Tasting: Padas River Oatmeal Stout

Padas River Oatmeal Stout has been in the bottle for just about a week now, but I couldn’t resist and uncorked the first one last night. Named for a muddy river in Borneo, which is as exhilarating as it is brown and foamy, the stout sure does live up to its name.

Padas River Oatmeal Stout has a lot in common with my 1st all-gain brew, the Robust Porter, on which this recipe is based.

The first obvious difference between the two is the viscosity of the the liquid. Where the Robust Porter was a normal, watery consistency, the Padas River Oatmeal Stout literally pours like oil.

So smoothly does it run from the bottle that I had to pour it from up high to create turbulence to create the head. The head, as it happens, is the second obvious difference.

The Oatmeal Stout’s head has a very dark, brownish colour, as opposed to the Robust Porter’s off-white beige.

The dark head reminded me of a Royal Danish Stout, which I first sampled from a suspect bottle in tropical Malaysia. I severely disliked it and the mere thought of it filled me trepidation as I brought the glass to nose for my first olfactory encounter with Padas River Oatmeal Stout.

The Oatmeal Stout has an upfront, unsurprising yeastiness to it. Unsurprising considering the near disastrous yeast experiment I subjected it to.

But below the yeasty aromas is a distinct layer of roasted maltiness, dark chocolaty tones and a hint of coffee.

There’s also something else on the nose, which at first eluded me, but after some quiet time with the brew, I realised it’s fresh, very subtle, fruity esters from the witbier yeast that was used after the initial ale yeast were non-starters. A little out of place amongst the dark and roasted flavours, but intriguing nonetheless.

The oily texture feels like silk in the mouth and slips down the back of the throat not unlike as much melted chocolate.

The comparatively high percentages of dark malts and roasted barley in the grain-bill creates the impression of cold coffee, albeit less acidic than a cold espresso for instance.

A medium tartness on the tongue is punctuated by slight bitterness in the long-lasting finish, providing food for thought in between sips.

The original measurements of Padas River Oatmeal Stout would have put it around 5.8% ABV, but between the first failed yeast starter, yeast additions and perhaps a slightly incomplete fermentation, I would guess the ABV to be somewhere around 5%, if that.

A moreish creation, the delectably full-bodied Padas River Oatmeal Stout is well-timed for the exceptionally cold weather we’re experiencing (here in De Hollandsche Molen at least).

All said, it’s a tasty, good looking craft brew. But of course I would think that.