Independence Brewing Convict Hill Imperial Oatmeal Stout

Brewed by Independence Brewing Co.
Style: Imperial Stout
Austin, Texas USA

Serve in Snifter

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An expressive pour into my large Tripel Karmeliet tulip produces a three-finger thick, light brown colored head. The beer is an opaque, near perfect black color. The aroma smells sweet up front with notes of burnt prune, a bright malt sweetness, and something that makes me think of the sweetness in milk. This is backed by a subdued, roasted note that adds some cold coffee like aromatics (some burnt acidity, a touch of acrid dark roast coffee, but a fruity roasted character too) that become more noticeable as my senses adjust to this beer. When you really dig there is a touch of spiciness to the nose that seems to be a combination of the mostly not noticed alcohol and the burnt notes. As the beer warms up a nice, brown bread like, whole grain toasted character comes out in the aroma.

Smooth and somewhat dense feeling as I take my first sip, but this also has a touch of a carbonic prickle to it and the density is balanced by a bitter, lightly acrid roast character that comes to dominate the finish. The roast character lingers on the palate with the flavor of deeply burnt, but still fairly smooth grain. This is sweet tasting, especially up front, which accentuates a burnt fruitiness that reminds me of prunes or perhaps raisins, but really the sweetness just reminds me of sugar; charred sugars for sure, but also notes of burnt caramelized malt and dark chocolate. As my palate adjusts to the beer it gets less sweet, more roasted and with more notes of bitter dark chocolate. There is a firm bitterness here that is from both hops and roast character and there is also a sort of spiciness to the roast grain character in the finish. The roast character also brings a touch of tartness that helps to balance the sweetness.

This beer is definitely hitting the spot right now, significantly roasted, with lots of dark chocolate notes, sweetness and bitterness in balance as well as a richness that is just hitting the spot on this cold December evening in Tucson.

Bottle. Pours dark brown. Creamy yan head. Very roasty malts and coffee notes to smell. Medium body.

In short: Another harsh highly roasted big stout. Just ok
How: Bottle 12oz. Consumed when approximately 6 months of age. Bottle sent to me by MaltOMeal, thanks a lot Bill
The look: Light gusher, black body topped by a medium beige head
In long: Nose is medium roasted, burnt dark fruits, a bit of soy sauce and a cold cup of coffee. Taste has plenty of burnt malts, burnt bananas, charcoal, soy sauce, light notes of raisins, roasted chocolate chips cookies, dried earth. Ends with something that resembles bitterness but this mostly coming from the high roast level. Doesn’t have the velvety body that I usually find and love in oatmeal stout. Carbonation was way too aggressive but maybe there was something with my bottle/batch since it was a light slow gusher. Nothing was bad in this beer, but everything was kind of rough. This is my 4700th rating, congrats to me, and if I’ve learned anything in the countless hours I’ve wasted on ratebeer it’s that I’m not very good at learning how to be productive.

On Tap) Pour is dar with very dark tan head, Nose is roasty malts, chocolate, coffee, licorice.. Taste is bold, bitter sweetness, with oatmeal, chocolate malts, grains, roast..Palate is creamy and bold.

12 oz. bottle courtesy of a trade with crajun. Poured black with a moderate, somewhat creamy and frothy brown head that lasted through the first quarter of the glass and left light lace. Very pleasant aroma that is filled with chocolate and roasted malt. The flavor is more focused on the roasted malt with just a bit of chocolate. Soft, well-rounded mouthfeel. Mild bitterness at the finish. Solid.

12oz bottle thanks to my buddy Mike. Near black pour with lots of creamy beige head. Aromas of coffee, chocolate, bits of roasted malt. Smooth and easy drinking - lots of dark chocolate and roast.

Thick black with foamy tan head. Chocolate malt and a little roasted coffee and grains. Lots of coffee an roast bitter chocolate. This is a really good beer, bit of a heavy booze bite.

Pour is viscous opaque black with tight dark tan head. The nose is heavy on the roast, a touch chalky, bitter coffee, and a bit earthy. The taste is big, roasty, earthy, chocolatey. The finish is bitter coffee and lingers, the body is thick, creamy, highly carbonated. Not bad, a touch on the roasty/bitter side.

UPDATED: MAR 26, 2012 I got this one in a trade with a friend. 12 ounce bottle into snifter, bottled 8/22/2011. Pours pitch black color with a nice 1-2 finger creamy light tan head with great retention that reduces to a nice cap that lingers. Some nice spotty lacing on the glass. Aromas of cola, oatmeal, molasses, coffee, dark fruits, roasted malt, chocolate, and a touch of bourbon. Nice and well balanced aromas with good strength. Taste of big chocolate, caramel, molasses, dark coffee, roasted malt, oatmeal, herbal, and some dark fruit. Decent amount of roasted bitterness on the finish; with lingering notes of chocolate, caramel, coffee, molasses, and roasted malt on the finish for a bit. Flavor balance is nice and it is quite robust. Medium carbonation and fairly full bodied; with a very nice creamy, slick, and chewy mouthfeel. Alcohol is very well hidden at 9.2% with only a slight warming after the finish. Overall this is a damn nice imperial oatmeal stout. Tons of robust flavor and good balance. I definitely enjoyed this one.

Dark brown/black pour with foamy tan head and lace. Large chocolate and a hinto coffee aroma. Chocolate, large coffee, a good malt bitter, and a nice abv warmth. Medium bodied with good carbonation.

Burnt, roasty, coffee flavors. Medium bodied and a somewhat astringent aftertaste. ---Rated via Beer Buddy for iPhone