Anderson Valley Barney Flat Oatmeal Stout 5.7% Abv

Anderson Valley Barney Flat Oatmeal Stout 5.7% Abv

It's been a good week for trying new beers. Thanks to the snow we managed to sneak out for a few beers on Monday afternoon. We popped into The Harlequin on Nursery Street and after we'd sampled what they had to offer on cask we moved onto the fancier stuff. I'm a big fan of American Craft beers and this is yet again a new one on me. Having tried the delicious Thornbridge Oatmeal Stout 11% abv at The Cross Scythes on Derbyshire Lane we thought we'd try a drop of this Anderson Valley Barney Flat Oatmeal Stout to compare it to. It's a pricey drink at £6 a bottle and 5.7% abv but not something you see everyday and in my opinion money well spent. Easy drinking and extremely tasty made even better by the fancy tasting glasses they served us it in. The bar staff were great and seemed to know their beer. I'll definitely be looking forward to trying more Anderson Valley beers in the future.

Danny's Rating - 8/10

Mike's Rating - 8/10

*Edit* Mike's Comments Below:
Not really sure how to rate bottles vs cask vs keg, but I'll enjoy trying. Also I like to ponder on the whole 'experience', rating the beer, pub and service, and The Harlequin always ranks highly , in my opinion, for this trio.

Beer of the night / snowy afternoon off I reckoned was Great Heck's Powermaus, a tasty low ABV effort from one of my face Brewers but the Oaty Stout from across the pond was an Emperor's feast. Loved having the oversized wine glasses to really be able to savour the full-bodied aroma (nice touch bar staff!)that preceded the tremendous taste that seemed the perfect foil to the January freeze that we were heartily enduring.
Beer - 8, pub 9, service 8.5