Winter Warlock, Bristol Brewing Company, Colorado Springs

Style: Oatmeal Stout

ABV: 6 percent

Serving Type: 12-ounce bottle

Malty? Hoppy? Packed with malt

Reviewed: December 2013

Call us traditionalists, but we like to pair our oatmeal stouts with temperatures that have dipped well below freezing—which hasn’t been hard to come by these past few weeks. So it’s no surprise that we recently found ourselves grabbing a sixer of Bristol‘s Winter Warlock off the liquor store shelf. Bristol brews this self-described “winter elixir” with heaps of roasted barley and 100 pounds of flaked oatmeal. The result is a beer on the lighter side of oatmeal stouts, with a medium body. The brew starts with a creamy mouthfeel and rich chocolate flavor, which gives way to a bit more of a bitter aftertaste. Not a bad way to warm up, if you ask us.

Would we buy it again? When we’re looking for a wintertime oatmeal stout, this is a solid option.