites.

Pours a dark black with a thin, dark tan head. Great aroma, chocolate/caramel dominate the nose. Flavor is light, but takes on roasted nuts, chocolate and coffee. A bit of an alcohol bit on the finish. Palate is smooth, but far thinner than expected...not nearly as "thick or rich" as the commercial description would have you believe. Overall a very drinkable oatmeal stout.

2008 Bottle - This was the first dark beer I ever liked in college when all I knew about was Busch Light. That was 6 years ago so I gave it another go. I still think it is the perfect learning stout. It has beginner chocolate aroma, beginner toasted malt, beginner bitterness and is like a stout lite. If this is what you expect, it is a wonderful beer- if not, I can see why some folks would be disappointed...

12oz. bottle served in a shaker pint. Appeared to be bottle conditioned. Poured an opaque brown/black with a good finger of tight bubbled tan head. Chocolate aroma with a bit of molasses. Very creamy mouthfeel. More chocolate in the flavor along with a slight tang. Some hop bitterness in the finish along with dry chocolate malt. Very drinkable.

On tap, maybe i got the wrong beer? To me, tasted like a milk stout and a poor one at that. Was bland, like a half-decent stout mixed with skim milk...or guinness with non-dairy creamer. Guess I’ll have to revisit someday.

An amazing beer. Thick, rich, smooth, dark chocolate or a mocha flavored. I took a four D-cell battery Mag flashlight and shined it on the backside of this beer and it barely lit it up.