Oat (Imperial Oatmeal Stout) - Southern Tier Brewing Company

CloudStrife

New York

4.2/5  rDev +2.2%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25

22oz bottle poured into a snifter. DOB 08/16/12.

A: Pours a very thick dark black with a half finger light khaki head. Quick to dissipate it leaves some spots of lacing. Light only shines through about 1/8".

S: Smooth roasted malts and oat notes. A bit of vanilla and sweetness. Alcohol is just a touch noticeable. Chocolate certainly comes through and is quite dominate along with the oat. Dark fruit come out as it warms.

T: Chocolate and oat blend together and balance nicely. Hops are tame at this point and just appear for a flash and touch of aftertaste. Roastiness of the malt provides some richness. Coffee comes to mind as well.

M: Full bodied but not too heavy it is quite pleasant. Low carbonation. Fairly crisp finish. Booze is there but doesn't provide a harsh mouthfeel.

Overall well crafted and has developed nicely in the last 7 months. One of the less flavored of the blackwater series but the still a real good beer.

Serving type: bottle

05-17-2013 02:23:28 | More by CloudStrife

angrybabboon

Rhode Island

4.2/5  rDev +2.2%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25

Review adapted from notes taken 5/10/13

Note: Review 600

Appearance: Pours a rich, dark, dark brown - perhaps black from a distance - some lighter brown and red tones around the edges - nice, light brown head, keeps a nice, wispy cap, and an above-average, creamy ring - leaves some lacing, not much

Smell: Dark, decadent malts and oats - like someone melted a dark chocolate bar into a bowl of oatmeal - dark, burnt, roasty, cooked, caramelized malts - caramel and an above-average amount of sugar (fitting with Southern Tier's reputation), but the sweetness smells somehow subdued with the grainy oat notes

Taste: Dark chocolate, oats, and roasty, burnt malts - very rich, decidedly "imperial" - dark chocolate, baker's chocolate, and some sweetened cocoa - caramel, molasses, and some straight-up sugar - burnt, dry, chocolate notes - some roasty notes and absurdly strong coffee - nicely bitter - oats are very apparent and abundant - adds a nice oatmeal flavor that kind of balances the sweetness, at the least makes it more interesting - some booze in the finish

Mouthfeel: On the light side of heavy, with a lot of creaminess from the oats - smooth, with a touch of syrupy booze in the finish

Overall: Christmas cheer in a bottle... or something

I selected this beer for review 600 because it was my official "Christmas Eve" bomber for three years (until I couldn't find a bottle one year and consequently killed the tradition). I honestly haven't had a bottle in a couple of years, and I am glad to report that it's still great. In fact, I think this is the best stout from Southern Tier. It's oddly under-appreciated, in my opinion. It's big, burly, and sweet, but I don't feel like I have diabetes thanks to the oats. Yum.

Serving type: bottle

05-13-2013 05:18:12 | More by angrybabboon

brian60625

Illinois

3.58/5  rDev -12.9%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 4

22 ounce bottle for $7.99. Oily Irish coffee and grain with a sloppy splash of booze aroma. Pitch black, no light gets through, brown head, no lacing, no foam residue moments after the pour. Flavor is a strange medley of soy, coffee, umami, oats, alcohol. Palate is thick bodied, pungent taste to nose effect. Overall, this is a big shouldered, big daddy. Clear your schedule for the rest of the night, because this one takes time to polish off.

Serving type: bottle

04-19-2013 05:01:21 | More by brian60625

Gatch

Massachusetts

4.38/5  rDev +6.6%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.75 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.25

DOB: 9/19/12

A: Pitch black with a bubbly, medium brown head. Thick, viscous legs. No lace or retention.

S: Deeply roasted malt, rich dark chocolate, char, wood, a bit of coffee, and some booze.

T: So incredibly rich, roasty, and sweet. Very delicious. Plenty of sweet, malty sugars and a slightly boozy finish.

M: Creamy, roasty, tasty. Great body. Carbonation is proper. Huge roasty coating left on the palate.

O: Huge fan of Oatmeal Stouts and happy that ST nailed this one. A beefed up version of the style with plenty of the unique ingredients to make it special.

Serving type: bottle

04-06-2013 04:14:57 | More by Gatch

Beerandraiderfan

Nevada

3.48/5  rDev -15.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.25 | overall: 3.5

Poured out substantially black in color, a little bit dark brown. Beige head, about 1/3" deep. Looks more like what I would expect from a coffee beer.

Aroma was fairly muted, the alcohol was noticeable. Oatmeal didn't cover up the roastiness of this one.

Roastiness and alcohol dominates the taste buds. I thought this was going to be a more smooth drinking experience, with the whole oat motif, but the problem here is the beer is just too big. A lot of bitterness as well. I don't think the notion of making something imperial and oat works. Dark chocolate, dark fruit underneath the booziness and bitterness. I love some Southern Tier, this one doesn't fall into that category.

There isn't much there, there. Flavors aren't the high point. Too non descript, not enough of what I want with oatmeal, a smooth chocolatey experience. Coating, but what makes up the coating is nothing special. The espresso notes should have shown up more in Jahva, not here.

Should be about half this strength.

Serving type: bottle

04-02-2013 18:11:02 | More by Beerandraiderfan

Eeroomnhoj

Virginia

4.28/5  rDev +4.1%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.25

Today is St. Patrick's Day and I am drinking my last Christmas Beer (don't worry there were only three). I have been putting this one off because it looked so heavy I had to wait for a special occasion.
This is a heavy heavy beer, but enjoyable. The beer poured almost black and the head was thin and brown but quickly dissipated. Definitely a creamy beer.

Now that I am almost finished with it I can say I like this one and will have it again. Not something to drink after mowing the lawn, but definitely a late winter beer!!

Serving type: bottle

03-18-2013 02:36:41 | More by Eeroomnhoj

dlcoblen

South Carolina

4.9/5  rDev +19.2%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.75 | taste: 5 | feel: 4.75 | overall: 5

Served from a growler. (Charleston Beer Exchange)

A: Very dark, basically black with a light brown head that dissipates quickly.

S: Smells sweet, like chocolate I did not find the aroma too complex.

M: Slightly viscous and creamy its just what to expect while drinking an imperial stout.

T: Amazing! This has to be one of my favorite stouts. It starts with sweet chocolate, dark chocolate, slight coffee taste and perhaps a touch of caramel. With being 11% abv, they did a good job with masking the alcohol, you can tell its there but just a hint on the back end. Also the oats adds its own dimension, I'd say it contribute mostly to the creaminess to this brew.

Overall: I gave it a 5 mostly due to the fact that since having the beer I believe this is how stouts should be made in the past I have had (hoppier stouts) while they are good too, this Southern Tier Oat Stout changes the perspective. The chocolate and creamy/sweetness made for a real treat I will be buying this again.

Serving type: growler

02-23-2013 12:57:04 | More by dlcoblen

acsprouse

South Carolina

4.94/5  rDev +20.2%
look: 4.75 | smell: 4.75 | taste: 5 | feel: 5 | overall: 5

A -very black with very little tan/khaki head

S-dark chocolate, licorice.. oats, molasses.. coffee

T- dark chocolate yet light and creamy..licorice.. oats.. coffee notes.. strong and bold

M- medium thick body, not very carbonated, initial sweetness.. slightly bitter finnish.. hard to telk this one is 11% abv

O- a pleasant stout, must have.. gotta try! i recommend this beer!

Serving type: bottle

01-27-2013 08:07:44 | More by acsprouse

keithmurray

Louisiana

4/5  rDev -2.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Appearance - pitch black with tan head

Smell - black licorice, dark chocolate, oats, molasses

Taste - no departure from the nose, dark chocolate, oats, black licorice, molasses

Mouthfeel - medium bodied, low carbonation, slight sweetness upfront, bitterness on the back to balance things out, smooth going down, booze is well masked (11% ABV), flavors linger a bit on the aftertaste

Overall - an enjoyable stout, recommended for a chilly night

Price Point - $8.99/22oz bottle

Serving type: bottle

01-27-2013 00:33:38 | More by keithmurray

stephenjmoore

Maryland

4.26/5  rDev +3.6%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.25

A- Pitch black pour with a thin layer of mocha colored bubbles that longer around the edges of the glass.

S- Huge roasted malts, tons of oats, some sweetbread, slight caramel.

T- Roasted malts, grainy oats, hints of caramel, coffee and cocoa powder. Virtually no alcohol presence except for a slight hint during the finish.

M- Silky, smooth, low carbonation, full bodied, thick and coating. Expected for a big beer.

O- Another enjoyable offering from the Blackwater series. This one is a huge beer, but more subtle than Choklat and Creme Brûlée. Seek it out if you like big oatmeal stouts.

Serving type: bottle

01-19-2013 03:12:46 | More by stephenjmoore

mjpolzin

Wisconsin

3.63/5  rDev -11.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

This one needed a little more complexity for me to be great. It essentially was exactly like it advertises itself to be and that is a decent oatmeal stout but no more and no less. I will say that the high alcohol was rather well hidden so it might be possible to get pretty lit up on this beer.

When I tasted this beer, I got chocolate, roastiness and oatmeal. I was waiting for something else to kick in (booziness, fruits, something) but the taste was pretty much surface deep. I felt like I have tasted this beer 10 times before in various other chocolate and/or oatmeal stouts.

Serving type: bottle

01-05-2013 03:06:50 | More by mjpolzin

cfalovo97

Ontario (Canada)

3/5  rDev -27%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

Southern Tier delivers again. This beer is ver dark, almost an opaque black. It was lightly carbonated, and had roasted malst on the nose, as well as oatmeal and caramel. Its flavour was also oatmeal, with a bit of toffee and nuts. I'd seek out again!

Serving Type: Bottle

Serving type: bottle

01-03-2013 03:43:42 | More by cfalovo97

chinchill

South Carolina

3.55/5  rDev -13.6%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

22oz bottle poured nearly black with a minimal and short-lived head. The carbonation level, nonetheless, is good. The high ABV is amazingly well hidden, even in the feel and nose. Full body with very smooth feel. Rich but not particularly complex flavor with plenty of very dark roasted malt and some oats.

Serving type: bottle

01-01-2013 01:22:26 | More by chinchill

Huhzubendah

District of Columbia

4/5  rDev -2.7%
look: 5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

The beer is near black and opaque with a thick beige head. Excellent retention with ample lacing cascading down the walls of the tulip. The aroma offers roast, alcohol heat, oats, bread, chocolate. The taste pretty much follows suit, with perhaps a bit more oat presence than was indicated in the aroma. Lots of flavor, but I find the alcoholic heat a bit obtrusive, keeping this beer from being great. Crackers and biscuits linger, as the beer finishes dry. Medium to full bodied with appropriate carbonation. A solid beer. I bet this would age gracefully.

Serving type: bottle

12-18-2012 03:52:45 | More by Huhzubendah

JoEBoBpr

Missouri

4.28/5  rDev +4.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

Poured into a tulip glass from a 22oz bomber.

Pours a dark mahogany brown with some nice viscosity. There is a nice 1 inch tan head that forms that is very dense and sticky. It recedes slowly down to a thin film.

Starts off with strong oat aromas. Smooth and bready. In the background there is some nice caramel malt sweetness that is mixed in with the slight roast that permeates through. The oat notes are very appealing and mellowing. There are some slight coca powder notes in the nose that are nice and sweet and soft and mix well with the roast and bready oat.

Flavor follows the nose very well. Starts off with oat and roasted malt notes. The roast is smooth and not too intense, well balanced. Thens some mild sweetness is perceived. Nice cocoa powder notes and chocolate cake notes. Some slight dark cocoa bitterness is perceived in the middle. As the beer warms the chocolate malts really shine, offering a bit more sweetness and a nice creamy mouthfeel. Mouthfeel is nice and creamy. Near perfect thickness.

Overall this beer is excellent. Nice smooth and rich flavors. There is some good roast and great oat and chocolate malt notes. Some good sweetness and the ABV is barely noticed.

Serving type: bottle

12-13-2012 00:32:24 | More by JoEBoBpr

StoneTSR

Colorado

4.08/5  rDev -0.7%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

APPEARANCE: An eighth of an inch head graces the top of the beer for about 30 seconds when it is first poured. The coffee colored wisps it leaves behind concentrate in the center and in a ring around the outside. The color of the beer is close to black, but a few bits of brown light shine through the top.

SMELL: Big dark chocolate greets the nose with hints of roasted malt and coffee. A touch of wood and a sweeter, milkier chocolate lurk behind.

TASTE: After smelling this beer it was not nearly as sweet or chocolaty as I anticipated. More of the dark chocolate came through along with some roasted flavors. The hops also arrived after being overpowered in the nose. An earthy, bitter finish follows a coffee flavored bridge from malt to hops and carries a touch of citrus with it.

The milk chocolate eventually comes through a little stronger as it warms up. And speaking of temperature, only a whiff of alcohol can be tasted in this 10.8%er.

MOUTHFEEL: Big and full-bodied, very round and with a decent, but not overpowering carbonation. There is a bit of a mouthcoating feel up front here, but a dryer finish washes it away with each sip.

OVERALL: This is another fantastic beer from Southern Tier. I really wish they distributed to Colorado and I regret not focusing on them more when I had access to their stuff in Chicago. Anyhow, the Oat paired pretty much perfectly with the skirt steak and potatoes I had for dinner tonight. Like many other Southern Tier offerings I have had, this one stays balanced throughout, in almost every way.

Serving type: bottle

12-04-2012 03:23:28 | More by StoneTSR

Dave1999

Virginia

4/5  rDev -2.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Pours pure black with no head at all.

The smell is extremely sweet,chocolate malts,oats and alcohol. This is the sweetest beer I've ever tasted, a little bit sickly.

The taste is like the smell, crazy sweet, alcohol and roasted malts.

The mouthfeel is thick and syrupy with low carbonation.

Overall a great desert beer, although a 12oz bottle would be more than enough, I'm struggling to finish the 22oz bottle. Definitely a sipper, the alcohol and sweetness make it hard to drink too quickly.

Serving type: bottle

11-24-2012 03:35:59 | More by Dave1999

bigflatsbeerman

New York

4.53/5  rDev +10.2%
look: 5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Appearance - Extremely dark, cannot see any light through my Nonic glass. Brown head gets to 1.5 fingers after a vigorous pour.

Smell - Dark malts.

Taste - Classic stout with oats well balanced sweetness and dryness at finish. I do taste alcohol given the abv, understandable.

Mouthfeel - Heavy body expected with this style

Overall - Very solid stout, great on a cold fall night like tonight

Serving type: bottle

11-19-2012 00:02:19 | More by bigflatsbeerman

silverking

Florida

4.75/5  rDev +15.6%
look: 5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

This truly is an outstanding stout. It Poured almost pitch black with a white head. It had beautiful lacing, I mean truly beautiful. aromas of coffee, chocolate, oats, and hops were all present. heavy in the mouth with light carbonation. alcohol is detectable in the palate, but only after flavors of chocolate, caramel and chocolate are enjoyed. the finish kept me wanting more and I was saddened by the last sip. This is my first experience with southern tier and I enjoyed it very much. I highly recommend this beer.

Serving type: bottle

11-17-2012 18:27:19 | More by silverking

kylelenk

Michigan

4.33/5  rDev +5.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

22oz bottle served chilled in a snifter

A- A very dark pour with a traditional oatmeal stout head that's nice and white. Head dissipates rather quickly and leaves some nice lacing.

S- Oats, barley, chocolate.

T- A very easy drinking oatmeal stout. Doesn't establish it's flavors as much as the other stouts in the series (creme brulee, jahva, mokah, etc.) but still is better than the average.

M- Very fun to gulp. Quite heavy at 11% but you'd never notice it. The creaminess is wonderful.

O- Bombers are always pricey and rarely justify the costs. While I still prefer other S/T stouts, Oat is ranks up there.

Serving type: bottle

11-09-2012 20:35:39 | More by kylelenk

CraftBeerTastic

Pennsylvania

4.28/5  rDev +4.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

Ba Review #235
Served On: 11/09/2012
Glassware: Duvel Glass
Labeled ABV: 10.8%
Date/ Code: DOB: 08/11/11

This was a bottle of last years release that I've had laid down in my cellar. I thought I'd break it out to kick off the cooler season here in the Mid-Atlantic.

Look: Appearance was very viscous and black with a darker tan head at 1-finger. Alcohol legs were everywhere on the glass. Not much lacing at all.

Smell: Very roasty aroma with a good level of booze mixed in. Some lactose sweetness came through.

Taste: First off was a roasted coffee bean with some serious creaminess in the mouthfeel. The middle was some sweetness that was quickly offset by a nice hop bitterness. The finish had some sweetness returning and that sticky mouthfeel holding on.

I loved this beer. Yet another winner from Southern Tier.

Serving type: bottle

11-09-2012 20:15:28 | More by CraftBeerTastic

AlCaponeJunior

Texas

4.35/5  rDev +5.8%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Quite nice looking, black as night with a two finger lasting brown head and good lace.

Smells nice, plenty of roasted and burn malts, some chocolate sweetness, a little coffee, a little hoppy tang, some dark fruitiness too.

Taste is very nice, the roasted and burnt malts provide a very nice background, accented by tangy, spicy hops, dark fruits, coffee, chocolate, tons of oats, balanced sweetness and a tinge of alcohol.

Body is full and thick, carbonation is smooth, a little alcohol warming, residual bitterness balanced by a light sweetness.

An exceptionally well balanced and delicious stout, perhaps my new favorite stout that's touting "oats" as it's big selling point. This may also be my new favorite from the Southern Tier Imperial series. It has less of a desserty flavor than many of the other imperial stouts in the series, making it more of a standard stout than a dessert beer.

Now matter how you slice it, this one kicks ass!

Serving type: bottle

11-03-2012 13:40:47 | More by AlCaponeJunior

warrenout330

Ohio

4.4/5  rDev +7.1%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Poured from a 22oz bomber into my KB snifter

A- a pitch black pour, thick dense head of khaki colored head... hangs around for a bit till it turns to nothing but thin ring around the glass

S- smells of chocolate roasted malt, sweet caramel and toasted sweet oat meal lingering around

T- sweet bitter chocolate, creamy caramel, toasted oats

M- thick and creamy.... followed by a sweet lingering bitterness bite on the tongue...

O- maybe one of the easiest to find complex imperial oatmeal stouts around. Definitely worth a shot if your willing to embark on a journey through the thick, dense, oatmeal venture in a bottle! This brewery is never a let down

Serving type: bottle

10-31-2012 07:33:26 | More by warrenout330

bnes09

Illinois

4.18/5  rDev +1.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Jet black with no transparency. Cream colored head forms a gentle froth then recedes to a ring around the glass. Leaves behind delicate traces of lacing.

Nice balance of roasted malt with dark fruit and maple sweetness.

Flavor is toasty overall with wheat and rye malt character. Mild coffee, dark chocolate and roasted almonds come to mind. Sweetness of prunes, raisins and black currants balance the roasted flavors well. Hops are assertive but in good balance with an herbal, medicinal bite. Oatmeal lies in the background and adds a smoothness to the flavor.

Dense body and feel. Sticky and chewy texture in the middle transforms into a dry finish. Slightly undercarbonated but common for the style and strength.

Very well done imperial oatmeal stout. Really showcases all of the finer qualities of a well crafted stout with great balance and oat added to smooth it out.

Serving type: bottle

10-31-2012 00:24:26 | More by bnes09

Darkmagus82

Montana

4.48/5  rDev +9%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Poured from bomber into snifter glass

Appearance – The beer pours a deep-brown nearly black color with a tiny thin wisp of tan foam. The foam fades very fast to leave almost no lacing. Upon swirling the beer in the glass it is seen to be quite sticky with it slowly sliding down the sides of the glass back to the body of the beer.

Smell – The aroma is lighter then would have been anticipated. It was largest of a sweeter caramel and roasted malt aroma. There are notes of oat and some chocolate and coffee mixed with in. A light alcohol aroma is present as well rounding out the smell.

Taste – The taste begins rather sweet. It starts of caramel with a sweeter chocolate and roasted malt flavor. Toward the middle of the flavor, an oat flavor comes to the tongue with some darker fruit flavors of plum and raisin. It has a very nice flavor here and then transitions nicely to a very different, but equally pleasurable flavor blend. Bitter chocolate, coffee, and roasted malt come at the end with many of the sweeter flavors losing some strength. When combined with the oat flavor as well as a light alcohol flavor, it creates a roasted, dark, bitter, warming feel on the tongue. It is quite nice.

Mouthfeel – The brew coats the mouth and smothers it in all its great flavors. The body of the beer is chewy and thick with a lower level of carbonation level. The feel is fantastic for the bitter and dark flavors of the beer, as well as the warming alcohol taste.

Overall – Very nice. I love the smooth flavor transitions in this one. It starts out sweet and then moves to more roasty and bitter. The feel helps with both the great flavors as well as the transition of those flavors. Really a tasty and enjoyable beer to drink. Grab one, sit back and sip slowly.

Serving type: bottle

10-22-2012 00:43:30 | More by Darkmagus82