“Oatis is an unruly beast,” says Matt Beatty, a Ninkasi Brewing brewer, about their vanilla oatmeal stout. Beatty’s tasting notes can be found via video on the brewery’s YouTube page which features clips from “Tasting with Jamie,” suds-savoring excursions hosted by Ninkasi co-founder Jamie Floyd. Since the very beginning (2006 in this case), Ninkasi has been striving to be “a company that represented what beer meant to them—a source of community and the root of human existence.” Named for the Sumerian goddess of fermentation, Ninkasi is now in their Eugene, Ore. brewery which features a 55-barrel brewing system, with a capacity of 95,000 barrels per year and distribution within six states and British Columbia. Beatty’s beast, the Oatis Vanilla Stout, is a winter staple and also an excellent addition to your basic brownie recipe. With a boastful bouquet of vanilla, oats and cream, the roasty aromas of coffee beans and bourbon are bold and unabashed. Burly and full-bodied, the palate is also rich in vanilla, coffee and malts, finishing with a balancing note of bitterness for a normally brooding oatmeal stout.
