Barreled Souls Hillrock Bourbon Barrel Aged Quaker Heavy with Coffee

The Stats
Style: Oatmeal Stout
ABV: 9.9%
Current Ratings...
- Untappd: 4.11/5
- Beer Advocate: N/A
- RateBeer: N/A

"A bigger version of our regular Quaker State with coffee aged for 8 months in a Hillock bourbon barrel."

Black in appearance with some ruby red edges and less than a finger of tan head that fizzled away like soda. It looks like flat Coke.

Strong alcohol scent, but it doesn't burn the nostrils. Bourbon is sweet and very much in your face. Coffee has a dark roast, freshly-brewed aroma with hints of burnt coffee grounds. Touches of vanilla and wood start to come through more as it warms with even some smoke and char.

I say this in the nicest way possible: It tastes like a cigar.

There is an unmistakably smoke and ash component to this beer that is just putting me on Cloud Nine. I am guessing it is the insane amount of char from the barrel which is also lending tobacco notes and the coffee also helps with a roasted flavor. When all those components activate their Wonder Twin powers, it brings a smile to my face. How does the bourbon itself play into this? Like the aroma, it is incredibly sweet, but also smooth without being cloying. As it warms, a molasses flavor emerges for a touch if Old Ale qualities and more dessert-like flavors of milk chocolate and cocoa powder give this an after dinner sensation. Hidden in the back are some solid dark fruit notes of raisins, plums, and figs. Some of that booze comes back, but it's refined and I welcome it in this case to help break up some of the sticky sensation.

Mouthfeel is calm with a velvety texture. It isn't the thickest stout (especially for almost 10%) and can feel too thin at times. The sweeter flavors stick around after each sip, but they don't overstay their welcome. Mild booziness is noticeable, but again, I find it pleasant in this case.

BA Quaker Heavy w/ Coffee impressed me for unexpected reasons. While I wish the body was bigger, the flavors were complex and a pleasant surprise. It promised coffee and bourbon, which it delivered, but those smokey qualities and massive amounts of char will bring me back again and again. I bet these guys could rock a Rauchbier like nobody's business.

Rating
8.8/10

Night Shift Bennington

The Stats
Style: Oatmeal Stout
ABV: 7%
Current Ratings...
- Beer Advocate: 4.16/5
- Untappd: 4.04/5
- RateBeer: 3.77/5

"Oatmeal stout with Dutch-processed cocoa and maple syrup."

Sits black in the glass with just the slightest hue of ruby red on the edges and a less than a finger of almond-colored head.

Cocoa powder is big on the aroma as is Hershey's syrup and dark coffee. A kick of sugary sweetness represents the maple syrup and this finishes up with chocolate milk.

A solid coffee ground base sets up the taste and then I am hit with lots of milk chocolate and dark chocolate. Some bits of vanilla strengthen the dessert aspects of this beer and I'm getting a tasty iced coffee flavor complete with cream. Much like the aroma, a genuine maple syrup taste isn't exactly present, but it is represented by confectionery sweetness without being too sugary. The finish is all bitter, dark, iced coffee with a residual stickiness from the maple syrup.

Mouthfeel is thick, but not viscous. It has the full body of a stout with minimal carbonation and no trace of alcohol.

Bennington is an excellent dessert beer with enough coffee and chocolate to make your head spin. There's plenty of sugar from the maple syrup, but a bit more genuine maple flavor would have been welcomed. Minor gripe aside, this is a delicious offering from Night Shift perfect for these upcoming colder nights.

Rating
8.6/10

Fremont Bourbon Barrel Aged Dark Star - Coffee Edition (2016 Vintage)

The Stats
Style: Oatmeal Stout
ABV: 14.5%
Current Ratings...
- Beer Advocate: 4.51/5
- RateBeer: 4.04/5

It's time for a variation on the previously reviewed Fremont Bourbon Barrel Aged Dark Star with the coffee edition. These Dark Star stouts have garnered acclaim in recent years with their Fall releases lighting up message boards across the galaxy. As you may have read, I loved, LOVED BA Dark Star, and who doesn't love a good coffee stout? So, needless to say, I have some high hopes for this one.

Pours pitch black with a slightly darker than khaki head, almost mocha-colored.

Bourbon is most noticeable on the aroma. As opposed to the standard BA Dark Star, the notes of chocolate, char, tobacco, and wood are a bit more subtle. As the for the coffee addition, the only coffee I get is from the natural coffee aroma you get with any big stout.

Like the nose, the bourbon is the first in line on the taste. It has a sugary, sticky sweetness to it with no alcohol flavor. Some sticky molasses and dark fruits are a welcome addition as plums, raisins, and figs come to the party. An overall oak and sawdust taste encompasses everything and gives this more of an Old Ale experience than anything else. A decent amount of char and a lot of roast bring you back to the Imperial Stout territory. Again, it must be said, but the coffee is seriously lacking for me. As previously mentioned, this does have the familiar roasted qualities associated with the style, but I was expecting a big, back-handed pimp slap of coffee. Instead, I think my daddy is going to make me shake down and hustle some more johns in the hopes of getting some freeze-dried Taster's Choice because I am not getting the serious gourmet shit in this bottle.

Mouthfeel on the other hand is perfect. It is soft, full, and coats everything in sight. It's a big boy beer at 14.5%, but it is easy to sit back and sip on this one for hours.

Like it's brother, Coffee Dark Star has all the ingredients to make a superb BA Imperial Stout. It kinda sucks that I have to deduct points due to the lack of the promised showcased ingredient, but so is life. If you're expecting, say, a Bourbon County Coffee, then  I say you should pump the brakes on those expectations. The coffee was almost so subtle that it was practically non-existent, but this is still  a top-notch BA stout regardless of the lack of coffee.

Rating
8.4/10

Fremont Bourbon Barrel Aged Dark Star (2016 Vintage)

The Stats
Style: Oatmeal Stout
ABV: 14.5%
Current Ratings...
- Beer Advocate: 4.54/5 (Top 250: #133)
- RateBeer: 4.05/5

"This year's release is a blend of 18, 12, and 8-month bourbon barrel aged KDS Dark Star in 12-year old Kentucky Bourbon barrels. The roasted and chocolate malts complement the smooth oats to bring you a stout delight wrapped in gentle embrace of Bourbon Barrel aged warmth. A touch of sweetness dances in balance with the hops to finish with a wave and then she’s gone."

Pours dark as night with just a hint of dark brown/ruby red on the edges and it produced less than a finger of almond-colored head.

Sweet, sticky bourbon up front on the aroma followed by dark chocolate, coffee, char, tobacco, and wood. I get some nutty qualities too and I'm getting a good dose of dark fruits and cherry. There's an overall heat to the aroma from the alcohol, but it doesn't sting the nostrils. Digging even deeper I pick up vailla and caramel. Very complex.

First and foremost, this is a big motherfu**in' beer. Now that we have that obvious factoid out of the way, we can see that the bourbon is flavorful, sticky, sweet, and just takes over the beer from start to finish. Everything from the aroma is well-represented here on the taste with the dark fruits and cherry hitting me first. The wood and char from the barrels is also pretty damn big. Unexpectedly (but more than welcome) a nice pop of hop bitterness is greeting me at the door and asking me to come inside for milk and cookies...

VOICE IN MY HEAD: Pete, come back, you're going off the rails, buddy...

...Where am I? Oh, right, back to business. The complexities of this start to come out as it warms as the milk chocolate, dark chocolate, coffee, and roasted malts keep getting bigger and bigger with each sip. It's crazy, but I get a dessert-like vanilla/creme brulee/marshmallow flavor to this. Maybe it's the vanilla plus the char that's making that happen, but man is it great. The heat from the alcohol is here, but it would be silly not expect something like that from a 14.5% barrel-aged stout. In this case, I'll allow it (thank you, Mills Lane) since the boozy taste adds even more complexity.

Mouthfeel is thick and full. It has a great fluffy character (think 3 Musketeers Bar) to the body. As I said, the alcohol brings some heat and warming with each sip, but it's not an issue at all.

Everything I heard about this beer and Fremont Brewing's barrel program has lived up to the hype. BA Dark Star is a world-class stout. A few years ago this may not have gotten the attention it deserved, but as years go by, more and more people are getting their hands on it and it is getting recognized in the craft beer community. Compared to so many world-renowned BA stouts, this one is up there and surpassing a lot of them. It deserves to be mentioned with the likes of Goose Island Bourbon County, Firestone Walker Parabola, and so many others. Truly among the best of the best. Seven thumbs up!

Rating
9.6/10

Otter Creek Couch Surfer

The Stats
Style: Oatmeal Stout
ABV: 5.40%
Current Ratings...
- Beer Advocate: 3.86/5
- RateBeer: 3.54/5

Another new addition to Otter Creek's lineup of year-round beers comes an oatmeal stout which is a slight departure from their other year-round offerings which are mostly IPA's or pale ales. I think it may be their first year-round stout, so hopefully it is worthy of being on the shelf 365 days a year.

Pours pitch black with ruby red on the edges. I got less than a finger of tan-colored head.

Sweet roasted malts on the aroma with some chocolate syrup and coffee. Very mocha-esque.

The taste is mostly dark roast coffee, but with hints of chocolate. It is a very sweet beer up front which transitions to those burnt or roasted notes near the middle. I also detect the faintest hint of cherry which adds a dash of darker fruits to compliment the sweet chocolate. The finish is noticeably bitter thanks in part to all of those dark, roasted notes, especially the burnt coffee grounds taste brought on by the malts.

Mouthfell is velvety smooth, and feels bigger than 5.40%. There's a small bit of carbonation, but overall it is flat, but silky.

Couch Surfer is a pretty standard oatmeal stout, but has just enough sweetness to distance itself from the majority of the pack. I liked the intense roasted characters combined with sugary chocolate. Again, it doesn't re-invent the style, but it's still a sweet-tasting, easy drinking beer.

Rating
7.8/10

Samuel Smith Oatmeal Stout

The Stats
Style: Oatmeal Stout
ABV: 5.00%
Current Ratings...
- Beer Advocate: 4.21/5
- RateBeer: 3.9/5

There's nothing like a classic. Hailing from Yorkshire's oldest brewery and using the same well from 1758, Samuel Smith is a landmark in the beer world. Plenty of the today's styles got their start overseas and it is good to pay respect any chance you can. Samuel Smith Oatmeal Stout is still today one of the highest rated and celebrated examples of the oatmeal stout and just as sweet as it ever was.

Pours not completely black with dark brown/red on the edges when held up to the light. The pour produced nearly three fingers of a frothy beige head.

It smells like fresh-baked multigrain bread with some sweet malts and nutiness.

The taste is considerably sweeter than a standard stout with a big syrup and molasses component. There's some subtle chocolate and coffee and the roasted presence is also subdued. The sweetness is meant to shine in this style and this does a great job without being overpowering or cloying. The finish is surprisingly bitter with something similar to  hop bite which was something I didn't expect at all. It plays off the sweet flavors rather well.

Mouthfeel is smooth and creamy. The oatmeal has made this a silky-smooth ride. While not as roasty as a standard stout, this is still robust and flavorful without being thin and watery. At only 5.00%, this is easy to drink even for those who aren't used to the style.

Samuel Smith Oatmeal Stout still stands today as one of the best in its class. It is super sweet, and robust, but also sessionable. Great for beginners, but also good for those who are looking for an excellent oatmeal stout.

Rating
8.7/10