Oatmeal Stout Experiment Tasting
Last Wednesday Karen & I tasted all of the different flavors from the Oatmeal Stout Experiment. Just to recap these were: “Plain” Oatmeal Stout, Vanilla Oatmeal Stout, Bourboned Oak Oatmeal Stout, Coffee Oatmeal Stout, and the ever popular Cocoa Pebble Oatmeal Stout. I tried to pour them all in the same glass at about the same time and temperature.
These reviews are going to be based on memory. I didn’t take any notes because I thought I would have posted much sooner. Because of that they may too be shorter.
- The “Plain” Oatmeal Stout was good, but nothing extraordinary. I will say that it is the best stout I have ever brewed. Creamy, smooth, yet still robust. Don’t get me wrong, when I say not extraordinary I’m not saying it is bad, just not ‘Oh-My-Gawd-My-Stout-Kicks-Your-Dark-Lord’s-Ass-So-Bring-It-Stout’. But it was a perfect base beer to build this experiment from. The biggest draw back is because of the experiment I have fewer bottles.
- The Vanilla Oatmeal Stout was love-good, but very vanillay. The more you drank it, the more it seemed appropriate, but initially it was very intense. The smell was great! I guess it is true that a little good fresh vanilla goes a long way. One person who tried this suggested that it would be an award winner in competition.
- The Bourboned Oak Oatmeal Stout was good yet more subtle. Hints of both Wild Turkey and oak were present in the aroma, and a little bit more present in the taste. But this wasn’t one of those ‘Would you like some stout with your bourbon sir?’ kind of bourbon stouts. I actually can’t wait until I have a chance to blend a bottle of this and the vanilla stout together – give this an extra boost and mellow out the vanilla, together with them already being complimentary flavors – nice!
- The Coffee Oatmeal Stout was originally dubbed the ‘Breakfast Stout’, but I think it would have been better dubbed the ‘Old Percolator Stout’. It both smelt and tasted of cold old coffee, a little different that I had planned. I was hoping for something along the lines of FC Espresso Stout or Peche Mortel, oh well. It isn’t bad, but I bet it is the last of the stouts that are finished.
- And the Cocoa Pebble Oatmeal Stout. Well, … I honestly had low expectations for this stout from the get go, so I wasn’t disappointed. When the cap was cracked I took the precaution of opening it over the sink (reminiscent of the ol’ Fall run of FC 2001). This one was a gusher, but I’ve had my training and knew the proper thing to do was pour into the glass immediately to help relieve the pressure. The beer had an odd brown film on the top reminiscent of the scum you may skim off the top of a home-made soup, yum. The smell too was of, sweet alcohol? It was weird to say the least. And the taste? Not Cocoa Pebbles, that’s for sure. I can’t really describe it besides sharp and biting – I also only took two sips, a braver man than some.
Originally I started this whole experiment just to try and make a pre-sweetened cereal beer for a specific category for a specific contest, but didn’t want to “waste” a whole batch by mashing with the cereal just in case it flopped. Well, the one I was trying to have come out did flop. I actually drain-poured the other 6 Cocoa Pebble Oatmeal Stouts, trust me, you aren’t missing anything.