Boulder Beer Obovoid Empirical Stout

Letdown of the evening. I cannot even taste the oak!! I thought I’d never say that. Pours a darker brown, but not impenetrable. The nose is sweet and lightly chocolatey, but not hugely roasty or alcoholic. No big dark fruit. No menacing coffee, nothing. The mouthfeel is thinner too. Not a lot of carbonation or any sort of body. The flavor is good enough. But again, where I’d expect. Oak is hidden, edging out barely in front of the hops and roast. Some chocolate. The lingering finish maybe drier than most stouts, but not bowel shattering. OR even bowel quaking or quivering. Oh well. A good enough beer than should cost less.

(bottle - 22 oz) Dark black pour with a thin tan head. Some red highlights. Aroma is sweet and roasty with some hints of oak, dark fruits, burnt malts, and coffee. Flavor is very oaky with a strong oatmeal presence mixed with coffee, some hops, chocolate, and a very bitter and burnt malt finish. A little thin bodied.

Aroma is coffee, alcohol, and leathery tobacco. Taste is pretty yummy. The oatmeal stands out, rounding out the hoppy coffee and chocolate. Finish is somewhat thin and citrusy, but the oatmeal really shines in this beer. Decent.

Black with an ok tan head. A little alcohol is in there. Lighter in taste for an imperial stout. Some oak in there. Somewhat dry.

(22oz. bottle) Pours a dark brown (near black) body with a small tan head. Aroma of roastiness, chocolate, coffee, grapefruit, and toasted cereal. Flavor of chocolate, lactose, marshmallow, and roasted malt with a semi-dry oak finish.

Bottle pours a very dark brown with a thick, foamy, off-white head. Aroma of oak. roasted malt, chocolate, and coffee. Flavor of roasted malt, coffee and chocolate with some bitterness.

Bomber, shared by NachlamSie. Pours very dark brown with decent beige head. The aroma is pretty strong oak at first, but once I get past that, it has plenty of chocolate, vanilla, and roasted malt notes. The flavor is mostly oak and sweet chocolate. There are a few vanilla tones once in a while, too, as well as a rather subtle bitterness. The aftertaste is very oaky again, with just a slight hint of alcohol. Not superior, but quite a drinkable stout.

Bomber split with Tronraner. Pours a dark red/brown which looks near black in dim light. The head is a tan ring after just a minute. Serious straight-up oak is noted in the aroma. I get brown rice, oats, earth, and baking chocolate as well. The mouthfeel is medium. Strong oaky presence in the flavor as well, but it works very well with the ashy, oaty body. A little chocolate comes out in the finish to round out things. This is a grainy, earthy, and woody beer. I like it.