Shade Mountain Oatmeal Stout - Selin's Grove Brewing Company

sorryaboutbrooks

Pennsylvania

4.65/5  rDev +11%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 5 | overall: 5

This is one of the best Oatmeal Stouts I have ever had. This beer was served to me on tap and on nitrogen. What really stands out in the beer is the mouthfeel. Between the combination of the Oatmeal and nitrogen serve, a beer can't "feel" much better than this.

The beer goes down smooth and has full flavor to it, but not too strong or overwhelming. Seems to have a slight slight hint of chocolate flavor, but I'm not sure if that is intentional or not.

Serving type: nitro-tap

06-18-2008 03:31:43 | More by sorryaboutbrooks

Kegatron

Pennsylvania

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

On tap via Nitro at the brewpub.

Pours black with some garnet highlights around the bottom and about a finger width's of creamy tan head. This possesses great retention that leaves spotty lacing and some oily, brown residue down the sides of the glass. The aroma is roasted malts, chocolate sweetness, oatmeal, coffee, and maybe even just a touch of dark fruit tang hidden back there.

The taste is a great balance of chocolate and caramel flavored sweetness and some more bittering notes of coffee and roasted malts that really play off each other very well. Finishes with more of the sweetness lingering on the tongue. The mouthfeel is lovely with a smooth and incredibly creamy feel from the nitro pour.

This is just a fantastic Oatmeal Stout and is just another in a long line of fantastic beers from the SGB. And I love that it is almost always on when I visit. Great stuff!

Serving type: nitro-tap

05-20-2008 16:37:38 | More by Kegatron

akorsak

Pennsylvania

4.45/5  rDev +6.2%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

This is the second half of a growler purchased yesterday at the Brewery. It also represents my 200th review of a Pennsylvania beer.

A: The stout has lost all of its carbonation, in fact most of it was gone last night when I opened the growler. Regardless of that, the stout is pitch black, looking like freshly brewed coffee.

S: The aroma is burnt malts, sweet oats and just a hint of gingerbread that I did not notice yesterday.

T: The stout does not disappoint taste-wise. The oat grist adds a sweet flavor that manages to meld nicely with the strength of the roasted malts. The roasted flavors come out at the end of the sip, providing a slightly bitter finish after a sweet start. The roasted malts also manage to impart a slightly sour angle that contrasts nicely with the sweetness.

M: Delicious. The growler has lasted approximately 24 hours and I am surprised that it did. The oatmeal adds such a sweet depth to the stout that it seems like a natural match.

D: Selinsgrove is only 1 hour from Harrisburg, well worth the trip for a stout of this calibre.

Serving type: growler

03-04-2007 19:33:27 | More by akorsak

ggaughan

Pennsylvania

4.33/5  rDev +3.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Sampled at the brewpub on a recent trip. The beer poured a deep black color with a thick, creamy off white head that gave nice lacing and good carbonation. The aroma was of dark chocolate and roasted coffe. The taste was equally dense and fragrant with some hops to boot on the backend. Just an overall solid stout, another from Selinsgrove.

Serving type: nitro-tap

07-18-2006 02:16:11 | More by ggaughan

OldFrothingSlosh

Pennsylvania

4.55/5  rDev +8.6%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 5 | overall: 5

Another trip to Lewisburg means that another visit to this gem of a brewpub was in order. I had wanted to try this during a prior visit, but they didn't have it on. Luck was with me on this visit.

Per the beer menu: "Roasted barley is the trademark of a stout, a bittersweet separation from its cousin porte. Our deep black stout is made with a grist containing 15% organic oatmeal to create its remarkable silky texture."

Dark, dark, *DARK* black in color, with a silky, creamy-smooth head. All sorts of lacing of the glass with distinct rings. Sweet in the nose with the roated malt aromas mingling nicely. Top-notch flavor. Chocolatey sweet up front and starts to dry out in the middle. There's an undertone of a coffee note as well, with flecks of Quaker oatmeal dancing in and out. Dry and sweet aftertaste. Serving this through the nitro tap just makes it all the more rich, creamy, and palate-pleasing. At 4.8%, this is something I could drink all damn day. Another winner from a brewpub that's making its way up my list of favorites.

Serving type: nitro-tap

04-15-2006 19:55:57 | More by OldFrothingSlosh

TheLongBeachBum

California

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

Presentation: On tap at the Selin’s Grove Brewery during a quiet Saturday afternoon visit.

Appearance: Dark black body with a nitrogenous impregnated tan colored head. Finely dissolved conditioning is very supportive. Archetypal looks.

Nose: Heavy on the roasted malts and chocolate stout. Soft aromas lick the edges of the glass but hang nicely above the thick head.

Taste: At only 4.8% this one is a real treat and packs plenty of flavors into its well attenuated body. Milky coffee, roasted malts, espresso, dark chocolate and some carbon covered grain. Very smooth, the transient flavors have seemingly invisible seams.

Mouthfeel: Fluffy deep blanket texture with an incredibly smooth and inviting feel. Lipsmacking stuff.

Drinkability: The Nitro dispense aided both the smooth feel and light body but more than anything the quaffability excels.

Overall: Highly enjoyable and not that bad a substitute for the previously anticipated White Horse Porter which sadly was not available. The Shade Mountain Oatmeal Stout is another favorite from Selin’s Grove, a great outfit that produces some highly accomplished brews, & this is definitely one of them. Recommended.

Serving type: nitro-tap

09-05-2005 07:41:01 | More by TheLongBeachBum

jakester

Pennsylvania

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

I had this on tap at the brewpub. Not sure if this was nitro or not. I didn't ask. It seemed like it was, but you never know. There was only one stout on at the time.

Comes as a near opaque black with a very tight one finger head of really tiny bubbles. Looked like nitro to me. Great lacing on the glass for the duration of the beer.

Aroma is of dark roasted coffee, dark brown sugar, slight piney hops, and dark grains. The smell of this stout made me want to sip ASAP. Very inviting aroma.

Taste is of sweet dark coffee, deep and rich. There is also a just detectable tartness, kind of like sour apples(?), pleasant, but maybe not to style. Also taste herbal/earthy hops way in the back. Still, this is a very smooth oatmeal stout. Even with the tartness, (astringency?) lactose comes through.

Mouthfeel is luxurious, incredibly smooth cask like carbonation, with a sweetness that is not cloying at all. The finish is fairly short, with a sweet/tart aftertaste.

There were several locals there while I was there, and one of them had this all night long. I can see why, this is a slammer!

Serving type: nitro-tap

07-04-2005 16:40:58 | More by jakester

rdrummer

New Jersey

4.83/5  rDev +15.3%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 5

I have had the oatmeal stout on a number of occasions. It is a great beer every time. It pours a rich, black color with a creamy, white head that is large, long-lasting, and adds lacing to the pint from top to bottom. This is one of the best things that Steve makes.

It has a mixture of grain and roasted maltiness. There is a hint of ripe fruitiness as well. The taste is sublime with an very heavy flavor of roasted malted, grain, and that elusive undercurrent of some kind of fruit. There is also a hint of dark chocolate although there is no chocolate in the brew.

The beer is heavy and very creamy in the mouth. I never start with the oatmeal stout when I come here, because I know that I won't taste anything else. It is that good.

Serving type: nitro-tap

05-09-2004 15:36:02 | More by rdrummer

SchmichaelJ

Pennsylvania

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

I had high expectations for this oatmeal stout at the small, quaint and historic Selin's Grove Brewing Company. This brew did not disappoint. It arrived at my table as a beautiful, deeply black pint with a very well-defined head. I must have stared at the demarcation between black liquid and creamy beige head for a few minutes. The smell was undoubtedly of roasted, even burnt malt, with the subtlest hint of hops. The taste of this stout blew me away at first. I don't think I've ever tasted beer this fresh. It was so very smooth and creamy, and the bitter roasted taste seemed almost perfect with my cravings for beer at the time. It also complemented my curry chicken salad very well. The mouthfeel was full and hearty, as expected, but I was very impressed with the creamy smooth texture. I'd highly recommend the Shade Mtn. Stout as a first introduction to the excellent brewpub located in upstate Selingsgrove, PA. I'm unaware of a location where one might find a superior oatmeal stout brewed in PA in such small quantities. A wonderful beer, overall.

Serving type: nitro-tap

04-18-2003 00:02:18 | More by SchmichaelJ