McNeill’s Brewery – Oatmeal Stout

I was over in the Maryville area a few days ago and of course when you are in Maryville a visit to The Market is in order.  They have one of the best club sammiches I have ever tasted.  Whilst waiting for the goodness I perused the beer selection and ran across a bomber from McNeill’s Brewery.  I am a fan of oatmeal stouts with their chewy mouth feel and chocolaty goodness so I was happy to get home with my treasure.

At first pour you will find nice half inch tan head on top of a jet black body with nice lacing.  On the nose I am getting the tell tale aromas of cocoa, burnt malts and coffee, normal for the style but nothing to grab your attention and get you excited for that first taste.  From the first sip you are assaulted with a bitter metallic flavor followed by more bitterness in the form of very bitter cocoa.  As it warms the roasted malts begin to show through a bit but the bitter flavor of cocoa stays on the tongue for quite some time, almost as long as Rogues Brutal Bitter. There is a high amount of carbonation for a stout and the smoothness of oatmeal is not even noticeable in this terribly bitter stout.  The ABV is around 4.9% and perfect for a session stout if I could finish the bottle.

Final Snobs: For me I really dislike this beer.  Powerful bitterness, no oatmeal smoothness or mouth feel, to much carbonation, not much to like.  Beer is in the eye of the beholder however and you might love it.  If you are a fan of sour beers you might enjoy this brew.  See what you think.

Stay thirsty…