Lake Superior Brewing Company's Sir Duluth Oatmeal Stout

I don't even remember where or when I got this. Which may not be a good sign, but we'll see.

Pours an opaque black that is amber to clear at the edges. Looks a little light in the body. Very small tan head that is pretty small for a stout, much less one with oatmeal. Nice smell to it though. Lots of tannins, like a porter, and some very subtle coffee, but mostly alcohol.

Smooth, like an oatmeal stout should be, but still a lot of alcohol. And that's weird, for a standard stout. It diminishes fairly quickly though, and gives way to a nice roasted coffee flavor.

Good beer that I bet is really good on tap. The alcohol bite bothers me, but I'm chalking it up tot he age of the beer, which is my fault. I need to drink more.

Millstream Brewing Company's Colony Oatmeal Stout

Stout.... lager?

Pours an opaque black with a fairly light tan head for a stout. Fairly light smell for a stout too. Not sure of that's the oatmeal, which always seems to give stouts a lighter and sweeter smell, or the fact that it's a lager.

Pretty nice. Probably one of the heaviest lagers I've felt, it's similar to a dopplebock in feel. But it's a stout in the taste. Pretty strong coffee flavor in this one, especially in the aftertaste, which is very nice.

Good take on the style, and a very good beer.

Independence Brewing Company's Convict Hill Oatmeal Stout

Finally, another Texas stout.

Pours an opaque black with reddish highlights as it pours and a nice dark tan head.

The oatmeal lends a great grainy smell to the roasted and coffee flavors.

It feels like it's going to have a nice body at first, but then it gets a bit watery. Very nice taste though. Still grainy from the oatmeal, and the coffee comes out a bit more in the taste.

Not quite enough body for an oatmeal stout, but otherwise a very good beer. I hope they keep it around.

Samuel Smith's Oatmeal Stout

I'm tired of hit and miss beers, so I went for a twofer with a second Samuel Smith.

This one pours opaque and black, but not as thick or slow as their RIS. Amber highlights at the edges with a big tan head that looks like tan cotton.

Vinous smell like all Sam Smith stouts, but not as vinous as their porter. This one is more grainy than the rest though, and you can smell that the malt has oats in it.

Good, smooth body for a stout, aided by the oatmeal. Still a little vinous, but less than in the smell. Solid roasted malt with the bready oats still coming out fairly strong.

This is another beer that isn't in your face, isn't extreme, and isn't over the top in ABV. It's just a good, solid, representation of the style that I'll buy over and over again because it's just flat-out good. Sam Smith's does it right, and American brewers would do well to follow suit. No more pissing matches that make stouts that taste like a Starbucks with alcohol, just stouts that taste like stouts.

Otter Creek Brewing Company's Wolaver's Oatmeal Stout

Although I'm usually disappointed in organic beers, I can't pass up a new stout. Well, new to me, anyway.

Pours an opaque black once in the glass, but while pouring is a deep brownish black, on type for a non-imperial stout. Great tan head that slowly fades, which I hope is indicative of a better body than most stouts, due to the oatmeal.

Good roasted grain smell, with distinct oatmeal.

Pretty good. Very good upfront roasted grain taste, with the oatmeal adding more to the body than the taste. Feels a little hollow to me as it goes down, but that's probably because I like and am used to the heavier stouts. Moderate bitterness.

I like it. More roasted flavor than most stouts, and the oatmeal does boost the body a bit and make it a little more full than regular stouts. Eh, if I see it around I may pick it up again. It's a good compromise if I know someone I'll be with doesn't like the heavier beers like I do.

Mercury Brewing Company's Ipswich Oatmeal Stout

Wanting to recover from a disappointing Palo Santo Marron experience, I went to a standby style from a brewery I've never tried. Mercury Brewing Company's Ipswich Oatmeal Stout was a huge improvement.

Pours an inky black with an almost cascading medium tan head. Looks great. Like all stouts, it's not too sexy in appearance. It pours more opaque than many regular stouts, but the head is big and that's what sets this one apart from most.

Smell is a little light at first--come to find out it was too cold right off the bat. As it warmed the smell improved, and was much more substantial. Grainy and roasted, with a little alcohol. Kind of close to a Ten FIDY, which is saying something because that's a huge impy stout.

Wow, great roasted bitterness that tastes like it comes more from the malt than hops. The 60 IBU's are very well balanced. Smooth, substantial feel, like some impys. Slightly sweet hint from the oatmeal but that's gone in a flash when the roasted flavor hits. Big taste in this one, and the smell opens up as it warms to match the bigger taste, and a coffee flavor comes out a bit when it warms as well. One of my favorite stouts so far.

Breckenridge Brewery's Oatmeal Stout

With a couple of exceptions, Breckenridge is a lackluster brewery producing lackluster beers under lackluster labels. This is one of those exceptions.

Their oatmeal stout pours an opaque black, with a small tan head that thins to a collar. Smells like grainy, sharp molasses, with a roasted smell.

Sharp for an oatmeal stout, like they skimped a bit on the oatmeal, but it's not out of type because it gives way to both a moderate bitterness and a slight sweetness from the oats. Deep, roasted malt. Straight-up (non-RIS, anyway) stouts like this are lighter in body than I like, but that's my subjectivity. It has the right amount of malt backbone and body with the classic roasted taste of a stout, with the oats contributing the smoothness and sweetness that would otherwise be absent.

My favorite Breckenridge beer so far.

St-Ambroise Oatmeal Stout

Well, it's from Quebec, which is the same as the Surrender Monkeys across the pond, or Louisiana, which is no better, but it was free and you know what, it looks good in the bottle and I'm a sucker for a stout of almost any type.

This one pours inky black, the darkest non-impy stout I can remember. Light tan head that is a decent size, but fades pretty quickly.

Has a deep, grainy smell. A bit sweet, like a milk stout. Not hugely malty like I'd expect from such a dark beer, and no apparent hops. Smells kind of like cold milk, maybe with a little coffee thrown in.

Like the smell, the taste is more like a milk stout than oatmeal, except the coffee smell comes across as a roasted flavor in the taste. I like this beer, but it feels off type. The purist in me thinks I would like it more as a milk stout. But it's a damn good beer if you don't let hyper-technicalities get in the way.

I'f I'm ever in Quebec, I'll make them surrender more of this to me.