Stoudt's Fat Dog Imperial Oatmeal Stout - Can It Run With the Big Dogs?

Dateline: Western Pennsylvania, April 3, 2007 (9:22pm EDT).

As I sit here writing this, it's 72 degrees outside at 9:22pm on April 3rd. Seventy-two degrees!?!? Yes, hard to believe. It went all the way to 82 today and tomorrow, the bottom falls out. Snow, yes snow should be falling about this time tomorrow evening and snow will fall supposedly throughout Easter weekend. Wow! For the craft beer drinker here in Western PA it's a typical spring swing, a roller coaster of temps, weather and extremes. Nothing all that new. But it does pose a slight problem when it comes to embibing in a suitable malted beverage. What to do, what to do?

Should I go with a Maibock or Doppelbock? Something lighter, maybe even a fruit beer? Heck no. We've got snow on the way, and April or not, when it's snowing outside, nothing goes better inside than a winter-style beer. Digging deep in the back of the fridge, I've found my poison of choice for this evening. An oatmeal imperial stout it is. Stoudts Fat Dog Imperial Oatmeal Stout to be precise.

Brewed all the way over in the eastern side of Pennsylvania in Adamstown, Stoudt's craft brews have long held a respectable slot in my microbrew and craft beer rankings. Their Fat Dog Imperial Stout does not disappoint either.

Pouring my chilled 12 ounce bottle into a 16 ounce Stoudt's American Pale Ale pint glass (yes, acquired direct at the brewery on a visit a few years back), this ale spills a licorice black, but not quite as thick as I've typically experienced or might have expected in an imperial stout.

A light caramel, filmy head shortly leads to a quick meltdown to nothing more than a toffy corona of meek foam clinging only to the glass wall. I've seen Cokes with more creamy patches floating about than this brew.

Taking a deep whiff of aroma off the top, there is really a very true and rich chocolate scent. Along with the chocolate, there's only a twinge of roasted coffee that I could pick up. That's a little different right off the bat from many imperials that I've tried. Twinges of alcohol pinch at the nostrils just a bit as well. To be expected I guess from a 9+% ABV adult beverage.

Taste features a suitable chocolately flavor, but yet, yes there are the roasted coffee tones as well. In fact far more than I perceived from the smell only. But still, dark and creamy chocolate rules the day here. Even some punches of molasses can be found in the overall ambience of flavor.

Mouthful is not quite as thick as I would have expected either. A little more thin than I would like in an Imperial Stout, but hey that's just me talking. Lacing on my glass is also quite non-existent. In fact, the glass is almost as clean, as I finish the beer, as it was when I started. It almost has that scrubbing bubbles type of effect. I could stick this glass right back in the cupboard and my wife would never know!

In the whole sense of things, if you were asking me, I would highly recommend Stoudt's Fat Dog Oatmeal Imperial Stout. I personally would certainly rank it in my Top 10 of Imperial Stouts (of those that I've tried, limited as that may be). It definitely fits well within the guidelines of what one would expect to find in a quality, craft brewed imperial stout. It is enjoyable, with enough flavor to satisfy some of the more discriminating stout afficianado tastes. While not perfect in my book, it does present iteself well, is chocolately, warming and memorable. A great microbrew to partake of on a warm and balmy, early April night, on the eve of an impending cold front and blowing snow and squalls. Grab yourself a Stoudts Fat Dog Oatmeal Imperial Stout before things really heat up in May. This is not a beer for a mid-summer night's dream.

You can check out more reviews of new microbrews and fun microbrew and craft beer related info at Microbrew Review or My Squidoo Lens. Check out Summer Microbrew too!

Great Lake Brewing Company Blackout Stout - An Unbiased Review

Living here in Western Pennsylvania, I'm certainly not smack, dab in the middle of microbrew heaven (what, with the strange alcohol laws, beer distribution, etc.). Any quality microbrews that can be found here in my area are few and far between, unless you know all the "secret" places to look of course.

I try to always keep my mouth shut, my eyes and ears open, and my nose to the ground when I have something, microbrew-wise, in mind that I'm looking for. And when I find it, I'm sure to snap it up in a heartbeat knowing that it may not be there tomorrow.

One microbrew I've been on the lookout for since January is Great Lakes Brewing Company's "Blackout Stout" (Great Lakes Brewing Company carries the torch as far as Ohio microbreweries are concerned in my book). It's a seasonal Russian Imperial Stout only available in February and March each year. Now that's what I call a small window of opportunity! Anyway, I tried this one way back last year and have been anxiously awaiting its arrival again this year for an official review (plus it's a darn fine brew to boot!) Last week, I finally found Great Lakes Brewing's Blackout Stout at my trusty local bottle shop and quickly snatched up two 12 ouncers at $2.00 apiece. What a buy, I must say.

I wasted no time in getting them both home safely, and after about 30 minutes in the freezer, could wait no more for a long awaited reunion of chocolately, malty goodness!

Pouring the newly chilled bottle into my 16 oz. pub glass (non-chilled), I am greeted with a beverage of high viscosity. Low density in the category of transparency. Heck, who am I kidding? I couldn't see a thing when holding this up to the light. Motor oil! The head was completely non-existent. If your're used to a big frothy head in your beer, you might think something is wrong with this one. Just flat (I've made homebrews which rivaled the "flatness" of this beer but my version of course could not rival the flavor of this fine gem).

A quick once over whiff off the brim o' the mug gave a cocoa, chocolately buzz to the olfactory senses. Not all that alien to a Russian Imperial Stout of course. Everything seems in place so far.
Now the first mouthful, that is where this beverage separates itself from the rank amateurs in microbrewing.

Flavor abound here. Chocolate of course was prevalent, but also a very pleasant blend of molasses and what I'd describe as almost licorice. This microbrew really didn't give me any hint of a coffee tone at all. Very smooth, and for the 9% alcohol by volume rating, this has a very creamy texture to it. While the mouthful is slick and sticky at the same time and would classify as a dessert beer overall, this stout had an almost fluffiness to it and made me think that just 1 or 2 servings wouldn't fill me up like many other Russian Imperial Stouts I've tried. There's a real nice balance here amongst everything and the alcohol is very well hidden for the style, which could be dangerous. One thing I couldn't quite get my tastebuds to latch onto is the "bold hop flavor" which is advertised on the bottle label. Checking the Great Lakes Brewing Company website, this brew rates at 85 IBU's which is fairly substantial from a bitterness factor. The chocolately sweet tones just overwhelm I guess (which kind of goes against my original balanced assessment earlier. But hey I'm evaluating the beer here, not numbers on paper).

One of the things I really enjoy about this microbrewery is the designs they come up with for their bottle labels. They've got a standard theme with their logo and typefonts and such that are consistent for each microbrew style offered. But they've also included some real neat graphics for each beer. Great Lakes Blackout Stout includes a cool photo-type graphic of common folks holding candles and bottles of Blackout Stout while have a porch party during a....neighborhood power blackout. In fact, the story on the side of the bottle dedicates this brew to the 2003 blackout which put much of the Northeastern U.S. in the dark for several days. There's a nifty related background story to most of their brands names which I think is great. And "Blackout Stout's" story kind of lends to a sense of Americana nostalgia (tight knit neighborhoods where everyone came together on a hot summer's eve for a porch party). Beer with a total backbone I guess. Flavor and a real reason behind it.

So I guess I've gone on way too long here now. My bottom line is, if it's springtime where you are reading this right now, go out and try to find a bottle of Great Lakes Brewing Company's Blackout Stout before it's gone until next February. It's a well worthy microbrew in my book and lives up extremely well to the Russian Imperial Stout tag. This one is a distinctive winner and I'd give it a 8.25 out of 10.00 rating anytime. A true standout!

You can check out more reviews of new microbrews and fun microbrew and craft beer related info at Microbrew Review or My Squidoo Lens. Check out Summer Microbrew too!