Nightwatcher Oatmeal Stout

Cooking up a mess of homefries for a Sunday brunch for me and the Bitter Wife, I found myself with a serious craving for a dark ale. Fortunately, I had a 473mL can of Nightwatcher Oatmeal Stout chilled and ready to go. A relatively light brew at just 4.4% and 25 IBUs, under its fluffy eggshell head, Nightwatcher was uncommonly light-hued for a stout, with a clear, rusty caramel colour. The beer came from the Lake of Bays Brewing Co. in Baysville, Ontario.

Nightwatcher had an aroma that was both grainy and slightly metallic. The flavour had fewer rough edges, with a thin, but nicely balanced, combo of grains and mocha. The mouthfeel was compellingly smooth, but with just enough of a hop flare at the back end to keep it honest.

For all of the good, this beer did have one major drawback—it was way too thin for a stout, especially for an oatmeal stout. I really wanted it to have a bit more body. Still, a pretty nice effort from one of Ontario’s less talked about breweries. Nightwatcher is a beer I’ll certainly buy again from time to time.

Rating: 6.5 out of 10.