American Caboose

The third beer in their bottled lineup is the Caboose Oatmeal Stout. This beer was actually a big favorite at Beer Club, so I really wanted to review it on it’s own. Let’s see how this is.

Stats:
Oatmeal Stout. 7.0% ABV. 30 IBUs. Washington.

Lovely dark brown to black color. A pretty dark tan head on this one. Really looks great.

The nose is fantastic. Just a ton of chocolate coming through with a nice hint of coffee, figs, and a plum jam. But let’s not kid ourselves here, this is all about the chocolate.

Mouthfeel is superb. Great body with a little bit of carbonation.

Lots of chocolate, hints of vanilla, coffee, and plums. Just a nice amount of roast on the finish, which stays on the palate for days.

This is what a stout should taste like. It’s rich and creamy with a beautiful amount of chocolate and roast. 92 points.

Big Sky Slow Elk

This is a limited release from Big Sky. This stout features Pale, Crystal, Chocolate, and black malts with oats and East Kent Goldings hops. Looks good, let’s see how it tastes.

Stats:
Oatmeal Stout. 5.4% ABV. 20 IBUs. Montana. Available September-October

Dark ruby color with a beautiful tan head.

Not getting too much on the nose. I get some whiskey, chocolate, and some raspberry.

Mouthfeel is okay. I was hoping for it to be a bit thicker. And it’s got quite a bit of carbonation.

The palate shows some whiskey, but it’s not boozy. It’s just got that whiskey flavor. I’m getting a little bit of chocolate, and a bit of coffee. Hint of roast on the finish with just a tad bit of vanilla.

This is pretty disappointing. Big Sky makes one of the best imperial stouts in the world, but what happened here? It’s very light in flavor, light in mouthfeel, and light in excitement. 78 points.

Elysian Dragonstooth Stout

I’ve had this beer once or twice before, but have never reviewed it. It’s an imperial oatmeal stout that features Crystal, Munich, and Chocolate malts with roast barley and rolled oats. The hops include Magnum, Cascade, and Centennial.

Stats:
Oatmeal Stout. 7.5% ABV. 36 IBUs. Washington.

Nearly black with a nice tan head.

Not a huge nose. I’m getting some roast barley and some dark chocolate. There is also this cinnamon thing that is really nice.

Mouthfeel isn’t bad. Decent body.

Flavor is a bit light and dominated by roast barley. There is a hint of banana, cinnamon, and jerky that I like.

I don’t understand the A- on BA. This is an alright beer, but it’s dominated by roast barley which covers up everything else. 84 points.

Trader Joe’s Stockyard Oatmeal Stout

This is a Trader Joe’s branded beer. I’ve liked the Unibroue brewed Vintage Ale, so I know they can put out some alright stuff under their name. I believe (and correct me if I’m wrong) that this beer was originally brewed by Firestone Walker, but is now brewed by Gordon Biersch.

Stats:
Oatmeal Stout. 5.0% ABV. California.

Not a super dark stout, dark brown on the edges. Tan head, but doesn’t last too long.

The nose is quite roasty. It’s nutty with lots of coffee. Yeah, actually it reminds me of roasted almonds and coffee, that’s about it.

Light mouthfeel with high carbonation.

Palate is sweet and roasty. A little bit of coffee, vanilla, chocolate, with a nutty flavor like the nose. The finish seems really roasty and smokey.

This is pretty straight forward. It’s sweet, light, and sessionable, but it’s not great. It is, however, better than I was expecting, and would recommend it. The flavors are slightly disjointed and artificial, though. 83 points.

Boundary Bay Oatmeal Stout

I went over to Boundary Bay to get a growler of their winter warmer Cabin Fever, but alas, they don’t do fills on seasonals. I actually knew that, but was hoping, since they bottle Cabin Fever, they would make an exception. Well I came home with some oatmeal stout instead. Not only did it hit the spot with this weather we’ve been having, but this is the only bottled beer that I havn’t reviewed.

Stats:
Oatmeal Stout. 8.5% ABV. Washington.

Black, but not the darkest stout out there.

Nose is very much oatmeal stout. You get lots of roasted malts with some slight sweetness and lots of chocolate.

Decent mouthfeel. Might be just a tad too light for me, but not bad.

Lots and lots of roasted malts, with chocolate, meaty-ness, some dark fruits, and a little bit of alcohol showing on the back end.

Not a bad beer, and will warm you up on a cold day, but the alcohol and the roasted-ness are a bit off-balanced. 86 points.

Samuel Smith’s Oatmeal Stout

This is a pretty well-known, and highly-rated oatmeal stout. I have to admit that I’ve bought this beer several times before I got around to rating it because I just kept drinking it all. Like a lot of imported beers, I can’t find much information about this beer at all.

Stats:
Oatmeal Stout. 5.0% ABV. England.

Not the darkest stout ever, brown edges. It has a gorgeous tan head that keeps lasting and lasting.

The nose smells delicious. It has this sort of tart smell to it, with fruit. I’ve used the term baked apples before, but I have never smelled a beer that so closely represents baked apples than this. Wait, it has to be granny smith apples though, because it’s got that sourness with an apple-y flavor, with a bit of sweetness and spice.

Thick but pretty highly carbonated mouth feel, giving it an awfully easy drinkability.

Slightly sweet, slightly sour with apples, bananas, caramel, spices, brown sugar, and a hint of hops. The roasted malts are actually quite low making this fairly sweet.

I love this beer. It’s not really what you would expect from a stout, very little roastedness, and higher sweetness and fruity-ness, but it’s pretty damn delicious. Great intro beer, as well. 91 points.

Southern Tier Oat (Blackwater Series)

This big stout is apart of the Blackwater Series of imperial stouts from Southern Tier. This one features 2-row Pale, caramel, chocolate, and black malts with oats and barley flakes. The hops include Columbus and Willamette.

Stats:
Imperial Oatmeal Stout. 11.0% ABV. New York. Limited Fall Release.

It’s black, it’s very, very dark. Nice tan head on here.

Imperial stout nose. Lots of molasses, soy sauce, roasted barley, slightly earthy, slightly nutty, and a nice vanilla component.

Full bodied mouthfeel, very velvety.

Just like the nose, lots of soy sauce, molasses, roasted flavors, a nice vanilla component again. Definitely getting some alcohol on here, giving it a rich bourbon feel.

Well-made beer. If you are a fan of imperial stouts, then this beer is for you. It’s also excellent for the price. Alcohol is actually pretty well contained, so I can’t complain much there. Admittedly, this isn’t my favorite style, as that soy sauce component that you get on most high ABV stouts doesn’t appeal to my palate very much. But if that’s not something that bothers you, then pick this beer up immediately. 91 points.

Rogue Shakespeare Stout

Another highly rated stout from Rogue. This beer features Northwest Harrington and Klages, Crystal, and Beeston Chocolate malts, with rolled oats and roasted barley Seems to be the same from the Chocolate stout. Cascade hops and, as always, the Pacman yeast.

Stats:
Oatmeal Stout. 6.0% ABV. (15º Plato). 69 IBUs. Oregon.

Black in color with dark brown edges. Leaves a very nice head and good lacing.

The nose is so chocolate-y, I thought this was a chocolate beer. It’s a bit earthy and roasty, the hops come through just a little bit, which I like.

Medium bodied with good carbonation, very drinkable stout.

Very chocolatey on the plate, but a lot more earthy, and roasty. Great roasted length. Slight espresso on the back. Just a hint of fennel near the back. Some citrus notes as well, but just a hair watery.

I really like this one from rogue, and I don’t say that too often. Go grab this one. 89 points

Anderson Valley Barney Flats Oatmeal Stout

There isn’t much info about this beer either, but this is a pretty highly rated oatmeal stout from Anderson Valley in California. It’s got an A- on BA. If you are unfamiliar with oatmeal stouts, they add oats to create extra body and smoothness, and to give them just a touch more sweetness.

Stats:
Oatmeal Stout. 5.7% ABV. 13 IBUs. California.

Very dark brown to black, with a nice little, tan colored head. Not much lacing.

The nose is really nutty, like hazelnuts with chocolate and coffee. There is a nice spice aroma, like cinnamon coming through.

For some reason, its not as thick as many have claimed it to be on BA. Not sure why that is, but it’s very drinkable.

A ton of coffee on this one. A little chocolate comes through, some spices and just a hint of fruit come out. The coffee on the back end is just ridiculous, I almost think they snuck in some coffee beans into this brew.

Pretty delicious beer, but for some reason seems a bit light than I’d like it. I think it might be the carbonation giving that extra lightness. 89 points.

Ninkasi Oatis

Can’t tell you much about this beer, other than it’s a stout. It’s a seasonal release, but it appears that it’s on tap year-round at the brewery.

Stats:
Oatmeal Stout. 7.2% ABV. 45 IBUs. Oregon.

Black in color with a tan head.

Lots of coffee, lots of chocolate, lots of roasted-ness on the nose. I get a nice hint of bacon, which I adore. There is a slight vegetal component, but also has some fruit. There is a really nice chocolate covered strawberry thing going on.

Medium to full bodied mouthfeel, the way it should be.

Coffee, then chocolate, and then some fruit. The coffee immediately hits the palate with that dark roast flavor, and the chocolate follows. It seems to lighten just a tad on the mid-palate with strawberries. A lot of roasted flavors on the back with a slight hop bitterness. Very well balanced.

This is probably one of the better stouts I’ve had. Excellent balance with good flavors, without being a culty, boozy stout. 92 points.