Roundabout (Mother Earth Brew Co.)

I still had a third of a glass of beer when they called last call, but I knew that I needed at least one more beer. I ordered a taster of their ROUNDABOUT to finish out my time at Mother Earth Brew Co.

Roundabout is a Chocolate Oatmeal Stout with 37 IBUs and a 6.1% ABV.

Roundabout is thick and creamy with a head that lasts through the end of the pint. Using dark Belgian malts, which tend to be much softer than U.S. or U.K. versions, we created an opaque beer with very session-able qualities, making this brew a fan favorite…regardless of your misconceptions about “darker beers” .

Roundabout pours a thick black with no highlights. The head starts a robust brown, but faded before I could get a picture of it.

The nose is big on oats, but regular oats and toasted oats. Dark chocolate and cookie dough are also noticeable. A faint rum/sherry scent gives it a little booziness. This beer smells really good (and is a nice follow up to the “questionable” nose on The Crucible).

I was surprised by the presence of dark fruits (raisin/plum) in the taste of this beer. It only appears for a second before oats come in with some dark chocolate  on its tail. The flavors are all balanced and tasty.

Mouthfeel is shockingly light and smooth. A little bit of residue and drying is present, but not as bad as a lot of other Stouts.

I really liked the oat presence in this beer. A lot of Oatmeal Stouts only glance over the oat part in favor of the stout aspects, but not Roundabout. And its a surprisingly light Stout. Interesting.

Overall: 7 out of 10

As an OATMEAL STOUT: 8.5 out of 10

FOR FANS OF: Breckenridge OATMEAL STOUT, Elysian DRAGONSTOOTH OATMEAL STOUT, Anderson Valley BARNEY FLATS OATMEAL STOUT