The Dark One.2 Tasting

I brewed this oatmeal stout in mid-October after having done a pretty bad oatmeal stout earlier this year. This version turned out pretty well, and I think I learned my lesson about water treatment in dark beers.

Served on tap at about 45 degrees in a nonic pint glass.

Appearance: Pours black with some reddish-brown highlights at the edges of the glass. Clarity is good, but you could hardly tell in such a dark beer. A dense, two-fingered, mocha-colored head stays for a couple of minutes and maintains a thin foam throughout. No lacing.

Aroma: Pretty subdued aroma. Some chocolate and roasted coffee. Maybe some fruitiness, but not much else.

Flavor: Good malt flavor. Clean and mellow. Mostly chocolate. No hop flavor, diacetyl, or yeast flavors. Sweetish balance.

Mouthfeel: Nice, medium body. Again, slightly over carbonated for my tastes. No noticeable carbonic bite, but the high carbonation stings my tongue and detracts from what should be a really creamy, velvety beer.

Overall: Decent beer. The carbonation is a definite issue for me. Cold steeping the roasted grains seems to give a really mellow character and subdue the roastiness. This could really use some more roast.