Millstream Brewing Company - Colony Oatmeal Stout Lager

First introduced as a seasonal brew in 1996, the demand for this beer was so high that it is now brewed year round. And we’re confident that after taking your first sip of this stout, you’ll know why it was taken off of the seasonal list. Note a thick, creamy-brown head with aromas of dark caramel malts and roasted barley up front in the nose. Millstream uses 2-row pale, caramel, black, chocolate, and roasted barley malts along with flaked oats and 10% oatmeal to brew this complex ale. To balance it out, they use Northern Brewer, Hallertau, and Tettnanger hops. Look for a rich dark malt flavor with hints of oatmeal in this flavor packed stout. Overall, we loved it! A well-balanced stout that would pair nicely with roasted chicken or veal parmegian.

The Millstream Brewing Company, located in Amana, IA, first opened its doors in 1985, and was the first brewery to operate in Amana since 1884! You could say…they were long overdue. The brewery came as a result of the strong desire of brothers James and Dennis Roemig, along with Carroll F. Zuber, to create a local brewery producing hand crafted brews reminiscent of the finest beers in Europe.

To help produce these European-style beers, they hired one of the country’s more widely recognized masterbrewers, Joseph Pickett to develop the recipes. Joe formulated the Millstream Lager, Schild Brau Amber, and Millstream Wheat brands and the three comprised the brewery’s primary line up until the year 2000, when it was sold to Chris Priebe, Aaron Taubman, and Teresa Sly Albert. And as you might suspect, with the new owners, came new beers. The threesome added a German Style Pilsner, Oatmeal Stout, and several other fantastic seasonals – Maifest (a bock), a Bavarian-style Hefeweissen, and an Oktoberfest. They’ve even added root beer and cream soda to their bag of tricks, but you’ll have to buy that one on your own as you’ll never see anything less than hand crafted, microbrewed nectar of the beer sort in this club!

For more information about the brewery and scheduled tours, call (319) 622-3672 or check out their web site at www.millstreambrewing.com.