Beer Review: Schlafly Oatmeal Stout

Serving Type: Bottle

ABV: 5.7 percent

Appearance: This is a dark beer. It highly resembled a glass of cola. Just without the stickiness! The body is mostly black. I wasn't able to distinguish any brown or reddish hues hanging around. There was a ton of beige-colored bubbles and they rushed to the top. The interesting thing about this was the fact that the bubbles held the same color as they rose up from the bottom. The head of the brew was also a beige color and enabled some lacing inside the glass.

Smell: This beer was very dark and roasty, but a surprising creaminess was also present in my nose. The malt in this is also strong and dark in terms of smell. There was also a very prevalent aroma of oats. Not that I didn't expect it, but it's got to be in there, right?

Taste: I was hit with sweet caramel and the oats on the front. On the back was a ton of tasty, yet dark and roasted barley. The barley and hop notes contributed to an interestingly dry finish. There was also some chocolate that peeped through in the flavor as this beer warmed. Another note I took as this brew warmed was the fact that all of the flavors came together like some ice creams do when gets really soft and melts. Everything just gelled.

Overall Rating:  

This was the first time I've had an oatmeal stout that had a really dark and roasty backbone. I'm used to ones that are much lighter in the flavor department. With that said, I really enjoyed this. I think darker is the way to go with oatmeal stouts.  The dark and roasted barley worked well with the hops, too. As I mentioned earlier,  it just got better as it warmed. Just like some good baseball pitchers throw harder as the game goes on, the flavors tasted better with each sip.

Beer Review: Troegs Java Head Stout

Serving Type: Bottle

ABV: 7.5 percent

Appearance: It seems as if the stouts that put themselves ahead of others in the pack seem to be those that have a very dark, black color. Java Head Stout fits the bill in this department. The only presence of carbonation that's visible to the naked eye is what's in the foamy, tan head atop the brew. It's tan and is very reminiscent of what foams up when you pour a glass of cola. It was somewhat weak retention, but there was a nice thin layer of foam throughout the drink. I've seen confusion in reports of this being both a regular stout and an oatmeal stout. it is in fact an oatmeal if you check on the Troegs website. More evidence is in the beady lacing the tan head will leave inside your glass.

Smell: Overall, the theme of this beer is darkness. I caught a ton of dark and roasted coffee beans. Behind that was plenty of dark chocolate to counter the coffee's bitterness with something sweet. These two aromas are very powerful, but not overbearing to the point where it's unnecessary.

Taste: This beer kind of tasted like an intense mocha from an upscale coffee shop. The two dominant aspects of the beer's aroma were also the two dominant features in the taste. I'm a guy that doesn't like putting all kinds of junk in his coffee in the mornings. I like it black and the taste of this beer reminded me of that. The coffee was dark, roasty and robust. the sweetness of the chocolate complimented the bolder flavor very well. There was also a decent backbone of roasted malt on the front of the tongue. The flavors seem to mesh well as the beer warms, making it that much smoother despite the boldness.

Overall Rating: 

This is an excellent beer. If I had to say it was missing anything it would be an obvious presence of oats since this is an oatmeal stout. The only thing that shows is the beady lacing as I mentioned, but I didn't pick up any in the aroma or the taste. That might be attributed to the dominance of the coffee and dark chocolate that's in this brew. Still, those two flavors make this an awesome drink. This could go with a nice breakfast in some cases!