Southern Tier Oat

Black body beneath a thin tan head. Aromas of plum, cherry, light roasted barley and malted milk balls. Semi-sweet cocoa, light coffee flavors and some restrained notes of roasted barley. Smooth milky body.

Draught snifter at Deep Ellum on 10/17/07
One-finger light-tan head is moderately retained atop an inky, char-black body. High clarity, no lacing.
Bitter, aggressive dark malts certainly don’t seem very de-bittered. BItter cacao-like notes, very dry, and heavily roasted, with end-of-the-pot, dark, dark coffee notes filling up the nostrils and dark chocolate notes sitting lightly on the end, as an afterthought. Vanilla, anise and some definite prunes emerge, but the dark fruit character is headed off by too much dark malt astringency, leaving too much anise and a vapid, dry bitterness. Hops are crudely placed, just as in the first batch of Jah-va. HEAVILY bitter, acidic and full of resin, it exacerbates the already ridiculously overdone malt. Add to this some light fusels, reminding me of glue and stiff, sharp esterized vapors, and it’s not something I’m looking forward to drinking.
Not surprisingly, the dark malt is poured on, with a huge baker’s chocolate bittersweetness. Molasses notes give a tinge of sweetness, but it’s just a tease, as any sweetness is gobbled up by the astringent, oily, bitter dark malt and heavily resinous, palate-numbing hop acids. Not quite as much alcohol in the flavor as in the aroma, I guess, but it’s a moot point. This was undrinkable for me and I didn’t even finish my glass at the bar. Some chewiness to the mouthfeel, thanks to the oats, but what good is chewiness when there is neither malt suppleness nor malt depth? Awful, just awful.

Bomber last one I got was from Ughmash, though I’ve gotten some from a few people. Shared with bikesandbeer. Pours black with a nice light brown head that faded into a very attractive little island that looks like a seahorse. Nose is big without the coffee I’d expect if I didn’t really know what to expect. Taste is sweet, big and robust with a lot really really nice oatmeal flavors the kind I’ve not really experienced in an impy before. Really nice complex mouth, liquorice, molasses, chocolate overall pretty damn stellar and ridiculously smooth.

My Bottom Line:
Oatmeal cookies embolden the muscular chocolatey molasses, while raisiny fruitiness and vanilla spiciness link all flavors seamlessly. Such a gorgeous body cannot help but seduce the Imperial Stout lover.

Further Personal Perceptions:
-A ring of foam peeks into the pitch black.
-The aroma purports some of the oatmeal and chocolate presence, but could be more enticing. Caramel was more evident in the bottle than in the kegged version.
-Roasted oatmeal dries up part of the sweet finish. Pine cone hoppiness diversifies this ending too.
-This is not super complex, but you cannot dodge it for not being expertly brewed or not being a decadent dessert beer.
-Alcohol doesn’t bother the flavor profile much, a feat at this gravity.

On tap at The Dirty Truth and from bottles back home.

See my rating for: http://www.ratebeer.com/beer/great-divide-yeti-imperial-stout/25082/6224/

Pours a deep, rich, opaque black with a creamy brown head. The aroma is full with coffee, dark chocolate, and dark fruit. Full intense flavor greets the palate with roasted coffee, dark chocolate, fruit, molasses, and licorice.

Bottle. Pours a Pitch black colour with a light brown head. Sweet, roasty alco dark fruity aroma. Very good filling mouthfeel. The flavour has a very good roasted maltiness, dark fruits bitter chocolate, coffee and some liquorice. Long lasting finish of roasted malt, bitter chocolate and some alcohol. Such a great tasty brew.

This is an impressive and unique imperial stout. From pour to taste, I knew this was different than other Imperial Stouts I’ve had. It has an oat-y wholesome taste that is both delicious and unique. Pour was thick...possibly as thick as any beer I’ve every had...with absolutely no head. "Motor oil" is a comparison raters make pretty freely, but it was very apt for this beer; this stuff would coat the back of a spoon. Aroma is of oatmeal, roastiness, and a surprising amount of hoppiness for a stout. Flavor is very unique - a ton of oatmeal flavor (which "oatmeal stouts" usually lack) and good cerealness, balanced with some chocolate malt roastiness and a bit of hop. Mouthfeel is thick, syrupy, viscous and good. This beer is excellent. Highly recommended.