HammerHeart Flanary's Brew Review

Name: HammerHeart Flanary's Brew

Style: Oatmeal Stout

ABV: 6.3%

Last year, a new brewery (amongst many others) called HammerHeart Brewing Company opened for business here in Minnesota. What makes it fairly unique is that the brewmaster of HammerHeart did an apprenticeship at Haandbyggeriet, a Norwegian based brewery. The brewery also uses strong influences of both Nordic and Celtic culture as evidenced by the beer names and brewhouse design. 

However they are best known for making styles with a bit of a twist as you will see in this review. Last week while I was attending The Duluth Experience North Shore Craft Beer Roundtable at the Zeitgeist here in Duluth, I arrived a bit early so I decided to head over to the bar for a pint. As my eyes scanned the tap menu, HammerHeart Flanary's Brew caught my eye. 

Flanary's Brew is classified as an Oatmeal Stout, but it was described as a Smoked Oatmeal Stout, something which I was very curious to try out. Having heard pretty good things about HammerHeart, I decided to have a pint for myself and see what it was like. With my notebook handy for the event, I was ready to go.

Flanary's Brew pours a pitch black color with a thin filmy brown head. There isn't any lacing to be seen here and there I'm not picking up on any visible carbonation here.

The nose is unike anything I've seen in an Oatmeal Stout before. I'm getting notes of chocolate malts, smokiness, oatmeal, roasted barley and bubblegum. The bubblegum sweetness isn't subtle or sitting in the back; It's staring you right in the face along with every other scent I'm picking up.

The flavor is also very reminiscent of the nose. Upfront are notes of oatmeal, bubblegum, smoked malts, chocolate and roasted barley. The aftertaste consists mainly of bubblegum sweetness and a distinct smokey characteristic. The overall palate is moderately weighted but mild carbonated so it's pretty easy to drink.

Flanary's Brew is unlike any oatmeal stout that I've had before, but I found this to be a very robust and enjoyable beer! After having this, I can totally see why beer lovers here in Minnesota have been going crazy over HammerHeart. Hopefully we will be seeing more of HammerHeart here in Duluth because based on what I've seen so far, they make some very good beer!

HammerHeart Flanary's Brew - 9/10

Lake Superior Sir Duluth Oatmeal Stout Review

Name: Lake Superior Sir Duluth Oatmeal Stout
Style: Oatmeal Stout
ABV: N/A

It's time to review another local beer courtesy of Lake Superior Brewing with their Sir Duluth Oatmeal Stout. The beer gets it's name from the French explorer who founded the city of Duluth: Sir Daniel Greysolon De Lhut.

I'm not feeling particularly well tonight, so this review is going to be rather brief and short instead of long and wordy. Since I've just taken some Nyquil, I feel it's best to get it over with now before I fall asleep with my index finger on the "J" key. And in case you were wondering: No, I did not just have this beer because with some of my reviews, I review them ahead of time, take notes and use them to compile my review.

Sir Duluth pours an opaque black color with a filmy khaki-colored head with some spotty lacing retention

The aroma starts off with some roasted malts notes, oatmeal, milk chocolate and some mild floral hop notes. It comes off as fairly sweet with just a slight roastiness.

The flavor initially starts out with a sweetness that consists of oatmeal, milk chocolate, and toffee before settling in down to a roasty aftertaste which has notes of roasted malts and coffee.

The palate has a pretty moderate weight and the carbonation also has the same consistency in terms of intensity. It would nice if it were a bit less bubbly but I'll let it slide because it helps bring out more of the flavor.

Sir Duluth is an all-around, good oatmeal stout. Say what you want about our Arctic-calibur temperatures, but Duluth makes some solid darker beers. If you want proof, look no further than this beer along with Fitger's Big Boat Oatmeal Stout and Bent Paddle Black Ale.


Lake Superior Sir Duluth Oatmeal Stout - 8.25/10

Brau Brothers Moo Joos Review

Name: Brau Brothers Moo Joos
Style: Milk/Sweet Stout
ABV: 5.8%

It's time to review another offering from Brau Brothers Brewing Company. I've reviewed a couple of their beers before and enjoyed them quite a bit. Since I am currently homebrewing a milk stout and finished transferring the beer to the carboy for secondary fermentation, I decided I would review their Moo Joos Oatmeal Milk Stout.

Moo Joos pours an opaque black color with a khaki-colored head. The lacing is fairly abundant and the carbonation is very faint which is probably thanks in part to the color of the beer.

The nose has a nice oatmeal scent mixed in with some lactose and sweet chocolate. The floral hops provide a nice foundation along with notes of roasted barley, malt and yeast.

The flavor is very oatmeal and chocolate forward with some malts and a hint of caramel and hops to help even things out.

The palate is on the heavier side and some rather mild carbonation. This gives the the beer a nice creamy texture which compliments the flavor nicely.

All in all, I really enjoyed having this.It's got a great flavor and a nice creamy palate to boot. I would happily recommend this to anyone looking for a good milk stout

Brau Brothers Moo Joos - 9/10

Fitger's Big Boat Oatmeal Stout Review

Name: Fitger's Big Boat Oatmeal Stout
Style: Sweet Stout
ABV: 6.6%

I ought to review something from Duluth for a change and what better place to start than Fitger's Brewhouse. The original brewery was established in 1857 and continued to operate for 115 years before shutting down in 1972. At it's peak, they made over 100,000 barrels of beer in a year, which even by today's craft brew standards is alot!

Then in 1995, the old brewery complex was bought by it's current owners and now houses a hotel, fitness center, bookstore, 2 nightclubs, and a few clothing stores; As well as a couple other places I may have missed. But Fitger's Brewhouse is probably the biggest draw out of all business at the complex because they are known around the country for making some quality beer. On top of that, it's very close to where I live!

For my first in-depth Fitger's Brewhouse review, I decided to review a beer that is on their tapline pretty much year-round and that is their Big Boat Oatmeal Stout.

Big Boat is pitch black with a thin brown head, with light carbonation and no lacing; Giving it a very clean finish.

Roasted barley & oatmeal permeate the nose upfront in addition to some chocolate malts and some mild hoppiness. The flavor is alot more sweeter than roasty with oatmeal, chocolate malts, caramel-toffee sweetness and some mild, but noticeable, hops.

The body is moderate in weight and somewhat thick but the carbonation is very mild which gives it a very nice creamy texture and easy drinkability.

Big Boat Oatmeal Stout is an easy drinking stout with enough vibrancy to make this a very enjoyable beer. If you're ever in Duluth and happen to come upon Fitger's, this is a great beer to get yourself started on.

Fitger's Big Boat Oatmeal Stout - 9/10