The color is black as midnight. The size of the bubbles indicates that this beverage is carbonated like the usual oatmeal stout (unlike my beloved Guinness, which is nitrogenated). The aroma is cool and oatmealy. I smell a little roasted malt as well, but there really isn't that much of an aroma in the first place.
The first sip is sweeter than I expected. It has the smokey malt that is normal for this kind of beer, but I don't actually taste any of the oatmeal. Well... not at first. The lingering on the tongue definitely reminds me of toasted oatmeal. It may even have a slight coffee flavor.
Tip-in is a very understated with roasted malt. It has a bit of the sweet taste that I had in the sip as well (I may even taste a bit of nuttiness.) The middle is sweet and tangy with the smokey oatmeal core. The finish has a certain amount of bitterness from the hops that I didn't taste any of in the sip. The sweet taste stays on the lips after the gulp is gone down the throat.
It's a decent beer, but it's nothing all that special. After the disappointment of the IPA, I had really hoped for a dramatic difference with this beer, and I just didn't get it. I've got one more beer in the sample pack, and I hope it breaks the mold. Either way, this was definitely better than the last, but not better than the rest.
2.5/5