Shakespeare Oatmeal Stout - Rogue Ales

Damian

Massachusetts

3.4/5  rDev -18.7%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

Drank on-tap at Redbones Barbecue, Somerville, MA
Served in a pint glass

The beer poured a translucent brown/black with an ultra smooth and creamy, two-finger, coffee-colored head. Thick rings of lacing stuck all down the glass.

The aroma was mild. Semi-sweet initially with subtle notes of powdered cocoa and coffee. A touch of roast was noticeable as well. As the beer warmed, the aroma oddly seemed to fade.

The taste was deep and dark. Somewhat bitter. Roasted malts dominated the flavor profile. Black coffee notes were quite apparent. A dry, oaty quality came through as well. Some smokiness was also detectable. The big, resonating finish was a mix of intense roastiness and bitter, piney hoppiness. Slightly burnt and acrid. This beer was quite bold, but it was not nearly as complex or as smooth as I anticipated.

The mouthfeel was medium/lighter bodied for the style (a touch watery) with a super fine and mild carbonation.

Drinkability was decent. This is a lighter bodied stout that masks its alcohol content quite well. However, the hoppy, bitter finish made this one a sipper.

This is another fine example of an over hopped, over hyped and overpriced beer from Rogue. Although many may disagree, I feel like their time in the craft beer limelight has come and gone.

Serving type: on-tap

12-15-2008 23:51:25 | More by Damian

clickpush

Pennsylvania

3.38/5  rDev -19.1%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

Pour: 22oz bomber to tulip glass. Hard pour produces big 3 finger dark brown head over even darker brown body. Body is opaque, no light getting through even around the edges. Descent is slow and rocky, providing a solid cappuccino like foam. Doesn't leave a whole lot of webbing along the glass, but a nice cap of lace remains.

Nose: Chocolate and caramel, some fruit notes like plums, brown sugar. Quite sweet smelling, marshmallow and milk chocolate. Nice roasted malt character as well, a bit of burnt toast, a bit coffee. Mmm.

Mouth: Roast character is much more pronounced in flavor than in smell with a chewy, burnt toast feel to it all the way through. A touch of heat as it comes back up. The flavor falls a bit flat, though, as there doesn't seem to be a lot more than the roastiness. A roast bitterness lingers, very nice, but where's the balance? Mouthfeel is quite well carbonated but not as smooth as it could be.

Serving type: bottle

05-22-2007 06:57:28 | More by clickpush

drabmuh

Maryland

3.38/5  rDev -19.1%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

This is now called Shakespeare Oatmeal Stout for some reason. Cool with me. Served on draft at a local beer bar. Beer is black and forms a thin brown head that breaks quickly. Leaves some but not a lot of lacing on the glass and carbonation is low. The beer is nearly red at the corners of the glass.

Aroma is a mild roast with some side sweetness. Smells fine, could be bigger or have something going on there.

Beer is medium bodied, I was expecting a little more body out of this honestly, I mean its called "Oatmeal" now. Lets do it. Beer is very bitter from the roasted grains, leaves a lingering taste and a graininess in my mouth. It grows in harshness the more I drink. Not my favorite oatmeal stout.

Serving type: on-tap

07-13-2010 21:26:34 | More by drabmuh

jmperez

California

3.38/5  rDev -19.1%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3

Poured jet black with a creamy tan head and nice lacing. Hints of caramel, roasted barley in the aroma. Very very smooth with a creamy malty mouthfeel with a blend of roasted barley, malt sweetness and hop bitterness. In the finish is a coffee after taste with a hop bitterness.

Serving type: bottle

12-30-2010 04:44:30 | More by jmperez

Phelps

Arizona

3.38/5  rDev -19.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 2 | overall: 3

22-ounce bottle into a shaker pint.

Pours an inky ebony with nary a highlight in sight. The big, two-inch head of cocoa powder-colored toothpaste froth pops away slowly, becoming a craggy mountain range that that leaves speckles of lace.

The nose: coffee, toast, tangy dark chocolate, some vanilla and oats, and of course, the earthy, almost stale Pacman yeast. I don’t understand why Rogue loves these bugs so much. Despite that, it’s a smooth, deep aroma.

The flavor is a bit more subdued, tasting of light roast coffee, dark chocolate, earthy yeast notes, oats and a subtle tang. Acrid burnt bitterness slides smoothly in after the swallow.

Way, way too thin for an oatmeal stout. The body is light and watery, while the moderate massaging carbonation makes the beer break out in soft fizziness.

A masterpiece Shakespeare ain’t; the flavor's decent but the body's lacking.

Serving type: bottle

06-22-2011 23:19:46 | More by Phelps

Rastacouere

Quebec (Canada)

3.35/5  rDev -19.9%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

It pours black with a medium coffee brown head in a La Maudite snifter. Aroma is deep chocolate and coffee. Very nice roasted barley matches solid floral hops. From the first sip, I find it quite sour, reminding me of a Guinness, but much thicker and hoppier. The finish is astringent and ultra dry (bad), but hops are pleasant and the roastiness is perfectly developped (good). Overall, I must say I expected more from Shakespeare Stout.

Serving type: bottle

12-08-2003 18:48:13 | More by Rastacouere

snogglethorpe

Japan

3.35/5  rDev -19.9%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

A very nice dark black color, but disappointingly "thin" looking with not so much head.

Taste is less sweet than I expected, seemed more like a riff on a dry stout. Taste is fairly nice, a little roasted bitterness, some hops, slightly acrid, but again very similar to a dry stout in my opinion. The body/mouthfeel is a little thin -- I was really hoping for something more creamy and full.

Not a bad beer, but didn't really live up to its reputation...

Serving type: on-tap

12-06-2010 06:12:44 | More by snogglethorpe

sam_bliss

Washington

3.34/5  rDev -20.1%
look: 4.25 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.5

This nitro-tapped brew fills the pint glass with creamy near-black goodness capped by a milk-like latte-colored head. The head is not bubbly but instead sits atop the deep dark brown stout like the cream ready to be skimmed off fresh milk. The super-smooth foam cap produced lacing that can hardly be called lacing – it is more like a wall of foam that lines the sides of the glass.

The beer smells nutty with loads of dark chocolate, but American hop presence lends a piney and herbal tone to the aroma. It tastes like black and toasty malts, with some lighter floral notes. Caramel peaks out underneath burnt bitterness and black coffee.

The mouthfeel is medium-full. This one goes down smoothly and leaves a hint of hoppy bitterness, which is somewhat unique among oat stouts. The carbonation is...actually nitrogenation? It is creamier and less prickly than the fizziness to which we have all grown accustomed. Nitro-tap is the new thing for me.

I like this beer; it is comparable with Ninkasi's Oatis for a bitter malty oat stout. I did not even know it was made with oatmeal until typing up my napkin-scribbled review. It tastes like a thick stout with harsh dark-roast coffee bitterness. The American hops are incongruous with the rest of the beer. They should be toned down and perhaps replaced to some extent with Noble hops...or more caramel malt!

Serving type: nitro-tap

04-18-2013 07:19:54 | More by sam_bliss

AudioGilz

Pennsylvania

3.33/5  rDev -20.3%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 3.5

Comes in a 650mL pretty plain dark bottle with a very proud man holding a mug. Pours with a small tannish head that reduces to a lace fairly quickly. I really enjoy the opaque darkness and pretty delightful stout mouthfeel. My initial taste impression was burnt, slightly bitter coffee, and a faint chocolate malt taste on the way down. I wasn't too impressed. The bitterness lasted in a long disappointing aftertaste. I know it has it's place, but not a stout I will buy again. I recently had a Storm King Stout that was WAY better than Shakespeare while being higher in ABV.

Serving type: bottle

01-22-2003 15:27:21 | More by AudioGilz

meday

New Hampshire

3.33/5  rDev -20.3%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 3

Bomber into Imperial Pint

Ebony color with rich browning head.

Immediate roasted aroma. Very close in smell to a smoked beer.

The dark roast dominated the flavor. Hints of chocolate, campfire, cedar, moss.

For a stout with oatmeal to create a creamier texture, it was thin and biting. I have possibly been spoiled by my nitro-homebrew stout I always keep on-tap. But to me, a stout, especially one with oatmeal, should be full and creamy in the mouth, whether nitro or none.

I finished the bottle, but the drinkability was only average.

Serving type: bottle

12-21-2008 03:13:30 | More by meday

grs8313

Maryland

3.3/5  rDev -21.1%
look: 5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 4

Appearance: 650ml bottle no bottling date. Pours very dark, black. Fine bubbles that dissipate quickly, with a head that is 1 and a half fingers.

Smell: I found the smell to be very faint, but it was of coffee and cocoa with hints of apricots and seltzer water.

Taste: Sweet and like seltzer water on the tip of the tongue. Coffee and cocoa hints on the sides of the tongue, with a slight acidity. Mild hop finish

Mouthfeel: Like seltzer water from the carbonation, not thick or syrupy at all.

Drinkability: Extremely drinkable, more than I thought it would be. Does not kill the pallet with coffee or hops notes and could be sipped all night.

I was a little disappointed with this beer, I was hoping for the coffee and cocoa notes to be more present.

Serving type: bottle

07-26-2008 15:45:36 | More by grs8313

johnbonham1980

Idaho

3.28/5  rDev -21.5%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

I've been drinking Shakespeare Stout for years but hadn't had one for awhile... I have to admit, while it's good, it's not the amazing experience that I remember. I think that I've gotten to enjoy stouts less and less over the years...

Poured with a medium brown stupendous head that lasted for quite awhile... pitch black in color.

Aroma is fairly non descript, with roasty and coffee notes predominant as well as a definite hop presence.

Taste is composed of a few elements, chiefly coffee and dark chocolate, with some very interesting spicy hop notes that taste a little of black pepper or chile pepper... hard to say exactly what it is that's in there but it adds a nice twist. It's also got some dark cherry to the flavor and I can definitely taste the oatmeal stout character from the oatmeal Rogue adds to it.

Mouthfeel's a bit thinner than I'd ask for... fairly drinkable.

I had this with a bit of gouda... didn't really add much to the flavor. I think this would be best enjoyed with a bit of sweet chocolate, or a steak.

Overall a good stout, but I find myself finding the standard stout less and less likeable over the years and finding imperial and Russian stouts much more interesting.

Serving type: bottle

12-04-2006 02:23:01 | More by johnbonham1980

9InchNails

New Jersey

3.28/5  rDev -21.5%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 2.5

Poured into my mug from a 22 ounce bottle.

I got a lot a head on this. The head looks creamy, almost like a chocolate milk shake! The head is sticking around for quite some time. The beer is black, completely opaque. I can't see any bubbles whatsoever.

I smell dark malts and it seems almost like a floral smell, quite interesting. Definitely a little chocolate in there.

Mouth Feel: I feel no carbonation at. Its very thick and a little creamy. Okay, I do feel a little more carbonation on the second sip hitting my tongue.

Taste: a chocolate-ty coffee taste with a bitter end. You can definitely taste the dark malts but also some of the hops are pretty dominate.

Drink Ability: I can probably have one more and I'm done.

I have never tasted this beer before. I have had an Oatmeal Stout before and it tastes similar to that. Overall it's pretty good.

Serving type: bottle

11-02-2010 05:14:40 | More by 9InchNails

mactrail

California

3.28/5  rDev -21.5%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 4 | overall: 3

Beautiful dark appearance in the glass with an impeccable beige head to match. Bone dry on the palate but a nice sudsy mouthfeel with great carbonation.

The first flavor is bitterness. Dark chocolate and not a hint of sweetness. Overpowering burnt malt taste. Dark, charred flavors, barely a hint of caramel or even burnt sugar.

It is kind of like a nitro pour, with the big creamy foam. It's just so bitter and strongly, severely flavored. From the 22 oz bottle, which cost $7 in San Diego.

Serving type: bottle

05-17-2012 06:02:55 | More by mactrail

ThisWangsChung

Maryland

3.28/5  rDev -21.5%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 4 | overall: 3

22 oz. bottle poured into a tumbler pint glass.

A: Pours a borderline pitch black color. The head is a huge four finger light mocha color with frustratingly high retention, a wonderfully creamy texture, and huge clumps of lacing on the glass.

S: Light oats, mild chocolate, and some solid roastiness. Nice, but a little weaker than I like.

T: At first, it's vaguely sweet, likely from the oats. There's little opening flavor here, it's mostly concentrated after the midtaste and finish, which is not only strong with roast (slightly acrid and excessively strong at times), it also tastes overhopped, to an extent. It's not a well melded hop profile as with Storm King, it's a 'clashing with the stout base' profile. At least the hops don't completely overpower the palate with grapefruit and pine; still, it's hardly a paragon of balance. Finally, enough sips will cause a slight lactic acid 'twang' to accumulate. I expected a lot more from this, but it's decent enough.

M: Creamy at first, before becoming prickly dry with a little lingering stickiness and low carbonation. Little to complain about here, Rogue got this part of the beer right. On the other hand, it's not as drinkable as it should be, but that's due to the unbalanced flavor profile more than anything.

O: I'm wondering if I served this too warm - but then I realized I had Samuel Smith's oatmeal stout at a similar temperature, and was far superior to this in just about every manner. I'd definitely try it again, just to confirm whether or not my fears are true. All in all, it's far from bad, just disappointing.

Serving type: bottle

07-01-2012 20:11:49 | More by ThisWangsChung

bewley

Rhode Island

3.25/5  rDev -22.2%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

I'm not impressed with this beer. It seems more like a bock than a stout. The thick, creamy head appeared promising, but fell flat within a minute or so.

Yes, there's subtle hints of chocolate and coffee. Yes, there is a deep dark color and rich head, but the taste is rather dry and bitter. Too light for a stout imo.

I will say that this would be a good session beer for all of the above observations.

Serving type: bottle

01-20-2004 02:24:21 | More by bewley

LilBeerDoctor

New York

3.25/5  rDev -22.2%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

Bottle. Pours black with a thick light tan head that just keeps coming. Aroma of roasted malt. Flavor of sweet roasted malt. Body is somewhat light for a stout but it's decent. An alright stout. Not much going on flavor-wise.
Aroma: 7/10
Appearance: 4/5
Flavor: 6/10
Palate: 3/5
Overall: 14/20
3.4/5

Serving type: bottle

12-08-2008 02:59:36 | More by LilBeerDoctor

mothman

Saskatchewan (Canada)

3.25/5  rDev -22.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

Hmm, an American stout... haven't had a small stout in awhile, but here we go.

Poured into darkness snifter.

Pours about a finger and a half of a dull mocha brown, very murky colored. Decent retention with some thick lace patterns. I haven't seen a head with this color is awhile. Color is a dark dark brown, call it black.

Aroma: Big roasted malt profile, with a nice touch of grassy hops present. A lot of chocolate, caramel, molasses, and oats.

Taste: Very sweet and syrupy. The hops are there with all the roasted malts and things are matching up very well here. I get the oats, caramel, and chocolate again. This is really hard to drink.

Mouthfeel: Tons of carbonation here, full bodied. Not even that smooth or silky for a stout. This beer just isn't clicking.

Overall, I have a feeling I won't be able to finish this, and if I do it will take me several hours. This beer doesn't flow at all. Maybe I got a bad bottle, in which I will reevaluate next time I drink it, but this beer isn't very good at all. I can't recommend this even in the slightest way.

Serving type: bottle

11-07-2009 01:42:58 | More by mothman

NilocRellim

Minnesota

3.25/5  rDev -22.2%
look: 3.25 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 3.25 | overall: 3.25

Stout poured out from the bottle extremely black in colour. There was no hint of clarity to it when held up to the light. Smelled of sweet, dark malt notes, which carried over into the taste. Tasted sweet, dark, and malty with notes of chocolate. Bitter chocolate finish. Roasty aftertaste.

Would I buy this beer again? Maybe.

Serving type: bottle

01-17-2013 20:52:06 | More by NilocRellim

thatguy314

New York

3.23/5  rDev -22.7%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Let me start this off by saying I love everything Rogue. Sadly I'm just underwhelmed. I think this bottle may be a bit old, but with what I drank I can't possibly see why everyone rates it so well

Appearance: So black I couldn't see even a hint of light through it when i held it next to a 60W bulb. The head betrayed it... too foamy, too lacey, not thick like you'd expect from such a dark stout.
Smell: burt and woody, a hint of ash, a bit dirt
Taste: Kinda plain. Burnt, a bit ashy. Also it's dark. And burnt. And ashy
Mouthfeel: very thin for a stout. Not entirely unpleasant. I could drink a lot more of this than most stouts, not cuz it's good, but because it has a nice dark flavor without really filling me up at all.
Finish: Clean, plain. Not bad.

Also, I = we....
JB&KW

Serving type: bottle

10-18-2007 02:23:12 | More by thatguy314

FtownThrowDown

Ohio

3.2/5  rDev -23.4%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

After reading several good things written about this beer I thought I would give it a try.
I'm all about dark, coffee/chocolate stouts, so I figured this would be right up my alley.
Upon pouring, I wasn't disappointed. It looked like it should. Dark opaque, almost black, thick, no problems there.
The taste is where it didn't live up in my opinion. For one, I like my stouts to be more smooth, less hoppy. There was a nice hint of chocolate mid way through each drink, which was subtle and very well done.
It's easily drinkable. But a bit of a disappointment for a stout. It tasted more like a hoppy porter. Reminded me of the Great Divide St Bridgettes Porter.
Oh well, nothing lost, it was a $3.99 bomber. To each his own, just not to my liking.

Serving type: bottle

09-11-2006 17:10:54 | More by FtownThrowDown

brdc

Wisconsin

3.2/5  rDev -23.4%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

This one pours a nice black beer with a nice brown head.
Aroma is pleasant, but in my opinion, uncharacteristic of the style and overly hopped, with minimal maltiness, although some caramels can be noticed here and there.
Taste is mostly bitter, and again in my opinion, a little bit overhopped, with some overpowered maltiness in there.
Mouthfeel is generally good, but I still thought this one a was too hoppy and did not finish the bottle.
I know many will disagree.

Serving type: bottle

05-22-2007 14:48:33 | More by brdc

dsa7783

New Jersey

3.2/5  rDev -23.4%
look: 3 | smell: 4 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

Bought a 1 pint, 6 fl. oz bottle of this from Bottle King in Livingston for about $5.99, and I must say, coming from a high-caliber company like Rogue's, I really wasn't too impressed with this Stout sample... expected more, and was let down by an overall lack of flavor and complexity... appearance was about average, poured a jet-black, ebony color with minimal tan head... smell was complete with burnt, dark chocolate, espresso, and liquorice aromas... taste was typical stout, with dark-espresso and cocoa flavors that was more bitter than sweet... Taste seemed pretty watered-down and somewhat more bland than I was expecting...definitely had much better stouts before this, and the overall taste was more average than anything else... I wouldn't say this was a bad brew, just wasn't to my liking and not one I would try again... Wouldn't recommend this one...

Serving type: bottle

01-13-2008 21:29:24 | More by dsa7783

Jimmys

Pennsylvania

3.2/5  rDev -23.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 3

22oz bottle into tulip.

A: thick coffee hued head sits atop an opaque black body. decent retention with some pretty, thick lacing.

S: a distinctive lactose. milk chocolate. really creamy milk chocolate. a hint of cappuccino, but this one is all about the milk & chocolate smells.

T: creamy and chewy all at once. a mellow roast. slight acidity from the darker burnt malts. finish is a little sweet but mostly dry. good flavor, but not as oatmeal like as i would have hoped.

M: a bit to vivacious carbonation for my liking. medium body.

D: i remember this being better in my early craft beer days, but i have a few complaints here. just not as smooth and creamy oat flavor on the palate as well as a carbonation that detracts from some of the lighter nuances. not sure what the deal is. certainly a fan of many things rogue, but not loving this.

Serving type: bottle

10-28-2011 01:56:47 | More by Jimmys

LarryKemp

Texas

3.18/5  rDev -23.9%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

I begin this review by saying that I am not a Rogue fan nor do I like overowering hops. This beer came from the tap with a good head and a deep dark color. The lace clung to the sides of the glass. The hops attacked my nose and kept whatever malt from coming in. The bitterness on the tongue blasted away the sweet chocolate I thought I could taste in the background. The beer was so hoppy that this business kept the mouthfeel deep in the background. At best, I would rate this as a specialty beer and hope that no one tryig their first stout would tackle this hop monster.

Serving type: on-tap

04-30-2003 19:07:56 | More by LarryKemp