Drink Your Effing Oatmeal

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[A note about the post title: Oatmeal is big at our house. We all eat it, especially on frigid mornings like yesterday. My love of oatmeal is so great that it borders on the unhealthy. So imagine our shock when the missus and I watched The Firm eleven years ago and saw Wilford "Eat Your Oatmeal" Brimley as the f-bomb-dropping bad guy trying to kill Tom Cruise. While Brimley chasing Cruise around was one of the sillier parts of a completely ridiculous movie, I tried to made it even sillier by coming up with a snappy Hasta La Vista-type line for Wilford if he did catch and finish off Cruise. And thus, "Eat Your Effing Oatmeal" became a lifelong catchphrase between the missus and me.]

It’s been a while since I talked beer. Truth is, between fighting off colds and me and the missus being too busy with the holidays to have many real dinners, I haven’t been drinking a whole lot of my beer. Not that I haven’t been drinking, I just haven't been drinking my beer. I’ve been drinking Coors Light over neighbor’s houses at Christmas get-togethers, or $2 Buds at a bar during the Eagle's Monday Night Football games or paying seven bucks for a 7 & 7 at my work’s holiday party (Seven Bucks!?!).

So that explains why Wolavers Organic Oatmeal Stout had survived so long on the “Drinking…” section of my sidebar. Last night I finally had the last of my Wolavers six-pack and I wanted to comment on it before I forgot.

I have to admit that the “organic” on the label was what caught my eye when I was searching for something different at Oaklyn Discount Liquors. I had never tried an Oatmeal Stout, so that was attractive too. It was a bit of a risky buy since I had never heard of the brewery and it cost a few more bucks than most of the craftbrews. My seven-year-old (who often advises me on my beer purchases) decided it for me when he said, “hey, you like oatmeal, right?”

Well, I’m glad I took the risk. Wolavers, out of Vermont, has made a smooth and tasty stout. I’m no expert, but it was a very flavorful beer. Along with a strong coffee/chocolate taste were other flavors I didn’t recognize. I can only assume some of that unique taste came from the oatmeal. Very good stuff.

Right now in my fridge, in addition to my usual Yuengling Traditional Lager, I have a half-case each of Guinness Extra Stout and Flying Fish ESB Ale. While these cost about twice as much as my Yuengling, the missus really couldn’t complain. She bartered with my brother: a case of beer for his old MP3 player (he was moving up to a iPod). I called him from BJ’s and finished the negotiations. According to my brother a case of Yuengling didn’t cost enough to make a fair trade, but he didn’t want a full case of either the Guinness or Flying Fish. So I offered to buy a case of each and split them with him. He was happy, the missus was happy, and I was happy. I consider the high-priced beer my commission for closing the deal.

The Guinness is the Extra Stout, not the “brilliant” Guinness Draft. The Extra Stout is dark as night, smooth as silk, and oh-so-good. I’m usually a Pale Ale/Lager kind of guy, but now – with Guinness and Wolavers – I’ve had two great stouts in a row. The ESB of the ESB ale stands for Extra Special Bitter, pretty much a 180 from the stouts, and another style I rarely buy. But Flying Fish seldom disappoints so I’m anxious to dip into that.