Beer Blogging - Stockyard Oatmeal Stout
Well, it's the end of a long week for everyone in the office here; it also happens to be 4 PM and our boss happens to be clear across the country (Massachusetts, I think). So we're having beer, because why the hell not? I went to Trader Joe's this afternoon after lunch and bought a beer I've never tried before: the Oatmeal Stout from Stockyard Brewing Co., in Chicago.
I don't have a pint glass here, so I'll be drinking it out of the bottle. Hmmm, I should really start keeping a pint glass in my desk....
Focus! OK, so smelling at the top of the bottle confirms that this is, in fact, a stout. There's a strong roasted odor, but there's also a distinct sweetness - brown sugar, maybe, or maple syrup.
It's weird, but there's almost none of that sweetness in the taste until the very last bit of the aftertaste (which lasts quite a long time, by the way). Right out front there's actually a little bitterness, before the roasted malt and oatmeal flavors come in. It's not a hoppy bitterness, though, more of a dark chocolate bitterness. I'm not a fan of dark chocolate, so I wasn't crazy about that being the first taste, but your mileage may vary. The roasted oats and malt aren't much to write home about, either - they're a presence through the middle of the taste, but they don't really jump out at you. The beer is fairly carbonated for a stout, so that could be throwing me off too.
I could see this being a very drinkable stout if you drank it really cold, but when served a little warmer (as is the case for me), the flavors all get a little more pronounced. In this beer's case, that's not really a good thing.
Rating: 5/10. Meh.
I don't have a pint glass here, so I'll be drinking it out of the bottle. Hmmm, I should really start keeping a pint glass in my desk....
Focus! OK, so smelling at the top of the bottle confirms that this is, in fact, a stout. There's a strong roasted odor, but there's also a distinct sweetness - brown sugar, maybe, or maple syrup.
It's weird, but there's almost none of that sweetness in the taste until the very last bit of the aftertaste (which lasts quite a long time, by the way). Right out front there's actually a little bitterness, before the roasted malt and oatmeal flavors come in. It's not a hoppy bitterness, though, more of a dark chocolate bitterness. I'm not a fan of dark chocolate, so I wasn't crazy about that being the first taste, but your mileage may vary. The roasted oats and malt aren't much to write home about, either - they're a presence through the middle of the taste, but they don't really jump out at you. The beer is fairly carbonated for a stout, so that could be throwing me off too.
I could see this being a very drinkable stout if you drank it really cold, but when served a little warmer (as is the case for me), the flavors all get a little more pronounced. In this beer's case, that's not really a good thing.
Rating: 5/10. Meh.
Labels: beer
posted by The Disgruntled Chemist at
3:52 PM
