Beer of the Weekend #288: Slow Elk Oatmeal Stout

The deadline for my December LV recommendation is next Tuesday and I need to start sampling 2011 editions of holiday beers. I bought one holiday beer last Thursday so I will try to review that one tonight. In the meantime, I will have a liquid lunch to finish off the last non-holiday beer from that haul: Slow Elk Oatmeal Stout, brewed by the Big Sky Brewing Company of Missoula, Montana.


Serving type: One 12-ounce bottle. Printed on the bottle neck is “011212,” which I hope is the “best by” date.

Appearance: Straight pour into a pint glass. The color is black, but it is not opaque; a lot of light passed through when I held it to a lamp. Three fingers of thick, tanned head dissipated slowly to leave a billowy lacing and, eventually, just a ring around the edge.

Smell: It smells enticing but is little weak. Oats and cocoa are complimented with a nice, roasted malt presence of (mostly) coffee. There are also hints of black licorice.

Taste: Flavor wise, it exhibits the same enticing feature from the smell, but is also a bit on the weak side. However, this is, I guess, oatmeal stout; there should not be an overwhelming bitterness. Each sip offers rice roasted coffee characters that are kept in check by the oats. There is a little cocoa and that hint of black licorice. Overall, though, it lacks the oomph, character, and body of bolder oatmeal stouts.

Drinkability: It is a good effort, and I think it is on the path toward high quality, but I expected more since it is a limited release.

Fun facts about Slow Elk:

-Style: Big Sky obviously considers it oatmeal stout, as does BA.

-Price: $1.79/bottle at John’s Grocery in Iowa City.

-Serving temperature: 50-55ºF.

-Alcohol content: 5.4 percent ABV.

-Food pairings: BA recommends earthy cheeses (Camembert, Fontina), chocolate, shellfish, and smoked meat.

-IBU: 20

-Here is some nerdiness from Big Sky webpage profiling “limited release” beers:

Happens every year; people shoot’ cows. That’s how the slow elk got it’s name. Enjoy the creamy texture, great malt complexity and the unequaled smoothness of this northern Rockies Oatmeal Stout. Stock your fridge the easy way and keep an ear open for the unmistakable bugle of the slow elk…mooo!

Wait — what? People shooting cows? Since the label depicts a cow with moose or elk antlers tied to its head, I can only assume there are certain people who dress cows up as other, more prized, game animals and then shoot them.

-Slow Elk is only available in September and October.


The Quiet Man’s grade: B-.

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