I spent about 20 minutes staring at the beer section of my local Top Foods last night trying to decide what I should pick out to review. Mostly I was just cursing myself for not checking the archives before I left so I could make sure I didn’t buy something we had already covered. That’s basically how I ended up picking out Stone Brewery’s Bitter Chocolate Oatmeal Stout. If someone had reviewed this shit I would have remembered.

When you crack the top on the BCOS and pour it into your glass the first thing you are going to notice is that this shit is black, like motor oil black. This stuff makes a Guinness look light. It pours pitch black with a fairly thick head that is a dark milk chocolate / cafe latte brown color. Much like it’s dark color the BCOS has a deep chocolate, coffee, and roasted malt smell. This beer is silky on the tongue. I almost forgot I was drinking a beer. It has a slightly bittersweet chocolate flavor on your tongue and little bit of the bitterness lasts after you swallow. There is also a slight oatmeal flavor at the end that I almost think makes this thing taste like a darkly baked chocolate chip cookie.

I love a good stout but honestly I couldn’t make a night out of drinking these things. It’s a heavy beer that sits surprising light on the stomach but the full flavor is just too much if you are looking to play Kings Cup all night. The good news is that BCOS packs a malt-liquor-esque punch. The BCOS comes in with a rating of 9.2% Alc/Vol. So really you don’t have to drink it all night. Buy a couple of 22 oz’s from your local market and you should have a pretty healthy buzz once you get to the bottom.

Product Page