Oatmeal isn’t just for your breakfast table or the base for cookies. It can also be found in your favorite pint of beer. And no, we’re not talking about pouring milled oats into an IPA and then attempting to choke down the gooey, sticky mess you’ve just created. We’re talking about the classic oatmeal stout.
Like many beers, the oatmeal stout was first popularized in England in the 1700s. This beer style is made by using a high percentage of oats in the brewing process along with barley. While you don’t taste “oats” as you do in a cookie or bowl of oatmeal, their addition imparts an almost velvet-like mellowness to the stout due, to their relatively high fat and protein content. While the style’s popularity waned in the early 1900s, it’s made a comeback in recent decades with countless examples available today.
To find some of the best, we asked a handful of notable brewers and beer experts to tell us their favorite oatmeal stouts to drink this fall, winter, and all year long. Keep scrolling to see all of their picks.
O’Fallon Dad’s Oatmeal Cookie Stout
Stephen Hale, founding brewer at Schlafly Beer in St. Louis
ABV: 5.9%
Average Price: $11 for a six-pack
Why This Beer?
O’Fallon Brewery Dad’s Oatmeal Cookie Stout because of dad’s oatmeal cookies. It literally tastes like what would happen if you dipped an oatmeal cookie in a stout. It’s rich, sweet, and delicious.
Founders Breakfast Stout
Manny Salvatori, lead brewer at The Bronx Brewery in Bronx, New York
ABV: 8.3%
Average Price: $11 for a four-pack
Why This Beer?
One oatmeal stout I would drink forever is Founder’s Breakfast Stout. Notes of coffee and chocolate make this one great. My favorite part of that beer is that its sweetness and bitterness are so well balanced and that you don’t realize how strong it is until you finish the whole bottle.
Hoppin’ Frog B.O.R.I.S. The Crusher
Brad Bergman, director of brewing at Sycamore Brewing in Charlotte, North Carolina
ABV: 9.4%
Average Price: $16 for a four-pack
Why This Beer?
While technically a Russian oatmeal imperial stout, I think this still fits the category. This beer is big, rich, super malty, creamy, soft, but is balanced by a firm bitterness and comes across as fairly dry, which helps it achieve great drinkability for such a big beer. I respect how they achieved complex flavor and drinkability all in one package.
Brew Gentlemen Mexican Coffee
Clayton Homa, expert beer guide for City Brew Tours in Pittsburgh
ABV: 6.5%
Average Price: Limited Availability
Why This Beer?
The one oatmeal stout I’d drink forever is Mexican Coffee from Brew Gentlemen. It’s the perfect balance of roast, spice, and creamy mouthfeel. It’s especially satisfying when the weather cools down, but it’s something I’ll drink in any weather.
Anderson Valley Barney Flats Oatmeal Stout
Shaun O’Sullivan, co-founder and brewmaster at 21st Amendment Brewery in San Francisco
ABV: 5.8%
Average Price: $13 for a six-pack
Why This Beer?
Anderson Valley Barney Flats Oatmeal Stout defines the style with its rich, full-bodied, smooth texture and hardy chocolate, coffee, and toffee flavors. It’s complex but accessible. It doesn’t overwhelm but will impress.
Counter Weight Voided Oatmeal Stout
Jack Hendler, co-owner and brewer of Jack’s Abby Craft Lagers in Framingham, Massachusetts
ABV: 7%
Average Price: $12 for a six-pack
Why This Beer?
Voided Oatmeal Stout by Counter Weight Brewing Company is a classic example of an oatmeal stout and it’s executed really well. This beer is on the stronger side, making it perfect for winter. It’s full-bodied, sweet, roasty, chocolaty, and hits all the right notes, which makes it my all-time favorite.
Iron Springs Sless’ Oatmeal Stout
Matthew Barry, director of operations at Fieldwork Brewing Company in Berkeley, California
ABV: 7.5%
Average Price: $8 for a 22-ounce bottle
Why This Beer?
This beer has won gold medals in both the Great American Beer Fest and the World Beer Cup. It’s rich and chewy with chocolate and hazelnut flavors. Unfortunately, Iron Springs is closing its doors permanently and I won’t be able to drink this oatmeal stout forever.
Thanks, Iron Springs for all the great beers over the years.
Samuel Smith’s Oatmeal Stout
Mark Youngquist, founder of Dolores River Brewery in Dolores, Colorado
ABV: 5%
Average Price: $12 for a four-pack
Why This Beer?
Samuel Smith’s Oatmeal Stout is my pick. Resurrected in 1980 after being put out to pasture after World War II, it’s fermented in vast open fermenters built entirely of slate. It’s almost a session beer by today’s oatmeal stout standards, weighing in at 5 percent ABV. The body is not watery but welcoming and toasty with the oats smoothing over the rich roast and burnt characters of the chocolate and black malts.
Alongside a very clean and earthy hop finish, you’ll swear you can taste the creamy chalk of the slate.
Firestone Walker Velvet Merlin Oatmeal Stout
Patrick Ware, co-founder and head of brewing ops at Arizona Wilderness Brewing Co. in Phoenix, Arizona
ABV: 5.5%
Average Price: $15 for a six-pack
Why This Beer?
Velvet Merlin from Firestone Walker is my pick. This beer is so smooth and generally available commercially. It has creaminess upfront with deeply textured coffee and chocolate malt layers while still finishing dry. It’s a super-balanced stout.
Writer’s Pick:
Night Shift Bennington
ABV: 7.3%
Average Price: $15 for a four-pack
Why This Beer?
This oatmeal stout was brewed with maple syrup and cocoa. The result is smooth, creamy beer with notes of dark chocolate, caramel malts, and maple candy. It’s warming, rich, and well-suited for drinking on a back porch on a chilly fall day or at an autumnal tailgate.
It’s a very complex, well-balanced beer.