Boulder Beer Obovoid Empirical Stout

2006 bottle shared at tasting. Poured dark brown with cream head. Aroma of roasted malt, coffee, chocolate, vanilla, oak. Really nice. Tasted similarly, with smooth oak providing a nice backdrop for the roasted malts and light hop flavors. A little bitterness from the malts. Very nice full bodied mouth. Overall, a nice beer that appears to have aged well.

Bomber. Poured deep brown with a creamy, easily-resuscitated cap of tan head. The aroma picked up lots of cake-like baker’s chocolate accented by vanilla, earth, and oak.. deep down was light floral and spice character. The flavor was cakey as well with semi-sweet and darker chocolates, licorice, and vanilla at the core.. oaky and earthy notes around.. the aftertaste had some bourbonny sugars and more chocolate. Medium-bodied with moderate-plus carbonation and a bit of sourness from the oak.. flowed well across the palate.. not terribly complex, but tasty.

Pours near black with a mostly receding tan head. Aroma of toffee, coffee, cherry and caramel. Taste is mild coffee, chocolate, fruity hops and dusty wood notes. Medium to full bodied with soft carbonation. Mellow and tasty.

Pours a black color with tan head. Aroma of roasted malts, coffee, cocoa. Taste is similar, with a hop bitter finish. Creamy body balances out the flavors here. Enjoyable stout. Not too complex, but good nonetheless.

Pours near black with thin off white contrasting head. Nose is candyish with nougat-chocolate like aromas. Palate is somewhat chalky, malty & milk chocolately sweet. Hops bring it back in balance, but I still see a focus on the nougat chocolate sweetness. If this is an RIS, it is very light for one. Maybe it’s the oats that mellowed it out and tamed the beast.

black pour with an unimpressively thin head. Aroma holds mostly roasted malt, milk chocolate, a bit of creaminess, and nutty and fruity textures as well. Flavor is roasty and creamy, some hops. Palate’s somewhat thin, but a serviceable and tasty stout.

Black pour with smallish head. Aroma is roasted malt, some toasty nutty aromas and the slightest dark fruit sweetness. Flavor is loaded with roasty bitterness and some earthy hops. Not too much going on, but balance is decent.

Pours a hazy dark brown with a brown head that leaves a lacing ring around the glass. Aroma is nice and roasty with some mocha undertones. Medium bodied with a lot of oatmeal flavor coming out on the tongue. Hoppy bitterness at the end, leaving a dry finish. I’ll recommend it.