Stone 12th Anniversary Bitter Chocolate Oatmeal Stout

22oz bomber. Pours motor oil black, with small tan head. Smells like chocolate, but doesn’t taste like it. Doesn’t stand out as decidedly chocolate, or distinctly oatmeal stout-ish. balanced beer, nice smooth finish, and quite strong at 9.2% Overall a nice beer, especially when warmed at the last stages.

Bottle: pours a jet black color. I would say it has a silky smooth feel with chocolate/coffee taste. I was hoping the bitterness would be more distinct as bitter chocolate can not of course replace hops. Balanced taste.

pitch black with tan head. very little carbonation. flavor has a lot of crystal malt for a stout and obvious roasted and chocolate components. the mouthfeel and sweetness of oats, the bitter chocolate aspect doesn’t really become obvious, maybe it is a combination of the hop bitterness and the chocolate malt? the beer becomes so much more flavorful when it is near room temperature. very nice though

Creamy earthy sweet oat aroma. Pear, molasses and currant. Dark chocolate, espresso, burnt barley. Big bitter chocolate and espresso flavor. Licorice, molasses, charcoal, hazel and walnuts. Minor cherry and plum fruitiness. Hops gives a perfumey spicy character. Some alchohol burn but in a good way, like acidic coffee. Some smoke in the finish. Killer silk texture (from oats) on the Uber-smooth palate. Astringency puckers mouth at first, then mellows to a rich semi-sweet finish.

At Vero. Dark black-brown warm and milky hue. Sweet malty aroma beckons and reveals a super-smooth, silken and sweet body. Really nice and smooth throughout, neither too roasty nor too sweet. Good job.