Anderson Valley Barney Flats Oatmeal Stout

Brewed by Anderson Valley Brewing Company
Style: Stout
Boonville, California USA

Bottle. Very deep brown color with tan thick head. Rich, roasted chocolate aroma. The first sip is indicative that it is, without a doubt, an Oatmeal Stout. Rich and creamy with a good flavor. Not too heavy. Nice subtle bitterness. Good overall, just want more of the flavor.

Penetrable black. Healthy mound of light-beige froth slowly nestles into a dense fringe. Malt filled aromas consist of chalky roast, creamed coffee/roasted barley, smoke, and burnt cookies. Proportionate kiss of raisins, black licorice, citric hops, and fresh oats. Spongy-soft carbonic texture caresses the palate. Watery to a degree, but full and unfiltered. Moist tobacco is richened by a lush and cakey underlay of oats and snappy burnt cookies. Harsh roast teases the palate but possesses enough briskness to slice through the silky body and lend a crunchy bitterness. Flowery hop flavors mesh with the dark fruity esters and zingy malt acidity and vivify the cleanly extracted malts. Hefty dose of malt-derived caramel and nut flavors brightly exude at the center and contribute to the wonderfully oily and chewy body. Closes with some slippery dried-plum esters as well as some velvety oat textures and flavors which cushion the omnipresence of crunchy and gritty roast. Dryish espresso bitterness meshes with the faint hop bitterness as oily oats cling to the palate and perpetually linger alongside bits of burnt malt hulls. Very true to style, and thankfully it’s beefy enough to satisfy a serious malt craving. Needs a tad less acidity, though, in order to bang with the best of ‘em.

Pours basically black with a big big lasting light brown head. Roasty bitter smell, but it was quite light for a stout. Taste is rich, smooth, creamy, and roasty, with a traditional oatmeal stout like flavor. Very indicitave of the style, and even though it wasn’t bad at all, I like the other 3 oatmeals I’ve had a bit to quite a bit better. Not too strongly flavored, and it is lacking a bit of needed sweetness, I think. A decent beer, but nowhere near as good as Samuel Smith’s Oatmeal.

Draft. Not a big stout by any means; sweet and dry on the palate, not a whole lot of body to fill the mouth. After initial poor, almost no head.

Nice large dense creamy head of very fine bubbles. Frothy on top and light brown in color. Roasty and milky aroma with some milk chocolate, grains and a bit of dark fruit hidden in there. Color is a very, very dark brown. Flavor is smooth and creamy and roasty. Little bit of bitter chocolate and roasted coffee. Very easy drinking with a medium body. Finished creamy and roasty with a lingering chocolate flavor. A pretty good oatmeal stout.

22oz Bomber - Gravity Beer Market - Olympia, WA
Deep dark black nectar of the Stout Gods. The deep heavy dark malts and rich chocolte, toffee, coffee aromoa and flavor where awesome. The beer was one I love to drink over and over. Cold this beer is awesome. One of the best Oatmeal stouts i have ever had.

Date: 01/13/1996
Mode: Bottle
Source: Brewpub

black with whispy head, sweet roasted calmel aroma, rich body, roasted oat flavor with a slight bitter aftertaste

Aroma: 6/10; Appearance: 5/10; Flavor: 7/10; Palate: 7/10; Overall: 16/20
Rating: 3.6/5.0
Score: **4
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there was a bit of hype surrounding this stout here in Tucson, but I’m afraid that this brew didn’t quite live up... it is pleasant enough tho, with its robust, bitter chocolate flavo