12th Anniversary Bitter Chocolate Oatmeal Stout
Stone Brewing

12th Anniversary Bitter Chocolate Oatmeal Stout12th Anniversary Bitter Chocolate Oatmeal Stout
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From:
Stone Brewing
 
California, United States
Style:
Oatmeal Stout
ABV:
9.2%
Score:
92
Avg:
4.11 | pDev: 9.98%
Reviews:
710
Ratings:
979
Status:
Retired
Rated:
Apr 06, 2020
Added:
Jul 02, 2008
Wants:
  90
Gots:
  140
No description / notes.
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
Ratings by WVbeergeek:
Photo of WVbeergeek
Reviewed by WVbeergeek from West Virginia

3.68/5  rDev -10.5%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
Body appears pitch black absolutely opaque no light passing through at the edges. Nice sized mocha tan head forms thick and leaves behind fine lacing as it dwindles down, by the way I poured this into my Piraat chalice since I recently broke my Stone Imperial Stout chalice, pretty similar shape. This year's release seems to be keeping with the black beer theme, hoppy black IPA definitely wasn't my favorite new concept beer let's see if bitter dark chocolate infused oatmeal stouts work as well as it sounds.

Aroma upfront with bitter dark cocoa nibs, deep fruity ripened fruit notes including ripe plum and fig notes, touch of metallic mineral character blended with herbal hop blends just barely coming through in the nose.

Flavor is complex starts off with a tart twang seems out of place in something this dark, I was assuming there would be more roasted malt character off the bat. Somewhat lactic creamy notes with oatmeal softness coming into play. Definitely finishes with big luscious dark bitter chocolate notes and welcome hop burps arise after your first few sips even thought not much hop action is going on in the actual flavor or aroma. As it warms alcohol becomes a welcome flavor component that seems to offset some of the sweet and tart fruit notes from the pure bitterness of the dark chocolate added. Oatmeal also plays as a buffer between the chocolate and sweet fruit undertones.

Carbonation level is mellow, dark dry bitterness is definitely left on the palate after each sip. An overall medium to full body with creamy edges to it the entire 22 ounce portion. By the way, I would recommend to split this large portion with friends and let the beer warm up a bit to let all of the flavors and textures come out.

This Stone 12th offering serves up some surprises, keeping it original and unique as usual I would definitely recommend the experience. Is it something that I will be chasing down like the Stone 10th no way but was it tasty and complex...of course. I see what the folks at Stone were trying to pull off and guess I like the blurb on the label about hop shortages and turning to the bitterness of dark chocolate versus hops, so I see the vision but taste for yourself whether or not it works.
Jul 25, 2008
More User Ratings:
 
Rated: 4 by RiceOwls27 from Texas

Apr 06, 2020
Photo of janubio
Reviewed by janubio from Spain

3.74/5  rDev -9%
look: 5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Bottle at Echarle Huevos, served at home in a snifter glass. Pours a black colour, medium dark chocolate head sith shor retention. Almost no lacing.
Aroma of chocolate, rum, wood, vanilla, spices, herbs.
Medium body, creamy texture, normal carbonation. Bitter finish.
Taste of chocolate, dried fruits, herbs, rum, spices vanilla.
Very good.
Mar 13, 2020
Photo of Beejay
Reviewed by Beejay from Virginia

4.07/5  rDev -1%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75
A: dark black in color with a tan head.

S: sweet up front with a touch of Orange peel, and perhaps a hint of smoke. It almost had a Islam scotch aroma to it.

T: not getting the orange peel as much, but info get smoke, toffee, and chocolate.

M: medium thick with a creamy feel. Moderate carbonatuon.

O: tasty, but the aroma far surpasses the flavor.
Apr 17, 2019
 
Rated: 4.52 by Bogdawg from Massachusetts

May 14, 2018
Photo of rodbeermunch
Reviewed by rodbeermunch from Nevada

3.77/5  rDev -8.3%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
Pours a hearty black, but slightly less than their classic RIS. Still has the brown head cap on it in the 1/2" range. Looks very good like every other Stone stout made. Aroma hits the chocolate malt and roasted malt notes. No surprises here like Radiohead said.

Taste is a well made beer that stresses its chocolate malt without dropping a bunch of sugar on the drinker. Still hides the alcohol quite well without the use of aforementioned sweetness, this is baker's dark unsweetened chocolate malt if you will. Lays off the dark stone fruit bitterness thankfully. Slightly bitter and roasty throughout the lifetime of the beer. Neither of which is excessively done. One of the nicer things about the beer is how it didn't go for the biggest thickest kind of angle, its all screw your Chicago pour, you can dome this all by yourself. One of the few examples of a bomber that wasn't some ridiculous price per oz. A solid offering.
Mar 26, 2018
 
Rated: 4 by teamwiggum from Wisconsin

Jan 13, 2018
 
Rated: 3.75 by a77cj7 from South Dakota

Nov 24, 2017
 
Rated: 3.77 by StormAles from Canada (ON)

Aug 27, 2017
 
Rated: 4.28 by DioS from Georgia

Aug 25, 2017
Photo of q33jeff
Reviewed by q33jeff from New Jersey

3.96/5  rDev -3.6%
look: 4.25 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
**
08/11/2017

22oz Bottle (01/10/2016) to snifter. Aged 19 months.

Thought I had rated this back in early 2016, but I guess not. Remember it being good, not great; possibly to benefit from some age. Maybe 19 months is a bit long for this sub-10% beer. Still tasty, but I feel like it has degraded a little.

LOOK: dark black pour; decent brown head. Retains decently, excellent considering age.
AROMA: I get wood, cocoa powder, with some hints of hay/grass.
TASTE: Bitter chocolate is nice. would complement a sweeter dessert well. I also get notes of raisin and fig. I don;t necessarily taste oatmeal; but there is a grainy taste that I am attributing to the oats in the malt.
FEEL: full bodied; light carbonation, but better than expected for style and age. dry finish.

All in all a pretty solid beer; like Belgian chocolate meets Irish stout. I wish I had jotted down my notes the first time i had this to compare. Opening a 1 year old OAKMEAL next to compare barrel aged vs. non barrel aged of the same beer.

**
Aug 11, 2017
 
Rated: 4.37 by jkonte from Ohio

Jun 08, 2017
 
Rated: 4.04 by emerge077 from Illinois

May 21, 2017
 
Rated: 3.96 by CheapBeerBuzz from California

Mar 18, 2017
 
Rated: 4.44 by cmsfish from Minnesota

Mar 06, 2017
 
Rated: 4.33 by Heeenrik from Finland

Feb 19, 2017
 
Rated: 4.27 by Lodisgrisen from Finland

Feb 15, 2017
Photo of fx20736
Rated by fx20736 from New York

4.18/5  rDev +1.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
silky, chocolatey, tasty
Feb 13, 2017
 
Rated: 3.78 by kbrown from Ohio

Feb 11, 2017
 
Rated: 4.18 by token_23223 from Virginia

Jan 19, 2017
12th Anniversary Bitter Chocolate Oatmeal Stout from Stone Brewing
Beer rating: 92 out of 100 with 979 ratings