Troegs Scratch #15 - Oatmeal Stout

Woo, long hiatus. Insomnia of the most extreme order dictates that, hey, I should have a beer. This one has been hanging around in the cellar for about a month, and at 6% abv, it is not one that I plan on aging.

For a little background information-

• Oatmeal Stouts hail from the UK, but are now a commonly available style in the USA, with many fine imported and domestically brewed examples available.
• The addition of oats to the mash creates a creamy texture, as well as adding a subtle, well, oatmeal sweetness. Imagine pouring very dark, bittersweet hot chocolate and coffee into your morning oatmeal (that you almost burned), and then shaving some English hops over the top. Except not gross...
• Readily available examples of the style: Samuel Smiths Oatmeal Stout, Goose Island Oatmeal Stout, St. Ambroise Oatmeal Stout, Anderson Valley Barney Flats Oatmeal Stout.

This evenings (mornings) offering pours a rich brown, which is in fact several shades lighter than many other entries in the style. The head is foamy, with rather large bubbles making up the cap. Screw the tight Guinness head, this is pretty! There are flecks of lacing around my Left Hand chalice, but not much of note.

The nose is of the expected grain sweetness, with the roasted character bringing about notes of coffee. The hop character is present (as it will usually be, particularly in American examples) with an earthy character of freshly tilled flower beds. An ever so slight metallic tone sounds as well, but it is not unpleasant.

Jumping into the first sip, I am met with something that strikes me as almost sitting between a bigger brown ale and an oatmeal stout. The flavors are rich, but perhaps not as roasty as others are. Excellent malt character lends slightly burnt caramel, toffee, fresh toast. The oats lend a milky sweetness that transforms the coffee character of the nose into mocha. The hops gently settle on the mid palate, providing an earthy support for the rest of the flavors to build upon.

Quite an excellent beer. Nothing extreme or over the top here, but that is a welcome change of pace from my recent diet of imperial, sour, barrel aged, double hopped, triple fermented, demon possessed beers. This sticks around with a touch of burnt marshmallow on the finish, that trails away for quite awhile. The mouthfeel is medium bodied, and the carbonation stops just short of getting in the way.

Again, the characteristics of an American Brown ale present in this beer keep it from being perhaps the hallmark of the style that say Samuel Smiths is, it is a well made beer worth seeking out.