McAuslan St. Ambroise Oatmeal Stout

Friday night. It's "Date night" with the wife this evening. Started out with a vegan turkey dinner and some wine. A couple of movies later, I've decided that it's time for a quick beer review. Digging through the fridge's crisper, I decided upon a dessertish kinda beer.

St. Ambroise Oatmeal Stout is brewed by McAuslan Brewery in Montreal, Canada. At first whiff I was sure that it was going to kick my ass. Smelled rugged. I was fully expecting it to be 10-11% ABV. Completely shocked when I googled and found out that it's only 5%!

I have to take a second to brag about my perfect pour. Look at the pic...it's a masterpiece. As you can see, the brew is black and it pours with a significant head.

The taste is very bitter. It starts out well balanced, but quickly goes south. The aftertaste is brutal. The oatmeal flavor is abundant. I'm finding that the beer is lacking that balance of sweetness that you usually find in an oatmeal stout. There is usually a healthy dosage of caramel or vanilla accompanies a beer like this. As the beer warms, some of the bitterness dulls, but not enough. Overall, just a so-so beer.