24 Days of B.C. Beer: Four Year Oatmeal Stout by Strathcona Brewing (No.4)

Welcome to 24 Days of Beer, in which we guide you through what might be a very dark month. Aren’t you glad we’re here to tell you what to drain your sorrows with?

On the label, Strathcona Beer Company‘s celebration of its fourth year anniversary is everything you wouldn’t expect from an oatmeal stout. Bright, colourful, festive; reminiscent of an album that Jack Antonoff produced.

It’s exactly the opposite of what an oatmeal stout can is supposed to look like: dark, mysterious, lots of greys and whites—perfectly at home next to your vinyl collection of The National.

But inside the can, you’ll find a nicely crafted oatmeal stout that hits on all the right notes. It’s not too heavy, but it does have the right amount of depth, showing hints of chocolate malt and oats. It’s just an objectively awesome stout, that’s it, that’s all—no bells and whistles, no crazy ingredients or dessert toppings.

We also don’t know if the brains at Strathcona planned this to be a dig at celebrating the end of the Trump presidency, but it sure makes us like them more now that we’ve arbitrarily decided that’s the case.

Really, this beer is everything the orange monster isn’t: solid, reliable and completely fit to do its job.

Previous 24 Days of Beer:
Tmavý Pivo 13 by Slowhand Brewing (No.1)
Mint Chocolate Stout by Moody Ales (No.2)
All Season Nitro Dry Stout by Container Brewing (No.3)