Stone 12th Anniversary Bitter Chocolate Oatmeal Stout

Formerly brewed at Stone Brewing Co.
Style: Imperial Stout
Escondido, California USA

Bottle: pours dark black with a tan head that quickly disappears, a little bit of the chocolate in the aroma but I’m not picking up much else, taste is malty, bitter chocolate, fairly full bodied. Solid but nothing special.

Poured a rich black, bringing to mind liquid dark chocolate as she fills my glass and a soft tan head graces her top. The head quickly faded into a small ring around my glass, making way for an interesting nose mingling with caramel espresso notes, a hint of tobacco, and almost burnt dark chocolate notes. her body is thick, but not overly so, with an immediate bitter dark chocolate profile stepping up to the plate, followed by her pinch-hitters, woodsy notes, bitter espresso, soft chewy notes of toasted oatmeal and a dry finish. A warming sensation pleasantly lingers in my throat and upper chest area, giving away her ABV of just a little over 9%. A bit of a chewy mouthfeel as she warms which smacks of delicious toasted oat, though rich dark bitter chocolate and espresso rules her palate.
For an imperial stout, Stone’s 12th Anniversary Bitter Chocolate Oatmeal Stout lives up to most of her name, though I didn’t detect as much oatmeal as I probably would in a standard oatmeal stout. This isn’t a detriment though, as part of her purpose is to bring the imperial to the oatmeal and create a delectable marriage of the two which she accomplishes with aplomb.

Dark black pour, Dark brown 2 finger head. Some lacing on glass. Slight burnt masty smell, taste is the same with a hint of chocolate and oat. Hard to tell 9.2% well put together stout. Will drink again.

Not the best stout I’ve had, but very solid. Aroma isn’t anything special, palate isn’t the most exhilarating either. However, flavor makes up for it in the end.

jet black pour with a one finger dark brown head. Aroma isn’t too complex, lots of bitterness, oatmeal and malt. Flavor is mostly roasted malt, some notes of chocolate. Palate is smooth, alcohol is very well hidden. OK impy, but nothing too impressive for the style.

Bottle: Poured a pitch-black color stout with a dark brown color head with good retention and good lacing. Aroma is totally dominated by some bitter chocolate note (not at all surprising when you consider the label) with not much discernable hops. Taste is also dominated by bitter roasted malt with some distinctive chocolate notes. I was expecting more hops considering the brewer reputation but this one is really dominated by chocolate. Full body with a creamy texture and good carbonation and also nom discernable alcohol were noted. I think I preferred the Southern Tier Choklat a bit more then this one but this is still a winner.

Bottle. Jessup Plaza. Nice dark pour with a small head. Aroma of coffee, chocolate, nice rich flavor, very enjoyable.

This is what I was looking for from the 11th Anniversary brew. A marvelous Imperial Stout with so many great flavors I was practically salivating between sips. Very blad color with a small tan head. Black coffee, rich malts, like a great Oatmeal Stout infused with chocolate. Mild bitter finish. Great body, great mouthfeel, everything about this one was solid. Killer beer. Highly recommended.