Bell's Oatmeal Stout - Bell's Brewery, Inc.

Realale

Missouri

4.13/5  rDev 0%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Absolutely black in color. Nice creamy brown head sticks around for the whole pint.

Great nose of coffee and bitter chocolate. A bit of fruitiness comes out as the pint warms, as do some nice hoppy notes.

On the palate, the coffee and bitter chocolate flavors predominate. There's a nice supporting maltiness, and quite a bit of hop flavor. The bitterness is a nice combination of bitter malt, and hop. The body has a bit of the oiliness one expects from an oatmeal stout, but its thinner than some other examples of the style. However, this aspect helps drinkability. Very nice oatmeal stout.

This example was purchased at the brewery.

Serving type: bottle

12-09-2002 09:15:41 | More by Realale

MJR

Missouri

4.03/5  rDev -2.4%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Appearance: Pours black as night without any clarity. A rich, creamy tan head sits on top and does a fine job of sticking to the sides.

Smell: Roasted grain aroma, a touch of coffee, and a faint sweetness. Good aroma, but not as assertive as their regular Kalamazoo stout.

Taste: Has a pleasant roasted flavor with a fair amount of complexity. Goes down with a nice bitter hop note. Good balance between the roasted grain and the hop bitterness. Has a faint fruit flavor as well on the tail end...a bit of toffee too. Finishes dry with a hint of chocolate.

Mouthfeel: Has a nice medium mouthfeel. It may be a 'bit' thin for the style, as I like my oatmeal stouts thick and chewy, but it certainly fits the 'meal in a glass' description usually tagged with this style.

Drinkability: Above-average. I can see myself putting away a few pints of this.

I'm a huge fan of Bell's beers, their Kalamazoo and Expedition stout especially. This is my first time trying one of their November stouts and it's a pretty good start. Not outstanding...but I have 7 of their other stouts to try!

Serving type: bottle

11-29-2002 16:57:49 | More by MJR

ADR

Pennsylvania

3.98/5  rDev -3.6%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Dark as night with practically no light transmission. Good tan head that's lacy and better than some others on Bell's Stouts. Slight chocolatey aroma. Nice mild chocolate milk tastes with senses of sweet cherry and plums. Heavy roast on the end. Mouthfeel is medium. Maybe a little to much burnt expresso late in the flavor but a satisfying beer overall. I think I may have all the Bell's Stouts covered -- so far.

Serving type: bottle

11-19-2002 07:57:16 | More by ADR

mjohn27603

Michigan

3.78/5  rDev -8.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Black opaque. More sweetness than bitterness. It seems a pretty solid oatmeal stout offering from Bell's. I think you will get pretty much what you expect from this beer. I don't see much reason to single it out amongst other oatmeal stouts altough a tasting with several oatmeal stouts would be a good test. I'm surprised Bell's only offers an oatmeal stout during a limited run. It seems like a natural for brewery that specializes in stouts.

Serving type: bottle

11-16-2002 19:56:24 | More by mjohn27603

proc

Michigan

4.4/5  rDev +6.5%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

As a style, I really like Oatmeal Stouts. They are like having a beer meal. This one is very good. As good as Rouge's Shakespheare? Almost. Pours out to a deep black. Taste is that of roasted malt with that oatmeal sweetness. Delicious.

Serving type: bottle

11-01-2002 19:23:01 | More by proc

Gusler

Arizona

4.03/5  rDev -2.4%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

As I feel that any beer you can see through is to light, Stouts and Porters are running neck and neck with Belgian Song’s as my favorite "Beer Styles". The beer pours a deep brown to black color; the beige head and sheet lace are cocoa brown. Nose is high in oat tones, the start malt sweet, the top is full, sweet, creamy and rich. Nice toasted finish that has a moderate hop presence, deliciously dry, perfectly carbonated.

Serving type: bottle

10-11-2002 07:48:38 | More by Gusler

Bighuge

Minnesota

4.78/5  rDev +15.7%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 5 | feel: 5 | overall: 5

Frothy tan head that clings to the glass as you drink. Chocolate aroma. Black appearance with yeast sediment noticeable. Great bittersweet chocolate taste. Smooth silky mouthfeel. Many subtle flavors in the background: cocoa, toffee, fruit, coffee. These nicely layered complexities become apparant as you work your way through the beer. One of my favorite Oatmeal Stouts. Another great stout from Kalamazoo.

Serving type: bottle

03-24-2002 00:02:38 | More by Bighuge

ZAP

Minnesota

4.63/5  rDev +12.1%
look: 5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 5

-Excellent beer...bit of a smoked taste...dark chocolate character..rich and tasty..some hop balance evident..Can't do much better than this..

Update: I changed my ratings slightly after trying Sam Smith Oatmeal and realizing this one wasn't as good. I did this rating under the old scoring system and feel my updated rating which brings it down slightly from a 5.0 is fair...this isn't a 5.0...very good and near the top of Oatmeals but not a 5.0

Serving type: bottle

12-11-2001 22:34:46 | More by ZAP