Shakespeare Oatmeal Stout - Rogue Ales

RblWthACoz

Pennsylvania

4.15/5  rDev -1%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Pours dark and very little light can get through (though a wee bit does). Nose is almost a gummy cocoa. You get that roasted coffee and chocolate that you come to expect from some of the great stouts. But the flavor. Oh baby, the flavor. Rich and full with strong coffee tones and it just stays constant with a slight change throughout the life of it on your mouth. Feel is smooth and it is very drinkable. Even more so than the Imperial Stout for the obvious reasons of course.

Serving type: bottle

12-30-2007 06:18:21 | More by RblWthACoz

barleywinefiend

Washington

4.38/5  rDev +4.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

The prime example of a GREAT Stout!! Poured into a Rogue pint glass at the Issaquah Brewhouse. Very opaque black with a thin somewhat dark head that was somewhat diminishing and lest spotty lacing. Aroma was everything I'd expect in a stout but just a little more complex. Taste was very much in tune with a good stout, definite characteristics of rich chocolate and coffee with the necessary presence of roasted barley. Mouthfeel was somewhat on the heavy side for a 6% beer, however, this is a great warmer for a cold winter night in Washington.

Serving type: on-tap

01-18-2008 00:56:50 | More by barleywinefiend

smcolw

Massachusetts

4.05/5  rDev -3.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Faint light will show through; still this is a near mahogany color. Hard to say, but it appears clear. Thick, long-lasting head. Only negative is the lack of lace (spotty at best).

Slightly chalky... but the rest is powerful, milky mocha. Some nuttiness in the background: almond and hazelnut come to mind. Very rich.

Holy coffee, Batman. Strong black patent malt flavor. Almost chewy. The finish is the bitter burnt malt tastes. The aftertaste is hoppy, but only after the swallow is complete. Relatively thin body for the style. High carbonation. (Interestingly, if I sip only the head, there's a metallic taste to the froth.)

Big flavor without being an extreme beer. Coffee lovers rejoice.

Serving type: bottle

06-08-2008 22:50:00 | More by smcolw

Wasatch

Utah

4.5/5  rDev +7.4%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

A - Pours a nice dark brown/black in color, some carbonation, nice dark tan creamy head, lots of lacing throughout the drink.

S - Scents of sweet malts, and toffee/caramel.

T - The taste is sweet malty with a nice touch of toffee.

M - Medium body.

D - Very drinkable. This is a very tasty stout from Rogue, would highly recommend.

Serving type: bottle

08-11-2006 00:08:49 | More by Wasatch

rhoadsrage

Illinois

4.25/5  rDev +1.4%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

(Served in an American pint glass)

A-This beer pours a deep silky black body with a brown creamy head. There carbonation at the rim of the glass is rigorous enough to keep the head going.

S- The smell of dark slightly sweet black malt and some hints of dark chocolate has a faint earthiness to it.

T- The nice flavor or roasted dark malts is smooth and has a slight sour note to it from the oatmeal. The finish has a slight tangy flavor with a soft hint of hop bitterness. Notes of dark roasted coffee come through as it warms.

M-This beer has a medium mouthfeel with a fizz flavor mixed with some silky texture. There is a very faint alcohol warmth in the finish as it warms.

D- This is a very good stout, which focuses on the malts and the hops are just for support. Very smooth and nice to drink but it still has good complexity and character.

Serving type: bottle

12-20-2005 03:04:17 | More by rhoadsrage

Jason

Massachusetts

4.38/5  rDev +4.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Presentation: 22oz bomber with no freshness date to be found.

Appearance: Deep black with a frothy creamy tan lace.

Smell: Hints of burnt caramel, roasted barley and citric hop make for a very appealing aroma.

Taste: Very very smooth with a creamy malty mouthfeel and some malt crispness. A rich balanced blend of roasted barley, malt sweetness and hop bitterness. In the finish is a chocolaty and coffee after taste with a touch of citric hop and residual sweetness.

Notes: This is a cult classic American stout, drink and learn. Balanced to perfection and a sheer delite to drink.

Serving type: bottle

11-19-2001 23:00:38 | More by Jason

Billolick

New York

4.38/5  rDev +4.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Bomber bottle, pours allmost black with a frothy dark tan head, leaving nice stringy lacing. Nose here is mildly of burnt grains and coffee grounds. this is a bold and full taste stout, pleanty of coffee, chocolate and roasty notes. Smoth and nicely rounded on the tongue, finishes smooth and coating, but not clinging to the tongue, finish is marked with more semi sweet dark chocolate and mildly drying hops. This one has been a classic, fine American micro brew for many years. Hats off and a big thank you to the folks at Rogue for putting this fine stuff out for such a long time.

Serving type: bottle

08-04-2005 02:36:27 | More by Billolick

mdfb79

New York

4.05/5  rDev -3.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

From 09/04/10 notes. Poured from a 22 oz. bottle into a pint glass.

a - Pours a dark brown color with one finger of brown head and light carbonation evident.

s - Smells of roasted malts, raisins, dark fruits, bready malts, hint of alcohol.

t - Tastes of chocolate, roasted malts, coffee, dark fruits, light citrus, and bready malts.

m - Medium body and moderate carbonation. Smooth and very drinkable.

d - At 6% ABV, I feel like you could drink a lot of this. I thought it was a very balances, solid stout I would definitely try again.

Serving type: bottle

09-05-2010 21:52:25 | More by mdfb79

weeare138

Pennsylvania

4.1/5  rDev -2.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Appears a black with a dark chestnut hue when held to the light. A 2 finger, tan head slowly fades out into a collar and mild cap. Streaky lacing is left around the glass.
Smell is of mocha, coffee, cocoa, creamy vanilla, brown sugar, roasted nuts, and caramel.
Taste is of the mentioned aromas all in a French Roast base that has a delicious but rich flavor.
Mouthfeel is roasty, full bodied, rich, mildly bitter, along with moderate carbonation and a semi-dryness.

Serving type: bottle

12-29-2006 00:32:51 | More by weeare138

Zorro

California

3.85/5  rDev -8.1%
look: 5 | smell: 3 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Pours a truly impenetrable black brew.

Smell is mildly fruity, not that great.

Taste is sweet with chocolate and coffee flavors. Cola and sweetness show up too.

Mouthfeel is very good, has a Coke a Cola like carbonation bite.

It is drinkable but NOT as good as Samuel Smith Oatmeal Stout.

Serving type: bottle

03-20-2004 03:58:56 | More by Zorro

Kegatron

Pennsylvania

4.3/5  rDev +2.6%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

On tap @ the Mellow Mushroom (Charlottesville, VA) on 2/6/10. Served in a pint glass.

Pours black with a ½ finger of smooth and creamy mocha colored head. Very good retention here, leaving heavy thick rings of lacing behind. The aroma has a good bit of smoky dark roast and coffee present, along with some hefty dark chocolate notes. Extra tones of caramel and citrus give this some sticky tang.

The taste is deep with roasted malts and bitter chocolate. Some tamer accents of toffee and green citrus add some sweetness to this but an aggressive hop bit toward the rear helps spread dryness and smoky malts all along the back and finish of the profile. The mouthfeel is medium-fuller bodied, with a big sharp creaminess to it, which is undercut by an undercurrent of thicker chewiness from all of that malt sweetness. This is overall pretty silky in the mouth and feels spot on for the size.

I've had this several times in the bottle but never on tap, yet my opinion of it stays the same. This is just a very well crafted American Stout with lots of full flavors and a smooth, easy drinking body. Bottle or draft, this is probably my favorite beer from Rogue and one that I would never turn down.

Serving type: on-tap

02-09-2010 15:48:51 | More by Kegatron

Viggo

Ontario (Canada)

4/5  rDev -4.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Bomber. Pours a deep black, some red on the edges, thick tan head, lots of lace and great retention. Smell is roasty, lots of chocolate, floral hops and caramel, pretty intense. Taste is sweet, lots of chocolate, grains, roast, floral, coffee and caramel. Mouthfeel is medium bodied with medium carbonation, and a dry grainy finish. A good dry stout.

Serving type: bottle

07-23-2006 04:31:24 | More by Viggo

Bighuge

Minnesota

4.53/5  rDev +8.1%
look: 5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Beautifully black in color. (Are any of the Rogue Stouts not black?)Just the way I like a stout. Big creamy, brown head forms a sheet of lace as it recedes to a thin head. Excellent retention. Lacing comes in sheets. Rich, chocolatey, bitter and burnt nose. Excellent. Mouthfeel is so velvety smooth. Silky. The body is about medium-full. Big taste upfront to me is bittersweet chocolate. I love a nicely hopped stout and this is just that. Cascades all the way, but very little grapefruit character exists. Must be "masked" or blended with the malts in a way to produce some textured flavors. A little coffee bean slips in here and there. Maybe some cherry (plum?). What a pleasure. Their Imperial Stout is my favorite, but this is excellent in it's own right. I can't believe I haven't reviewed it yet.

Thank you ZAP, budgood1 and Road Warrior for bringing this beer to me.

Serving type: bottle

01-02-2003 19:07:25 | More by Bighuge

corby112

Pennsylvania

4.75/5  rDev +13.4%
look: 5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Pours a nice dark brown almost black color with a thick, frothy coffe-colored head. Roasted malty aroma with chocolate, oatmel, toffee notes. Dark chocolate roasted maltiness with hints of burnt toast, caramel, nut and toffee. Very quaffable and sweet with slight dry finish.

Serving type: bottle

12-02-2008 07:47:53 | More by corby112

Beerandraiderfan

Nevada

4.26/5  rDev +1.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Classic stout. Chewy, thick, but not thick like a real boozy Imperial Stout. One of Rogue's best offerings. Nothing really jumps out at you in the aroma department, its nice and smooth, with minimal impact on the nose.

Good balance between chocolate, minimal coffee flavor. Great hopped Stout. So often, I find it difficult to justify spending $6 +/- on a 22 oz. of Rogue, but this one is worth it. I don't recall ever getting this one in 12oz, but a 6er of this stuff would be tits.

You get a smooth, robust and chewy drinking experience with this one.

Serving type: bottle

11-13-2009 18:51:05 | More by Beerandraiderfan

johnmichaelsen

Oregon

4.18/5  rDev -0.2%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Had this at the PDX rogue alehouse.

The beer pouts a beautiful dark black color with outstanding head retention and sticky lacing. The beer is very roasty on the nose with coffee, licorise and light sweet malt. The beer is very impressive on the palate, with a soft creamy mouthfeel. There beer starts out somewhat sweet, but then the hops come on strong and the beer finishes with good bitterness/dryness. The finish is long and smooth, and is quite delicious.

A very fine beer from Rogue. Surprisingly fresh and delicious here at the airport.

Serving type: nitro-tap

04-29-2008 18:34:01 | More by johnmichaelsen

Rifugium

Pennsylvania

4/5  rDev -4.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

First had: on nitro at Rogue, Portland, OR

Poured black with a starkly opposing creamy tan head. Gotta love nitro. Aroma was as expected: dark roasted malts, toasted grains, notes of coffee and cocoa, with promises of earthy hops. Taste followed the aroma: dark malts and grainy oatmeal, roast and toast, cocoa, some coffee bitterness, and a hint of earthy hops. Smooth, though not as full-bodied as expected from a oatmeal stout on nitro...about medium-bodied I suppose, but still smooth and easily downable.

Serving type: nitro-tap

01-10-2012 21:06:56 | More by Rifugium

lacqueredmouse

Australia

3.9/5  rDev -6.9%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Cheers to my girlfriend for lugging this bomber back from the States for me.

Pours an extremely dark, opaque brown-black, with a sheen to the body. Head is also very dark, a rick milk-chocolate colour. Its crown is big, but rocky, composed of a lot of air, and not much creaminess. Carbonation abounds, in tiny thin streams of bubbles around the edge of the goblet. Excellent sticky lacing. This is a really nice looking stout.

Rich dark toasted notes on the nose, coffee, roasted malt, a little smokiness and a bittersweet hint of burnt sugar. There's even, hiding away at the back, the insinuation of oak. It's not a huge nose, but it's certainly got fine characteristics to it. Very pleasant.

Taste is initially quite smoky, with a brash wood-fire character on the front palate. This lingers around, mingling with flavours of charred meat, caraway and anise seed. The roasted characters are the ones surviving to the end though, with a long, dark back palate of roasty bitter ash. It's not a drying character, though - it stays smooth on the palate throughout.

Slippery, dark, dangerous. This is a well-made stout. It's not huge, by any account, everything is in moderation and everything is balanced. I had a great time chewing my way through it.

Serving type: bottle

05-29-2008 05:44:44 | More by lacqueredmouse

DoubleJ

California

4.4/5  rDev +5%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

22 ounce bottle from Pacific Ranch Market, on to the beer:

This stout pours out thick, leaving an opaque color in the glass and an outstanding head that holds well. The aroma is full of roasted cocoa flavor. Up front on the palate, roasted barley is tasted first, then a wave of mild hops scramble on before a long lingering roasted aftertaste. Chocolate flavors emerge as the beer warms, sweetening things up a bit. Leftovers of chalk sits around in the aftertaste too. A good mix of flavors makes this beer a winner and a role model for how other craft brewers can make thier stouts.

Serving type: bottle

05-11-2008 23:33:40 | More by DoubleJ

glid02

Georgia

4.35/5  rDev +3.8%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Cask version served at Trappeze in Athens, GA.

Pours black with a 1.5-finger tan head. The head recedes into a thin layer on top leaving thick lacing.

Smells of smooth roasted malt, dark chocolate, and a good amount of citrus hops.

Tastes similar to how it smells. Roasted malt and unsweetened chocolate flavors up front are joined shortly by large (at least for a stout) amounts of citrus hop flavors. The flavors complement each other nicely and carry through to a solidly bitter ending.

Mouthfeel is good. It has a smooth thickness with soft and grainy carbonation.

Drinkability is good. I finished my glass quickly and could have a few more.

Overall the cask version seemed to have a lot more hops in the aroma and flavor than I remembered from the bottle version. Even without the hops the malt bill is fantastic enough to make this worth a shot.

Serving type: cask

09-15-2009 03:06:13 | More by glid02

Gusler

Arizona

4.28/5  rDev +2.1%
look: 5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

The beer pours that deep rich jet black color that so typifies the stout style, the head elephantine in size, the consistency frothy, the color a deep chocolate brown with the resultant lace a thick and glutinous sheet to smother the glass. The aromas of rich roasted malt, coffee, brown sugar sweet, also a light hop floral scent to seal off the nose. Start is bitter chocolate sweet, malt and the top thick and chewy, with a finish that is hop bitter and purposeful in its bite. The carbonation moderate and the aftertaste dry and long lasting. Quite a good stout in my books and one I enjoy often when a big beer is called for.

Serving type: bottle

02-04-2003 16:34:21 | More by Gusler

wl0307

United Kingdom (England)

4.68/5  rDev +11.7%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 5

Got this bottle from the UTOBEER beer stall in the Borough Market, London. No freshness info. is given on the bottle.

A: in a goblet it pours a nearly black hue with a fluffy, thin, dark brownish beer head after force-pouring; leaving quite fine but uneven lace along the way.
S: sweetish dark malts, intense and rich, with a profound chocolatey aroma more like a chocolate porter, also slightly woody and earthy, on the backdrop of delicious, dark fruity and citrusy hops. Overall the nose is refreshingly malty and aromatic, but not as roasty as I'd expect of a stout and slightly too sweet for me.
T: hitting the palate upfront is immense flavour of roasted barley along with a smooth texture of oats--the smokiness and roastiness is reminiscent of French roast coffee beans, with a slightly sweet edge of darkest chocolates, milled multi-grains, some hints of charred woodchips and deeply earthy flavour creeping deep down the palate. The bitterness from roasted barley intensifies but never to the unbearable extent, and it's gradually softened by the soft texture of oats and a smooth sweetness from the dark malts, maintaining a creamy smooth texture on the palate, leaving a slightly dark chocolatey, earthy and herbal bittersweet aftertaste lingering forever~~
M: despite full-bodied and rich-flavoured, the mouthfeel manages to remain quite soft and balanced actually, not like Rogue's own Russian Imperial Stout which is a bit too rough and sharp on the palate when consumed too young. And the flavour is so different from the suggestion of the nose, and fortunately so, leaving behind much sweetness which I don't like.
D: This stout is most different from all the English and Irish stouts I've tried, and more interesting and ''bold", but not as formidable as elegant for that matter. I'm really deeply impressed by this American stout, especially given that I missed the chance to try it on cask when working at the BSF bar in GBBF 05, though I did nick a quarter of a pint of Rogue's Chocolate Stout on cask which is immensely delicious as well. I'm gonna buy more of Rogue's dark ales whenever I see any! Good stuff.

Serving type: bottle

11-11-2005 04:30:50 | More by wl0307

beerthulhu

New Jersey

4.22/5  rDev +0.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

A: Poured a dark cola color with ruby highlights around the edges upon the pour. The head was creamy, soft, 2 fingers in height with a dark mocha color leaving a sparse film lacing.

S: dry citrus, pine and fresh roasted coffee bitterness blending together beautifully.

T: The initial flavor was bitter, roasted coffee grains though, the flavor thins out towards the end of the sip. There was some dried citrus, pine and a acrid roasted bitterness. Finishes with some burnt roasted coffee grinds, burnt chocolate, and a charred smoky woodiness.

M: light, oily, with a sharp, acrid bitterness of roasted grinds lacing the tongue that just seem to linger on and on.

D: Decent drinkability, was bitter but the body seemed a tad thin at times. Takes a few sips before you may warm up to this but goes down easier after that.

Serving type: bottle

05-11-2008 23:57:27 | More by beerthulhu

DrJay

Massachusetts

4.18/5  rDev -0.2%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Very dark, basically black, with just a hint of dark brown highlights. This was topped by a dense, dark brown head that showed excellent retention. The aroma was quite malty, with some lightly roasted malts, chocolate, and just slightly burnt. Sweetness and fresh floral hops serve as a decent counterpoint. The flavour is really big, but balanced nicely between bitterness and rich malts. Chocolate and lactose-like sweetness counter the definite burnt malts. Bitterness is on the strong side, with plenty of floral and orange/citrus hoppiness. It had a long finish that emphasized bitterness and roasted malts, leaving the palate on the dry side. The texture was velvety smooth, low carbonation composed of fine bubbles, and a full body. This is great stuff... nice balance with plenty of flavour and a great finish.

Serving type: bottle

05-12-2005 01:18:03 | More by DrJay

biegaman

Ontario (Canada)

4.45/5  rDev +6.2%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Dark chocolate with a subtle, although plainly visible in some angles, maroon tinted lining. The beer is, of course, opaque and drawing any colour from it is difficult without the help of bright lighting. A giant mound of foam topped by large airy bubbles is tacked onto the beer's surface. Its bounteous accumulation etches the glass in layer after layer of intricately woven lace.

Whether the beer smells good or great is something drinkers will disagree on. If you like plenty of hops in your beer, regardless of style, then you will absolutely, positively love Rogue's Shakespeare Stout. If you want a stout to be more heavy roasted espresso oriented the beer should still find favour with you, so long as you can accept that pungent, zestful American hops are put first.

Make no mistake, there is still plenty of mocha for everyone. The beer offers notes of hazelnut, dark caramel, black coffee and milk-chocolate covered honeycomb toffee along with the notes of spicy, resiny, grapefruit flavoured hops. The combination results in a candied fruit topped toffee cake served with a side cup of fresh-pulled espresso. Yum!

Take a look at Rogue's lineup and you're hard-pressed to find a beer that isn't intensely hopped. This brewer is obviously fond of hoppy beers and that makes two of us. This beer provides me with my chocolaty roast malt stout fix but it also accommodates the hop head in me too. Others may disagree, but I find the zesty bitterness a welcome dimension.

That is said for this particular stout but not all of them. This level of hoppiness could destroy the balance in many stout ecosystems. Rogue, however, seems to have some innate understanding of how to incorporate it. The chocolaty-coffee roast is omnipresent on each sip and imparts plenty of chalky, scorched grain texture and flavour. This has the richness of an Imperial Stout yet the drinkability of an Irish Dry Stout.

This one earns the word "stout" in its namesake, it is in fact the very definition of the word. You should see a picture of this bottle when you look the word up in the dictionary. This set the benchmark. I've had many a great stouts since I first tried Shakespeare Stout but I still consider this one of my favourite of them all. A stout by any other name is not as sweet...

Serving type: bottle

05-12-2009 03:15:30 | More by biegaman