Overcast Espresso Stout - Oakshire Brewing

katybee

Oregon

2.48/5  rDev -36.1%
look: 3 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 2 | overall: 2.5

Hmmm. This beer seemed to go through several different 'moods' after it poured, warmed up, and went flat. Have to say, this is the first beer I would have added more hops to, and was better with the carbonation.

Lovely opaque dark brown appearance, but the very minimal creamy head quickly disipated. It did however stick around as a lacey rim.

Smell definitely of malt, although light.

But the taste was definitely malty also. I love malt, and usually wish for fewer hops pungence. But this lacked balance and leaned toward almost malt vinegar-ish. Perhaps this is the 'dry' style, like Guiness. I found it lacked any espresso character, and no hops spiceyness to balance the predominant roasted malt, with no sweetness, or fruity esthers or breadiness... just malt. Like a flat barleywine, barely there. And when it warmed up it was like thin malt vinegar without the acidity...

Mouthfeel was nothing without the soon disipated carbonation to add any tingle. Too thin for me; not creamy at all, and went flat quickly.

Maybe my bottle was skunked. Maybe the added coffee thinned it too much. I just found too much barley malts and not enough balance. Live and learn!

Serving type: bottle

03-19-2011 05:22:26 | More by katybee

Khazadum

Illinois

2.5/5  rDev -35.6%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 2 | feel: 1 | overall: 2

Decent stout body. Minor lacing. Needs a bit of work.

Smell is amazing. Needs nothing mote but s balancing sweetness. That espresso roast and grainess gives you hope.

Doesn't translate. Dry bitter coffee grounds on cardboard. Finishes with dry hop bitter. Oxidized beyond belief. So monochromatic.

Thin. Watery. Lingers when I don't want. So disgusting. Nasty flavors and body.

Serving type: bottle

12-10-2011 05:57:57 | More by Khazadum

cdkrenz

Wisconsin

2.93/5  rDev -24.5%
look: 4.5 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 2.5

A - Black as night and pours as thick as any brew I've encountered. The head is huge at three plus inches and foamy.

S - Very mild aroma of coffee.

T - Espresso and chocolate with a bitter lining.

M - The feel is extremely coarse. Doesn't go down very smooth, but... it goes down.

~ This is a great idea if you're drinking it for breakfast. Any other time of day I think this bomber may be a bit too much.

Serving type: bottle

11-23-2010 00:20:32 | More by cdkrenz

MadeInOregon

California

2.93/5  rDev -24.5%
look: 2 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 2.5

Drank this one by myself on New Year's...not that I was BY myself, I just, well, I mean, you know what I mean...never mind!

Poured out, the Overcast Espresso Stout has basically no head; only a few dark red/brown bubbles swim around the rim of the liquid. I even tried a more aggressive pour to get some foam, but nothing. Very high viscosity, and probably low malt (?). The body is pitch-black as far as I can tell. This is not an appetizing beer at all. Looks like old motor oil to me.

The smell, on the other had is quite incredible. The aroma is espresso and nothing else. Most coffee beers still smell like roasted malt, but not this one: it smells like a cup of coffee. It's pretty amazing that Oakshire pulled off making a "coffee beer" that truly smells like, um, COFFEE. Amazing.

Taste is espresso, straight up. Well into my first glass I still thought I was drinking coffee not beer. I didn't taste any sweetness from the oatmeal. There is a little hoppiness that tries to push through but it's overpowered by the coffee. I don't know about the balance of this. Definitely not my cup of tea...or coffee. When cold, I would say this beer is BAD. As it warms it becomes more beery and malty sweet and is definitely a "stout" with its dryness, but it is still mainly coffee at every point.

The feel is smooth and slightly carbonated. Nothing special at all.

As others have said, drink this for breakfast or on a hot summer day--assuming you really enjoy 22 ounces of cold black coffee! I seriously think you could add cream and sugar to this stuff. With this beer, it's coffee to the max. No balance whatsoever.

Serving type: bottle

01-13-2011 04:57:54 | More by MadeInOregon

Magpie14

Michigan

3.1/5  rDev -20.1%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 3

on tap at Kelly's Olympian, PDX

A: black with dusty brown colors around the edges. A hazy foam on top, off-white cream in color. Thin watery ring of lace at the rim with lace fingers pointing down after a few sips

S: hint of chocolate with roasted coffee and malts. Hard to gather all flavors as coffee beans are most prominent

T: this one has a strong coffee profile overall, flavors are roasted and a touch of vanilla sweet. Sort of lacks in overall complexity as grains seem restrained and almost vanish. Soft cocoa cream and a slight astringency in the finish with stale hops

M: carbonated for a stout and caught me by surprise. Fizzy bite to this takes away quite a bit in the mouthfeel and overall vibe. I would consider this body mild, bubbly, and sharp

D: flavors in some regards come and go, coffee and more coffee. Don't get me wrong, I love coffee in my beers, but this one lacks overall elements to make it the least bit enjoyable. Body is not chunky enough for me and results in a slightly average experience

Serving type: on-tap

01-30-2009 21:33:25 | More by Magpie14

waltersrj

Washington

3.2/5  rDev -17.5%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Pour: Pretty close to a completely black liquid but with some hints of brown reflection. I managed to get a good sized, dark tan, frothy head.

Nose: Mostly bitter espresso with hints of chocolate and roasted malts.

Taste: Pretty straight forward like the nose. I detected good amounts of bitter espresso, roasted dark malts, some baker's chocolate and also some hops.

Mouthfeel: A little bit watery IMO but also somewhat creamy at the same time. This is pretty spot on for being a coffee stout.

Overall: Pretty good for a coffee stout but I tend to lean more towards the bigger, bolder Imperial Coffee Stouts such as Yeti, Speedway, etc. I won't hold that against this beer as they are not the same style. I probably wouldn't search this out again as I enjoyed the Imperial version more. Still good for the style.

Serving type: bottle

08-03-2011 18:51:35 | More by waltersrj

DefenCorps

Oregon

3.2/5  rDev -17.5%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

Bottle from the Grocery Outlet in Tanasbourne.

Pouring black with dark brown highlights, this beer is capped with a dense, brown head that's creamy and leaves some nice lacing. The nose is mostly a freshly pulled espresso, roasty, creamy, mildly chocolatey, and faintly hoppy (earthy). It smells nice but simple. The base stout appears to be obscured by the coffee.

The palate opens with a nice espresso flavor. Fresh, clean, mildly fruity and moderately roasty, it is expressed in a way I like. The base stout, however, isn't up to the challenge. Mildly roasty, not chocolatey enough and rather thin, the base stout really is disappointing. Drying, roasty, faintly watery and with a nice lingering coffee flavor on the finish, this beer is medium-light in body. Carbonated a little too highly for my liking, the carbonic acid clashes with the excellently expressed coffee acidity. The hoppy bitterness on the finish is a nice touch. Decent stuff, it could use just a touch of sweetness and body to go with the rather excellent coffee flavor.

Serving type: bottle

09-16-2012 03:28:20 | More by DefenCorps

RJLarse

Washington

3.35/5  rDev -13.7%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

On tap at Jone's Radiator Served in a pint glass.

Pours a black color and is opaque. Thin beige head.

Smell is a coffee like aroma. Smells like warm over-brewed coffee grounds.

Taste is also predictably coffee. A bit one dimensional. It tastes like weak cheap coffee from when I didn't like coffee.

Mouthfeel is thin and a bit watery.

Drinkable but lacks sweetness and body.

Serving type: on-tap

11-21-2011 05:59:52 | More by RJLarse

SpeedwayJim

New York

3.38/5  rDev -12.9%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

Thanks to Jeff (ipa247) for this one. Poured from a 22oz. bomber into a Sam Adams perfect pint.

A: Standard pour barely yields a .5 finger fine, dark mocha head that dissipates quickly. Beer is opaque black and dense. Lacing is attractive. Spotty in parts and stringy in others with nice legs and good stick.

S: Nose is rather subtle. Roasted malt, big, bold espresso beans, a hint of dark chocolate, and liquorice. Really had to bury my nose in the brew to get anything though.

T: Opens extremely heavy on the coffee. Coffee bean bitterness with a slight touch of tart. Roasted malts add their touch of bitterness, smoke, and ash. As I let this one warm in my mouth, chocolate comes up ever so slightly towards the end. Coffee takes back over at the finish, which is accented with bitterness. Aftertaste is roasted malt and slight coffee sourness.

M: Medium bodied and moderately carbonated. Oily and slick in the mouth but sufficient carbonation keeps it from being heavy and viscous. Tingly and slightly grainy going down. Finish is accented and aftertaste lingers.

D: I'm not a huge coffee drinker so I'm not inclined to revisit this one. That being said though, I can see what is trying to be accomplished here and for those fans of big, roasty, coffee and coffee beers, this is a must try.

Serving type: bottle

12-23-2010 18:33:56 | More by SpeedwayJim

Beerandraiderfan

Nevada

3.43/5  rDev -11.6%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Pours a nice black color with firm beige head that sits about 1.33" in a very still manner while I watch the 1st half of the Marquette-Notre Dame game. DJO is ballin'. Aroma isn't really espresso, its more like old diner coffee. Now, this bottle is definitely not 'fresh' it is almost a year old. Some coffee beers hold up, some do not.

Flavorwise, the coffee is a little better than the aroma, nothing spectacular though. I needed a coffee beer with a 10AM tip this morning, so I grabbed this since I never meant to wait this long to try it in the first place. Nothing spectacular, its a dark, yet mild roast flavor, doesn't trigger visions of the lighter espresso flavor I'm used to. Hit those free throws Vander Blue. Chocolate malt, but not really an added chocolate flavor going on. Mildly bitter, body is average, like the carbonation.

A decent option at a decent price, it was good enough to make me pick up another bottle next time im in WA/OR and next time, I'll drink it fresh and see what happens.

Serving type: bottle

02-04-2012 18:46:43 | More by Beerandraiderfan

grumpy

Missouri

3.45/5  rDev -11.1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

You better like coffee if you're going to drink this one.

It's a small beer, without a doubt - apparent low gravity, low ABV, light mouthfeel... all the indicators. But it certainly delivers the coffee, or espresso, or whatever. Appearance is that of a typical small stout - dark until held to light, then turning deep amber. Aroma is coffee all the way. Smells like fresh ground, good quality coffee beans. I wouldn't say it has an aroma of espresso, but the coffee is plenty convincing. Taste is pleasant enough for the style - roast barley and/or black patent, the aforementioned java, a nice, subtle touch of sweetness, some hoppiness, and a slight carbonation zing.

All in all, a nice little beer that I can see having a pint of, on ocasion. And I'm really not a small beer fan.

Serving type: on-tap

05-31-2008 02:50:17 | More by grumpy

elgiacomo

Georgia

3.55/5  rDev -8.5%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

22oz bottle, unknown date. Served at cellar temperature.

Pours dark brown to black with a small brown head.

Aroma features nice espresso and coffee notes, roasted malts, a bit of chocolate, some dark fruits. Good, but not great strength.

Flavor is espresso & coffee, chocolate, roasted malts, some vanilla and caramel, fairly sweet, minimal hops, on the finish there is a touch of lactic tartness and some astringency. Very little alcohol.

Mouthfeel is medium bodied with good carbonation. A little creamy, a little sticky at times.

A nice coffee stout, but I’ll admit I’ve been spoiled lately by copious amounts of Wake-n-Bake and Founders Breakfast Stout. This one is a bit different than those however, using a Sweet Stout as a base, making this a bit unique, as those Sweet Stout characteristics definitely come through.

Serving type: bottle

01-02-2012 00:35:57 | More by elgiacomo

jethrodium

California

3.55/5  rDev -8.5%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Bottle. Pours a dark brown with a small tan head that has deecent retention and leaves some light lacing on the glass. The aroma is lots of coffee, a light nutty note, and a bit of dark chocolate. The initial taste is sweet with lots of coffee, some nuttiness, and dark chocolate. The finish is bitter with coffee. Light body. Medium carbonation.

Serving type: bottle

08-23-2012 21:33:39 | More by jethrodium

ccrida

Oregon

3.58/5  rDev -7.7%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

On tap at Henry's, served in a shaker pint, Espresso Stout is a blackish brown coffee color with a tan head leaving heavy lace.

Smell is all coffee, fresh ground beans really, a bit leathery as it warms.

Taste is again, all black coffee, with a hint of milk chocolate (lactose?) and vanilla. Earthy with some plastic phenols, but smooth and pretty well rounded, not to robust flavored in spite of the dominance of the coffee.

Mouthfeel has a nice frothy carbonation, with a light body, espresso like indeed!

Drinkability is pretty good, it goes down very easily. Bartender was sure of ABV but thought around 6%, which seems a bit high to me based on how it drank. Even as a coffee lover though, I didn't need more then one of these, a bit too one dimensional and not that exciting.

Serving type: on-tap

12-30-2008 22:12:45 | More by ccrida

MaltsOfGlory

Oregon

3.58/5  rDev -7.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

Finally an Oakshire beer that responds well to an aggressive pour, This beer gives me a nice big two finger head into my standard pint glass. The head looks like milk chocolate, light brown in color. It's very creamy looking, a little pillowy, it looks better than most Oakshire heads I've had in the past. The head is leaving good lacing and has decent retention, but it will probably be gone before too long here. The body is absolutely pitch black, no hints of any colors anywhere in this beer, for sure up there in terms of some of the darkest beers I've ever had. Overall it looks pretty good, the head is very weird, it looks a little soapy, but it's still hanging in there so I can't complain too much, it's just weird looking. Overall the beer has a good appearance though. On the smell I get coffee, sour hops, and dark malt. All of the aromas are blended together pretty well, none of them are more prominent than the others. The sour smell is a little of a turn off, but I think that's just the hops making their way through to my nose. There might be a tiny bit of chocolate in here as well, not sure. Overall it's a very nice, robust, deep, malty smell. I think this one will taste pretty good! Yeah it's a good beer, nothing outstanding, but a very solid beer. The sourness is a little more prominent than I would like, and I don't know if it's even from the hops, or what. I don't know what else it would be from though. Coffee flavor is prominent, dark malts are there, and also that sour flavor. Not much else going on other than that, the chocolate is there, but only a tiny tiny bit. The flavor overall is good, but just really nothing too amazing, slightly watery, but not too bad in that category. The mouthfeel is really affecting the flavor for me though, in most cases the mouthfeel and the flavor have absolutely nothing to do with each other, but in this beer they for sure do. The mouthfeel is pretty thin and it just has a gross carbonation to it, that carbonation, mixed with the sour taste just really don't work too well for me. It's nothing traditionally terrible, it's just....really a bad combination. The taste alone isn't bad, but when mixed with the mouthfeel, it's just a bad combination. Overall it's not a bad beer by any means, it's a good beer, and it's only a hair away from being a pretty dang good beer. That carbonation is the biggest problem, other than that it's good.

As this beer progressed the carbonation almost disappeared, that became much less of a problem. The flavor improved and the mouthfeel got smoother, but neither of them were all that much better than what they started out at.

Serving type: bottle

06-21-2011 06:18:21 | More by MaltsOfGlory

Airyk12

Oregon

3.6/5  rDev -7.2%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Poured from a growler at a tasting.

Poured a thick black color with a small bubbly tan head.
Strong espresso, with hints of chocolate and dark cherries in the nose.
Tastes like drinking a mocha, but with overwhelming roasted and coffee flavors. Hints of hoppiness and chocolate.
Smooth, with a heavy stout mouthfeel.
I could drink one of these, but not many more. The standout coffee flavor may appeal to coffee freaks, but other than that, it is not much of a session.

Serving type: growler

02-14-2011 05:43:32 | More by Airyk12

corby112

Pennsylvania

3.65/5  rDev -5.9%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

Pours pitch black almost completely opaque with only the slightest mahogany edges when held up to a light source. Frothy 2 finger chocolate tan head with decent retention that slowly fades into a lasting ring and cap leaving rings of chunky lacing throughout.

Deep rich and roasty beautiful aroma with hints of chocolate and caramel malt, coffee beans, lactic creaminess, toffee burnt toast and subtle hops. Just sniffing this beer makes me salivate uncontrollably.

Very roasty almost too much so up front with a sily creamy chocolate malt body with lactic cream noites and bitter dry hop finish. Hints of chocolate, caramel, HUGE coffe presence, toffee, cream burnt toast and intense hops.

This beer looks and smells amazing but is not very well balanced with way too intense of a roasty coffee flavor that overpowers the silky choclate malt notes lying underneath.

Serving type: bottle

08-25-2009 04:19:23 | More by corby112

homebrew311

Illinois

3.65/5  rDev -5.9%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Pours obsidian and opaque into my CBS snifter, deep brown head form and retains about a cm nicely. Heavy lacing is left behind. Incredibly dark for a non imperial stout. The nose starts with bold roasted coffee paired with a dry roasted barley quality. Notes of dark chocolate come in as well as a tinge of hops to round things out. Taste lacks malty sweetness and stays on the dry roasted malty side of things. Very dry on the finish and not a whole lot of depth to the flavor. Mouthfeel is moderately carbonation with somewhat light body. Lots of espresso here as well as roasted malts, but there is not enough sweetness to balance out these flavors. The results is somewhat ashy and overly dry.

Serving type: bottle

08-14-2012 06:16:14 | More by homebrew311

BeerTwigs

New York

3.68/5  rDev -5.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Served from a bottle into an imperial pint glass. This beer is really dark - a dark brown to almost black. It has a nice tanish brown head which leaves a nice lacing. Aroma is dominated by coffee and chocolate hints. The mouthfeel is smooth and creamy with light carbonation. This beer has a lot of flavor with sweet malts and dark coffee. Overall this beer has a lot of flavor and is pretty drinkable. I would recommend trying this beer.

Serving type: bottle

08-31-2012 00:57:17 | More by BeerTwigs

amandebates

Illinois

3.7/5  rDev -4.6%
look: 3 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

A: Thick dark black with a light brown head that laces slightly on the glass.
S: Smells like what it's called: espresso. Great, fresh roasted coffee smell.
T: Rich roasted malt sweetness, some chocolate and toasty coffee with a nice balance of bitterness.
M: Appropriately thick for the style and not too sticky. Good level of carbonation.
D: It's easy to finish the 24oz, but not much more...

(review based on notes from tasting on Feb 1, 2011)

Serving type: on-tap

03-11-2011 02:57:33 | More by amandebates

ThisWangsChung

Maryland

3.71/5  rDev -4.4%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.25 | overall: 3.75

22 oz bottle into a Samuel Smith pint glass.

A: Pours an ultra-dark brown color. The head is a two finger mocha shade featuring a nice texture and perhaps even nicer retention. Looks good in a glass, that's for sure (especially the Samuel Smith pint glass, which almost seems tailor made for stouts).

S: Wowee, this one is very forward in its mocha, chocolate, and roasted barley qualities. Oats are faintly notable, as well. I'm pretty impressed, actually.

T/M: Dry, dry, dry. This opens dry/bitter, finishes dry/bitter, with seemingly no room for sweetness anywhere. There's a slight ping of chocolate to start before coffee, roasted barley, and oatmeal all take over. I notice a dimension of piny hops on the back end, too that never overpower everything else. I reckon it's a bit more airy-feeling than I like; I'd kill for a silkier texture, or maybe it's just lower carbonation I'd kill for. The latter quality is the only thing that bugs me here - it allows it to come off as being too dry and even a bit rough at times.

O: One has to love how drinkable this is. The lack of creamy softness is easy to overlook for this reason. I wouldn't trade for it; but I would buy it again if I ever caught it in a store.

Serving type: bottle

03-13-2013 22:00:38 | More by ThisWangsChung

BeerAdvocate

Massachusetts

3.73/5  rDev -3.9%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Review from BeerAdvocate Magazine Issue #35 (Dec 2009):

A very impressive tiny-bubbled tan head forms--yeah, we know how to pour a beer. The head retention is certainly good enough to mention. Black color ... would we expect anything else from an Espresso Stout? Chocolate, molasses, dark berry, espresso and faintly smoky aroma. Smoothness skitters across the wet medium body. Espresso up front, with a mild roasted bitterness, which soon joins with the roasted grain to make more of a mocha impression on the palate. Within that mocha is more of a dark chocolate flavor, raisin/dark berry combo and some charcoal. Hops lean back and stay back with only a smidgen of flavor to be found. Roasted dry finish.

On the dry spectrum of Coffee Stouts, which really lets the espresso come through. A good drink for a coffee beer.

Serving type: bottle

01-03-2011 15:41:26 | More by BeerAdvocate

scratch69

Missouri

3.73/5  rDev -3.9%
look: 3 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

I poured a bottle into a pint glass.

Appearance- Black with a half a fingers worth a quickly disappearing, tan head. Small amount of thin runny lace.

Smell- Dark chocolate, coffee, and roasted malt.

Taste- Burnt coffee with notes of chocolate, caramel, and a bit of hop bitterness

Mouthfeel- On the lighter end of medium bodied and lightly carbonated. Dry finish.

Overall- Decent and pretty easy to drink, but I've had better coffee stouts. I won't be searching for this one anytime soon.

Serving type: bottle

07-13-2012 23:17:00 | More by scratch69

chezztone

Oregon

3.75/5  rDev -3.4%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

Very dark, sweet, thick, coffeeish and chocolatey. For some reason the other reviewers didn't seem to take to this beer but we think it's a fine coffee stout. Well worth seeking out although probably only available in Oregon. We had it at the Atlantis Lounge at Mississippi Pizza--(highly recommended), the Dublin Pub and a coffeehouse in the EcoTrust building in the Pearl.

Serving type: on-tap

03-02-2009 02:03:35 | More by chezztone

velosuds

Oregon

3.75/5  rDev -3.4%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Poured from a 22oz bomber into a clear pint glass. No freshness date apparent. Purchased on sale for $3.79 from local natural foods store.

A-Pours an almost black hue with a one + finger, creamy tan head that lingers into an ample, sticky lace. The second pour after it warmed produced a full two finger head.

S-Dark chocolate, roasted malts, and cold brewed espresso coffee. Yum. It looks good, it smells good...

T-Taste isn't robust enough. The coffee dominates and would be great if it were balanced by more rich creamy malt.

M-Too light and thin, almost watery. No where near adequate for the style. Too bad, since this beer began with such great promise in the appearance and nose.

D-This is not a bad beer, but when my favorite Obsidian Stout is available in six packs for $8.99 (often much less on sale) there really is no place in my fridge for this beer that is usually about $5 a bomber.

Serving type: bottle

07-07-2010 04:37:02 | More by velosuds