Stoudt’s Fat Dog Imperial Oatmeal Stout – Can it work with the big dogs?
Date: Western Pennsylvania, April 3, 2007 (9:22 pm EDT).
As I sit here writing this, it’s 72 degrees outside at 9:22 pm on April 3rd. Seventy two degrees!?!? Yes, hard to believe. It got as high as 82 today and tomorrow, the bottom falls off. Snow, yes snow should be falling by this time tomorrow night and snow is supposed to fall over Easter weekend. wow! For the craft beer drinker here in western Pennsylvania it’s a typical change of spring, a roller coaster of temperatures, weather and extremes. Nothing so new. But it does pose a bit of a problem when it comes to embedding into a proper malted drink. What to do what to do?
Should I go with a Maibock or Doppelbock? Something lighter, maybe even a fruit beer? hell 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 found my favorite poison for tonight. It’s an imperial oatmeal stout. Stoudt Fat Dog Imperial Oatmeal Stout to be precise.
Brewed on the eastern side of Pennsylvania in Adamstown, Stoudt’s craft beers have long held a respectable spot in my microbrew and microbrew rankings. Their Fat Dog Imperial Stout doesn’t disappoint either.
Pouring my chilled 12-ounce bottle into a 16-ounce glass of Stoudt’s American Pale Ale (yes, purchased directly from the brewery on a visit a few years back), this beer pours out a black licorice, but not as thick as I’ve done normally. experienced or might have expected in an imperial stout.
A light, transparent caramel head quickly leads to a quick melt to nothing more than a toffy crown of meek foam that clings only to the glass wall. I’ve seen Cokes with creamier patches floating around than this concoction.
Taking a deep breath of aroma from the top, there is really a very true and rich aroma of chocolate. Along with the chocolate, there is only a hint of roasted coffee that I was able to pick up. That’s a little different off the top of many imperials I’ve tried. Pricks of alcohol pinch the nostrils a bit too. Unsurprisingly, I’m assuming from an adult beverage over 9% ABV.
The flavor features a proper chocolate flavor, but yes, there are roasted coffee tones as well. In fact, much more than what I perceived from the smell alone. But still, creamy dark chocolate rules the day here. There are even some hits of molasses to be found in the overall flavor vibe.
The bite is also not as thick as I would have expected. A little thinner than I’d like in an Imperial Stout, but hey, that’s just me talking. The laces on my glass are also pretty non-existent. In fact, the glass is almost as clean, when I finish the beer, as when I started. It almost has that kind of bubble scrubbing effect. I could put this glass back in the cupboard and my wife would never know!
In the full sense of things, if you asked me, I would highly recommend Stoudt’s Imperial Oatmeal Stout for Fat Dogs. Personally, I would definitely rank it in my Top 10 Imperial Stouts (of the ones I’ve tried, however limited). It definitely fits well within the guidelines of what one would expect to find in a quality, handcrafted imperial stout. It’s nice, with enough flavor to satisfy some of the most demanding tastes of stout aficionados. While not perfect in my book, it’s well presented, chocolaty, warm and memorable. An excellent craft beer to drink on a warm and balmy evening in early April, on the eve of an impending cold front and snow and squalls. Get yourself a Stoudts Fat Dog Oatmeal Imperial Stout before things really heat up in May. This is not a beer for a midsummer night’s dream.
