Bells Oatmeal Stout

Brewed by Bells Brewery
Style: Sweet Stout
Kalamazoo, Michigan USA

Serve in English pint

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Oh man. This is perhaps the perfect example of my favorite kind of beer. Full oats and chocolate aroma. The flavor was very chocolaty...very sweet...like a creamy chocolate milk shake. I too, tasted a cashew-like nutty flavor which blended perfectly with the other flavors. Not really much bitterness here. This beer is all about the malty sweetness. Nice roasted character with it’s milk chocolate core, and oatmeal creaminess. Perfectly black color...thick tan head, and perfect carbonation.

Of Kalamazoo's November stouts, only Rye, Cherry, and Java have actual label designs, with all the others wrapped in generic black and white. Guys, would a smiling, dancing bag of oats be all that hard to do? Solid black, with an enormous, towering tan head. Roasty aromas stand triumphant, with hints of spices, anise, cloves, espresso...no, more like immersing your entire face into a steaming pile of coffee grounds. Earthy, but soft on the palate, with an initial rush of gritty texture. Long and satisfying finish, dry, full, substantial. Medium/full-bodied, and,mmmmm..excuse me,...mmmmm, oh,yeah! The flavor keeps on giving and giving! This might go down as my favorite American oatmeal stout! If we can get KBC to brew it year-round, I'll get to work on Oaty the Happy Oatmeal Boy, and then we'll be in business!

1st of all I cannot believe that I found this. poured black, with a dark tan head. aroma , has soon as I opened this I could smell the chocolate and malts, oncce in the glass, the chocolate became the bittersweet kind, roasted malts, molasses, coffee, brown sugar, raisins and got a hint of plums. flavor was not disappointed at, got dark sweet chocolate, malts, cherries, espresso. the mouth feel was nice and smooth, not too thick and not too thin. one of the better oatmeal stots I have had this aged very well.

UPDATED: JUN 14, 2005 2002 bottle sampled 10/7/2003. Pours a deep black with some tinges of chestnut brown. Medium-sized burnt beige head and lots of sediment. Smells quite roasty, with alcohol and some sweet malt flavor apparent. Lots of lacing. Begins quite dry, medium bitter and acidic. Lots of roasted malt right away. Only after warming does the beer even out and a sweeter more expected flavor comes out. Lots of peppery hops and a bakers chocolate flavor as well. Finish is more smooth with some mildly sweet toffe coming out and a medium coffee roast flavor. Quite unique as far as many other oatmeals. Definitely a lot drier, but still a great flavor. Medium to full body. The finish is great, creamy yet not very sweet, creating a very true, roasty stout-like flavor that is not harsh.
’02 in 2004 After giving this one another year to age, it has proved to be close to perfect. Lightly sweet, with some sticky chocolate malt, low carbonation, vanilla beans, light caramel flavors and finishing with a perfectly genuine coffee flavor. Perfect palate, great aroma (prunes, chocolate, lots of medium roast coffee).
’02 in 2005. . . and this beer just continues to wow me. I really feel like you have to have had the beer young to appreciate how well it has aged. Silky, oily, vinous, tons of oats and chocolate with subdued black malt character and of course, a perfect mouthfeel. Earthy roasted barley lingers on the aftertaste, with prunes, grapes and raisins. Superb.

Bell’s does it again. Great roasted chocolate and coffee flavor that stays with you.

Larry Bell did it again. This is one GREAT stout. Its rich and flavorful. Virtually no head, but its still a great stout. Get it before its gone!

chocola’te aroma, medium tan head nice flavor with good bitter aftertaste. roasted flavor comes through nicely

Obtained in a trade with CharlesDarwin. Deep, opaque black with a light brown head. Aroma of roasted malt and a ton of chocolate syrup, bakers chocolate and ovaltine. Taste has big notes of chocolate and roasted malt along with some nuttiness, coffee and malted milk balls. Perfect amount of sweetness - just delicious. Roasty, milkshake-like finish. Mouthfeel is full, round and smooth with subtle carbonation. Not much lacing but great head retention. Just awesome all around.

As a style, I really like Oatmeal Stouts. They are like having a beer meal. This one is very good. As good as Rouge’s Shakespheare? Almost. Pours out to a deep black. Taste is that of roasted malt with that oatmeal sweetness. Delicious.

UPDATED: MAR 31, 2005 There’s something really rich in the finish of this beer. I love oatmeal cookies, so this report is biased. There’s a good balance here, and I like it more than regular K-Zoo Stout.