On the 10th day of Christmas, Santa Beer gave to me...

a delicious oatmeal stout brewed locally - the Marble Oatmeal Stout.

I can't say enough about Marble Brewing. They offer really world-class beer and are a good buy. I had a real internal struggle about joining the Beer Club since I work about 2 minutes from Chama River, but really prefer the beer and atmosphere of Marble. Anyway, after Marble was very generous with providing beer for a charity event I put on, it cemented my decision. If you haven't taken the time to check out the brewery, go down there - they have seven regular beers on tap (of all different varietys) plus 3-4 seasonal ones. Right now, they have two winter beers and the bourbon barrel reserve. Haven't gotten down to try the winter ones, but the reserve is amazing.

Marble created a lovely brew in this one - an expresso colored bomber of bliss. Once poured from its glass prison, you'll get a really foamy toasted almond head with tons of tasty aromas. Roasted coffee, dark chocolate and toasted malt are really evident and are expected for the style. The flavor fits all of the scenty goodness and is extremely well blended, so as not to overwhelm with too much robustness. And you can taste the oats, which seems right given it's an OATmeal stout. I've had other oatmeal stouts where you didn't get that taste and it just seemed downright improper. While not a thick beer, the brew does have some body to it. If you were to gauge it on a scale of 1-10, 1 being Bud Light and 10 being molasses, then I'd give it a 7. The aftertaste consists majorly of malt and coffee, but is subtle and enjoyable. This beer is on tap at the Marble Brewery all year long, but also can be found at various restaurants in town - I recently had it at Savoy up by Juan Tabo and Montgomery. They have recently made this a bomber that you can find any good liquor store in town (Quarters, Kelly's, Jubliation, etc...). Just waiting for it to get in six packs... Anyway, go get this beer!

Appearance - 5.0/5.0 - Dark expresso, foamy almond head

Smell - 4.0/5.0 - Subtle, but definite scents of coffee, malt and chocolate

Taste - 4.5/5.0 - Well blended malt and coffee flavors, with a definite sense of oats

Feel - 4.5/5.0 - Medium bodied, with good coverage of the mouth and enjoyable aftertaste

Drinkability - 4.5/5.0 - Most definitely -would have gotten a 5.0 if I could get it in six packs.

Millstream Brewing Colony Oatmeal Stout

This beer came as part of one of Tina's fantastic beer ofthe month club shipments. When this showed up at the office (and boy, I do enjoy getting beer and wine shipped to the office...really brightens up the day), I was really looking forward to trying some different types of beers, especially of the darker variety. The Millstream Brewing Colony Oatmeal Stout was a good representation of an oatmeal stout. Expect a lot of roasted malt and oat scents and flavor, with some coffee taste included. The color is extremely dark, not allowing a single bit of light through the glass. This beer had a distinctive aftertaste - mostly of alcohol and coffee (which in my book, is a great combo). The flavor really hits in the back of your mouth and throat, making it stick around with each sip.

Appearance - 3.5/5.0 - I really enjoyed the darkness of the beer - the head was ok, but nothing to write home about.

Scent - 3.5/5.0 - Lots of strong coffee, malt and alcohol aroma. While enjoyable, could have been blended better.

Taste - 3.5/5.0 - Strong flavor profile, with lots of coffee taste. The alcohol aftertaste lingered more than I would personally like, but it wasn't offensive.

Feel - 3.0/5.0 - The flavors stuck around longer than I would like after each sip and they weren't blended well enough for my taste.

Drinkability - 3.0/5.0 - I have a number of other oatmeal stouts that I would rather have. If offered, I would drink again, but not my first choice.

I Heart Breckenridge Beer

I think the first Breckenridge beer that I had was a case of the Christmas Ale that I got at Costco...To clarify, I didn't pour the whole case into a bucket and drink it all at once. I just enjoyed them individually. Although, that does give me an idea...

Anyway, I was really pleased when Tina and I ventured over to Costco on the West Side (the one that magically appeared across from Cottonwood Mall one day) and found a Breckenridge variety pack that included 12 Avalanche Ambers and 12 of a mix of beers. One of the cool things about the 12 packs is that they have these Breckenbucks on the inside (don't miss 'em!) that you can take to one of the Breckenridge Breweries and trade them for a free beer, food, hat, shirt, etc... All it takes is 1 (that's ONE) Breckenbuck to get a free beer...and you get TWO in this sampler!

I don't recall every having a vanilla porter before and if this one is an example of other vanilla porters, I think I will really enjoy them. This beer has a really nice stout flavor to it with enough vanilla to taste it, but not enough to make it taste like you've been eating whole vanilla beans. The vanilla flavor really hits in the aftertaste. A smooth and tasty brew with a light scent with a hint of malt. Only 16 IBUs and 4.7% ABV, which was surprising. Tina really enjoyed this one and she's not much of a porter fan.

The Oatmeal Stout has got a real strong oat and malt aroma...real strong. Which is a contrast to the not-as-strong, medium body taste. A sharp taste hits on the back of your tongue with a light lingering aftertaste. The flavor of the beer is crisp and is all over the tongue. More bitter than the vanilla porter (31 IBUs) but about the same alcohol content (4.98% ABV). I still enjoyed the Four Peaks Oatmeal Stout better, but this one was good enough.

The name for this beer is clever. When Pandora opened her bock, she actually released into the world all of the Evils of Beer. Skunky beer, Bud Light Lime, Zima, Smirnoff Ice, Sam Adams Cherry Wheat...The list goes on and on. The only thing left in the Bock was the hope that microbreweries would rise up and provide humanity with alternatives to the crap that emerged from the Bock. This beer has a really spicy scent to it - you can pick up a bit of hop in the aroma, but this is not a bitter beer (only 16 IBUs). The medium body of the beer has a complexity to it, that is so complex I can't adequately describe without my head blowing up. Pandora is a bit of an intense lady anyway - her Bock is too - 7.5% ABV. Sneaky Pandora.

Well, that was a lot of blah-blah. Let's do a quick summary:

Breckenridge Vanilla Porter - Oat, malt taste with a hint of vanilla. Lower ABV and bitterness makes it a beer almost anyone can enjoy. I give this a Beer Score of 87%.

Breckenridge Oatmeal Stout - A strong smell paired with a medium taste and a light aftertaste. Ok beer, but I've had better oatmeal stouts. Beer Score - 64%.

Breckenridge Pandora's Bock - A complex brew with a spicy scent, medium body and mild, but unique taste. Beer Score - 82%.

Four Peaks Brewing - Take 2 Beers and Call Me In the Morning

I hit up Four Peaks Brewery again last time I was in Scottsdale and polished off the last two beers I have not had the pleasure of trying. I haven't been to Four Peaks at night before and it was a really chill atmosphere. There was a nice breeze and with their bay doors to the patio open, it was relaxing to sit back, chill and enjoy some beer.

First up was the Four Peaks HopKnot IPA. If you read my post on the last trip to Four Peaks, you'd remember I was really disappointed with the RAJ IPA that I had. Having tried the HopKnot, I wish I had ordered this brew instead. There is a really sharp bitter hop taste with a mild, but clean, aftertaste. I read a bit about the process by which Four Peaks brews this beer and it sounds different - they use 4 different types of hops and add them at four different times. I wouldn't say that this process makes HopKnot break any IPA boundaries or does something so unique that I would need to order mass quantities and store it, but it does produce one damn fine IPA.

The Oatmeal Stout was the last beer of Four Peak's regular offerings to try and it was a fine finish. The first thing that came to mind when the beer came was "Did I order a Guiness on accident?" It seems like they used nitrogen rather than typical carbonation. The beer itself was extra smooth with a smoky, almost-chocolate taste. Neither me or my friend, Louis, got any oatmeal taste from the beer, but I guarantee it's in there somewhere. If I had a choice between this and a Guiness, I would pick the Oatmeal Stout, as it lacks that odd aftertaste that I really don't care for with Guiness. I would definitely order this tasty stout again!