Maine Coast Oatmeal Stout

Tap from brewpub. Dark chocolate, coffee and oatmeal malt aroma. Midnight black with moderate head. Creamy chocolate/caramel initially with a moderate astringent hops finish. Extremely nice stout especially on a nice 10 degree Maine night.

Any first impressions?
-A frothy, creamy head covers the opaque black, lacing admirably.
-Nutty caramel and roastiness coalesce in an expressive sweet aroma.
-Heavy roastiness and caramel sweetness first massage the palate.
-A puffy mouthfeel is achieved even without nitrogen, a smoothness which is appreciated.

What if you dig deeper?
-Sweet black grapes evolve in the nose.
-Dry, roasty bitterness is combined to tea-like, herbal hop for a tasty curtain call.
-Fruitiness is now found within the butterscotchy, fat malt.
-A very good pint of stout was what I got, none of that quirky yeast and worrying aromas some guys below experienced.

On tap at the brewery restaurant.

Pours a tan, one-finger head that goes very slowly and leaves a good lace. Black color. Low carbonation and heavy bodied. Coffee nose. Starts on the sweet side with a roasted chocolate/coffee flavor, finish is smooth. $4.25 for 16oz glass at Jack Russell’s Brew Pub Bar Harbor, Me.

2005 draught at the brewery, 8/14/2005. Opaque, deeply black beer with lacing. Big head, with little retention, recedes to ring. Yellowish colored. Coffee and nuts in the nose, with house yeast jumping out. Flavor smacks of house yeast character. Very earthy, dry, corky, lightly sour. Probably closest approximation is an old rubbery cork. Very odd, but at first, it’s quite novel and interesting. Some coffee and light grains, with light roast as well. But it loses most of its stout/malt quality towards the end of the pint and the yeast takes over. Corky finish. Watery and thin is the consistency. Low carbonation. Nutty somewhat, pretty basic and light bodied. Really wish I could have talked to the brewers about their yeast.

Smells of the clam flats around the coast. Looks nice enough in with a dark color. No head really to speak of, some lacing. Flavor is also similar to the clam flat smell. Not particularly good at all. Very watery.