In general terms and under most circumstances, I have zero interest in anything that Evil Twin does (this is the first beer I have ever reviewed from them). Silly, hyped, canned beer, in 'styles' that usually hold no interest for me, they are not a brewery that I have any affinity for. However, these are not normal circumstances. Here's a beer that is referencing Westbrook's Mexican Cake, and has that bottle and label displayed prominently on the label of this beer. I have no knowledge of the...
Notes on beers in the style
American Double / Imperial Stout
ETNYC Proudly Presents
The Abyss
Coconut
12 oz bottle. Packaged on 4/21/22. Confession up front. I love The Abyss, but I generally I dislike stouts that have been infused with unnecessary things such as coconut. Where that leaves us here I have no idea ... yet. Pour is exactly as I would expect. I deliberately go aggressive to yield the big mocha head on top of a jet black body. All light excluded. I get absolutely zero cocunut in the nose, this seems like a regular Abyss in terms of the smell. The first tastes are a bit like an...
Bourbon County Brand
Classic Cola Stout
2021. Drink by 09 AUG 26. I've always been almost 100% indifferent to every Bourbon County variant since the beginning. Having said that, if I see a bottle that I haven't tried, AND its a reasonable (often meaning markdown) price, then I'll give it a whirl. This was 'discounted' to $14.99. Pour is as expected with a jet black body and a forced head, meaning that it has a lovely mocha depth but only results after I give it a ridiculously aggressive pour. It also fades badly and leaves no lace....
Westbrook
12th Anniversary (2022)
I have a pretty complicated relationship with Westbrook. Having met Ed Westbrook via a mutual acquaintance in a garage in Charleston, SC just prior to him opening Westbrook Brewing Co. back in 2010 (ish), As such, I have a soft spot. I also love a couple of their beers (White Thai and Mexican Cake), but I also feel they have lost their way somewhat (pandering to bullshit recent trends, and for example, a really underwhelming experience with the 11th anniversary). Long story with more to add,...
Canadian Breakfast
Stout (CBS) 2019
2019 CBS - at least that’s how it’s advertised. I don’t think CBS was ever the 12.3% printed on the beer menu, so there’s an element of doubt here. Anyway, not that important TBH. Poured with a head that could be better. Yes this is a 11+% beer, but it could be presented properly. Even in the warm glass this is pouring way too cold. Agitation created the head that you see, and that glass has warmed a lot since served. Nose and tastes are unremarkable. Remember when CBS was sending people into...
The Abyss (Old World)
As far as I can ascertain this is just The Abyss in sherry barrels - or at least that's what's advertised. Should be right up my alley. Let's see. Capped and black waxed as usual, but the bottled on date is not decipherable. "2019 Reserve" adorns the label. Pour is as expected, resplendent. Jet black, impenetrable body, magnificent mocha head. Nothing better in the genre. Not much evidence of any sherry in the nose, it may be a little cold. Let's allow this to open up. As that happens the...
Parabola Autumn Edition 2021
Dark chestnut approaching black pour, with a great looking mocha head. Surprisingly rich looking head (and good lace and retention) for such a massive ABV. Also surprisingly, the beer gives up mostly chocolate on the nose. As it opens up with temperature, the bourbon notes come through a little more, but still … Tastes are heavily laden with tobacco bitterness, tannins, and leather as the initial impressions. As it warms, the complexity increases with all of those still hanging on, and then...
11th Anniversary
If the truth be known, I’ve been influenced by Westbrook’s Mexican Cake - a lot. I really love that beer, and as a result, a special release of something (probably) not dissimilar is likely to get my attention. 11th Anniversary did. Whenever I see a Westbrook Anniversary beer I am reminded of meeting Ed Westbrook in a suburban garage, with a few other Charleston, SC beer geeks just a little bit before he opened the brewery. I suppose that must be about 12 years ago now. On that day he brought...
Deth’s Tar
12 oz can, $7.48 as a single from Belmont Beverage, Lima Road, Fort Wayne, IN. I would NEVER have bought this beer before I moved to the Midwest. Now that I’m so much closer to Chicago, I read more and more about this beer, so I saw it as a single, held my nose, and pulled the trigger. Pour is black as expected. Tan head is decent with an aggressive pour. However, this dies to a thin film almost instantaneously. Fair enough, I’m not about to ding a 14.8% beer for that!. Smell is surprisingly...
Bourbon County Double Barrel Toasted Barrel
2021 Vintage. Approx. $55 for the bottle. Ouch. Jet black pour - of course - head can be created with an aggressive pour. It’s tan. Nose is pretty solvent like. The legs on the beer are great, and obviously a function of the ABV but they are wine like. To its credit this is extraordinarily smooth, it hides the alcohol very well, and does not burn. The bourbon is definitely smoothed out very well, and there is no aggression at all. In a year or so, I’d imagine it will even out a lot more, and...
Bourbon County 2019
So I looked to see how many notes that I had for BCS over the years and I see only these from 2006. Has it really been that long? Was this close to the first year of BCS? I suspect the answers are, "Well, yes", and "Almost". Full disclosure. I'm not a pant-wetting fan boy for hyped beer - never have been - and I'm not much of a fan of booze-aged/infused/barrel beers (with the exception of a good wine barrel) if I'm honest, so that odds are stacked against BCS from the outset with me. That...
Black Tuesday
Aged In Red Wine Barrels
12.7 fl oz bottle from Tavour. I believe it was $21.99. It’s not a very attractive pour. Now, you can say, “Well, what were you expecting?”, and there would be some validity to your criticize of my comment , but that doesn’t make my statement any less correct. No head (of course at this ABV), and there’s a turbid, reddish brown hue to the beer. Light doesn’t penetrate much, but the brownish-red nature is more obvious in better light. Nose is not a great deal more than a massive amount of sweet...
Chubby Bunny
Side Project #29. The pour offers a nice, two-finger head followed by a thin ring of foam on the outer extremities, a little lace, and a proverbial jet black body in the ATL Spring sun. Aroma is a dark chocolate one rather than a milk chocolate one, and when it comes to the tastes, the bitterness of that cocoa breaks over the tongue nicely. Less sweet than some milk stouts, it constantly feels like a bitter dark chocolate has been used. Advertised as a S'mores imperial milk stout, I get a more...
Black Tuesday
The Bruery
Updated notes Original notes 03/06/2013 The back story to me acquiring this beer is interesting. When it first came out, I was still very active on beeradvocate. At the time, I remember doing my usual, 'this is bullshit' type rant about limited release beer and the ridiculous hype associated with it. I then received a 'beermail' from another BA, offering to send me a bottle for nothing. I gladly accepted, and a week or so later, there it was. I of course reciprocated with a big box in return....
Oatmeal Stout 2012
Beer Camp #45
Before purchasing the Beer Camp 12 pack, I was pretty sure that the beer that I would like least would be this one. It turned out that it was the one that I enjoyed the most, and by quite some distance. It should be noted that is not a commentary on the weakness of the other beer in the pack, rather it's a credit to the strength of this beer. Pitch black pour with a small, half-inch mocha head that is perfectly formed. No lace to speak of and the retention is hardly good, but given the ABV...
Rauch Geek Breakfast / Beer Geek Bacon
Jet black pour with a really dark, coffee colored head. Nose and tastes deliver a large amount of smoke, but the beer lacks the meaty, solid quality of many smoked beers and in that respect feels a little light. Tobacco features with some leathery components, but the beer lacks a sweet edge that really needs to accompany the smoked malts. Slightly too bitter for me and this beer frankly lacks the charm and subtlety of many other smoked beers. Frankly i was disappointed. Not up to speed for...
New Holland Night Tripper
22 oz bottle from Brawley's, Charlotte, NC, USA. Light foil on the neck of the bottle. New Holland is one of the few brewers that get to NC but not to GA, so I generally pick up something from them every time I'm up in NC. Inky black pour with a modest head. Some nice, then mocha film sit atop the black body. Carbonation is reserved but entirely appropriate. Nose and tastes give a fairly significant sweet effect. Some alcohol and lots of dry chocolate in the finish. A little warmth but...
Imperial Stout
2011 vintage, as a gift from Mike at Duckworth's. Most generous, many thanks. 22 oz bottle with some really thick gold wax on top. Ding and the wax go to battle for a few minutes before I manage to prise the cap off. Wax seal like affair has 2011 embossed into the wax. Pour is the requisite black, inky body, but with a very well retained head and some nice, cappuccino, sticky mocha colored lace. The mouthfeel is pretty silky without being remotely cloying at all. Very smooth even considering...
Heavy Seas – Siren Noire Imperial Chocolate Stout
I believe that the latest batch of Siren Noire (late 2010/early2011) came out a few weeks ago, but this review is from a bottle that is just over 12 months old. 22 oz presentation in the usual, Heavy Seas Mutiny series bottle. I have been generally VERY disappointed with the Heavy Seas range of Mutiny beers over the last couple of years so i have had my expectations lowered considerably. Pour is a requisite dark brown, but fails to reach strong levels of black at any point in the glass. Quite...
Allagash Fluxus 2010
750 mL Corked & Caged bottle. Quite a pop on opening, and an inky black pour. The beer is seriously black with a very small head and little retention. What head there is has a tan color. The nose offers a light but intense roast. Tastes are very much the same, but a few pointers; + ZERO Belgian character + Well hidden alcohol + Some lactose notes + Licorice and burned character in the aftertaste There is an annoying and lingering aftertaste that feels a bit milky to me, and coupled wit the...
Heaven & Hell
12 oz bottle with red wax on the neck. Brewed 23/11/09 and bottled on 08/01/10 - already 9 months old. Bottle # 1159. $8.99 from Hop City, Atlanta, GA, USA. The beer pours as one would expect. Jet black body with a tan head that produces a little lace and some alcohol legs. The beers' overwhelming aspect is a deliberate and sapping dryness. It's not the alcohol that you remember (it's well hidden), nor is it the considerable bitterness (which is persistent) and it's not even the roasty, burned...
Terrapin Substance Abuse
Sampled at Leon's Decatur for the "Terrapin Takeover" on 8/12/10. I went to this event specifically for this and Big Sloppy Monster, neither of which I had tried before. Rumor had it that this was a '06 version but at the time there was no way to confirm. Beer poured into a 10 oz glass looks much as expected. Jet black, but with a tan head that was a little smaller and less well-retained than other versions of this beer. The combination of age and liquor element provides a beer that is...
Night Stalker
22 oz bottle purchased on a recent trip to NY. Pour is a very standard, jet black with a little ring of mocha lace that settles around the edges of beer, plus a thin film over most of the surface of the beer. Some decent alcohol legs on the side of the glass. Definitely menacing and viscous. Nose and tastes reflect one another with all of the usual dark, roasted malt and chocolate notes that one would associate with this kind of beer, but with the added hop element that one usually does NOT...
Bourbon County Brand Coffee Stout
Another example of how strangely one can get to taste these beers that are highly sought after without even trying. I got to get a decent taste of this at a recent BA gathering in Charleston, but given the size of the pour, and the number of other beers being consumed, I decided to pass on taking formal notes or writing a review. I did make some mental notes. Then, a few days later, I unexpectedly got another chance to try the beer in a better light and make these observations. Not much to...
Creme Brulee (Imperial Milk Stout)
Second time I have had this beer, this time on tap at Taco Mac, Douglasvile, GA, USA. Approx. 11 oz pour. Other review (with more notes) for reference, here; http://beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/3818/43687/?ba=Ding The beer does have a slightly disappointing look in terms of head (or lack of it), even taking the ABV into full consideration. The overwhelming experience here remains the toffee elements and the sweetness. On draft it seemed a little lighter than the bottle and the body was less...
Fifteen
12 oz single from Hop City, Atlanta, GA. Had this one on the fridge for a few weeks. Jet black body with a few brown colors at the extremities. The body sets itself up with a very thin, wispy mocha film. A few legs and a little lace drips down the glass. There really is very little smoke in the nose at all, and what little there might be is overwhelmed with booze anyway. The beer also lacks much smoke element in the taste, too. The first wave of taste is a large sweetness, but this quickly...
Tiny
750 mL corked & caged affair from Green's on Ponce, Atlanta, GA, USA. Pour is a jet black pour with a khaki colored, fine-bubbled head that forms with a pretty good definition. Nose and tastes definitely have some decent dark fruits, a touch of alcohol and plenty of Belgian yeast notes which are pleasing to me. It IS true that the beer treads a fine line between a traditional Belgian Dark and a Stout (with the stout winning more often than not), but there is sufficient Belgian character to...
30th Anniversary – Fritz And Ken’s Ale
$9.99 Arbor Place Beverage, Douglasville, GA, USA. Impressive pop from the unusually shaped bottle that is corked & caged. Some gunsmoke. Presentation is classy, including the label. Pour is definitely intense-black with a large head at first but it fades away. Not much lace and a thin film is left on the surface. A little disappointing in the head department, but given the ABV not all that surprising. Having said that, I've seen similar strength stouts with much better retention and lace. A...
Terrapin Oak Aged Wake-n-Bake Coffee Oatmeal Imperial Stout
I've had this three times in the last couple of weeks at the Taco Mac on the East West Connector, Austell, GA, USA. Pour is the standard , lose to black affair with virtually no head other than a thin film of mocha foam. Mouthfeel seems a little slick but comes with the standard coffee and light alcohol notes. The oak-aging seems very light with perhaps an increased vanilla presence and some edges taken off. I really didn't find this to be much different to the regular version but perhaps it's...
Jahva (Imperial Coffee Stout)
22 oz silk-screened bottle. Winter 2008 bottling. Pour is as expected with a deep, black body and some nice, frothy, mocha colored head. Not a great deal of lace but considering the ABV not an issue. Brown highlights. Nose is surprisingly muted and lacks much of any discernable coffee notes. Tastes are essentially very bitter, and not really in a good way. One might expect this to reflect some bitter coffee-grinds but that's not the bitterness I am really getting. It's a much more cigar,...
Chocolate Oak Aged Yeti
22 oz bomber. Having read a few reviews and considered the beer myself, I got a touch nervous about the combination of chocolate and oak. Frankly, these elements have the potential to be fighting one another in the tastes and this could be a difficult marriage. Poured into the 22 oz, Terrapin snifter in several, small pours, the beer forms the expected look. Black body with a few dark brown highlights at the edges. Nice head initially, but this fades to a spotty, fine film on the surface of...
Mokah
22 oz bottle from Charleston Beer Exchange, Charleston, SC, USA. $8.99. A blend (or at least some mixture) of the Jahva and the Choklat. Black , stout like body with a nice mocha head, decent retention and some lace. Ruby red highlights at the extremities. Nose reveals an alcoholic chocolate and not much else. The tastes lie heavily on the chocolate side of things with the coffee lending a certain bitterness but not much flavor. The coffee manifests itself in a licorice manner against the...
Espresso Oak Aged Yeti Imperial Stout
Had this a couple of weeks ago on draft at The Brick Store, Decatur, GA, USA but this review is a follow-up with a 650 mL bottle. This one is partially poured into the 22 oz Terrapin snifter, the perfect glass for this type of brew. Jet black pour that is not necessarily as viscous as I was expecting. Actually quite carbonated too. The head is a typical mocha, coffee one with some good retention and lace. Nose and tastes are pretty typical with burned malts, molasses and astringent coffee. Not...
Black (黑)
Pretty interesting experience this one. Had a couple of bottles of it, one shared at The Brick Store with a few of the guys and one consumed on my own (BIG mistake). $14.95 from Bowling Green, KY, USA. (Plastic) corked and caged for the 375 mL? bottle. Pour is jet black and viscous. The head is non-descript, but it does leave some espresso colored lace. Nose is as expected with a fairly large dose of the requisite molasses, charred notes, malts and alcohol. The taste is where things get...
Stone 12th Anniversary Bitter Chocolate Oatmeal Stout
22 oz bomber as part of a trade. I've been hanging on to this one for a while - time to give it a whirl. Pour is get black with no light penetrating it. Little lace, but a tan film and collar soon appears. Not quite as viscous as the initial color and pour would suggest. Nose and tastes are pretty much as you would imagine. There are very few surprises here. Dark, bitter chocolate, decent warming alcohol and some hardcore hop and malt combos. Alcohol comes through more and more as it warms....
Cruising With Ruben & The Jets
22 oz bomber from Green's on Buford, Atlanta, GA, USA. VERY strange. I did not do any research on this before I opened it so I didn't not know what Lagunitas had put together for the latest Zappa release. The pour was essentially dark brown with some murkiness and not much head or lace. I get some thin film of froth on the surface. This beer is incredibly sweet (even for me and my sweet tooth). EXTREMELY malty. It was difficult to get a handle on the style (without checking it out first) and I...
BrewDog Paradox Speyside (Batch 011) – 1987 Macallan Sherry Cask
11.2 oz bottle, batch 011 best before 12/12/09 apparently hand written on the label. Nice touch. $10.99 from Arbor Place Beverage, Douglasville, GA, USA. Having had at least one beer from BrewDog that I thought was very poor, I was very reluctant to start shelling out this kind of money on a beer that being aged in liquor casks, is simply not my favorite thing. Of course, curiosity eventually got the better of me and I went for the beer in the series that I thought I would enjoy the most; the...
Creme Brulee (Imperial Milk Stout)
Well, it's certainly an extraordinary beer and I like it - quite a lot! 22 oz bomber shared with a few of the usual suspects down at The Brick Store, Decatur, GA, USA. I like to share when I can, and this seemed like the PERFECT beer (22 oz of pure sweetness) to be distributing amongst several people. Pour is a simple dark brown pour with almost no head or lace. Essentially, across the board all I get is a delicious toffee taste. Lovely rich, caramel notes. The beer is very sweet, but this...
Redhook Double Black Stout (with Coffee)
Mmm....very interesting stuff here, for more than one reason. This turned up in GA a few weeks ago and the bottle I am drinking right now is the second time I've tried it. The first time I had it I was pretty unimpressed, but this time it's much better. 22oz bomber from Green's on Ponce, Atlanta, GA, USA. Good black color and a decent head. Lace is pretty good. Body is a touch on the thin side but does not seriously detract from the brew. Nice bitter coffee notes permeate the air but the taste...
Thirteen
I bought three bottles of this when it first hit the GA shelves a few months ago, just getting around to opening one this evening. 22 oz bottle, $6.99 across the board in Atlanta, GA, USA. The Weyerbacher anniversary series has a mixed reputation. Often described as being too big for their own good, they have been reported as muddled, difficult to drink and generally poorly balanced so I'm approaching this with a little trepidation and relatively no expectations. At close to 14.0% ABV, there...
The Abyss
=== 2009 Vintage 06/10 - NO SCORES WERE CHANGED AS A RESULT OF THIS REVIEW/THESE NOTES. SCORES BASED ON ORIGINAL REVIEW === Opened as a result of the BA thread suggesting possible infections in the 2009 bottles and sent the following summary to Gary at Deschutes. No gusher, so I had high hopes. The nose was slightly off, but nothing that stopped me from pouring the beer and drinking some. There WAS definitely an increased level of acidity and a slightly lacto note, BUT I would not have called...
Oat (Imperial Oatmeal Stout)
From notes: Thanks go out to Robert for providing these samples at a recent Brick Store tasting. 220z bottle. I've got to say right off the bat, that a beer at nearly 13% ABV kind of puts me off right from the beginning. Coupled with such a potentially enormous style, you are treading a very precarious line betweeen disaster and success. Sometime this can be pulled off, but it is a high risk, low reward strategy IMO. Anyway on to the beer. Jet black pour as far as I could see, with a slight...
Jurassian Imperial Stout (Cuvée Alex Le Rouge)
Oh dear. Relatively new addition to the Atlanta market, luckily for me I didn't buy one, rather Dave popped a research bottle at The Brick Store this past Friday afternoon. Small bottle (11.2oz perhaps), Grolsch flip top presentation with an ABV given to THREE decimal places - that's the Swiss for you! Label is red and white with gives the impression of some Communist, Eastern Bloc origin! Pour is black with little or no head - fair enough, considering the ABV that matches. Very slight, thin...
Pisgah Valdez
Thanks to Rustydiamond, via mikesgroove, for the chance to have a crack at this one. 64oz growler. Attractive design on the glass. Pour shows a great, jet black pour (as expected), but a rather too fizzy a head. Carbonation seems high for the style. Head dies quickly with almost no lace. Aroma IS exceptional - pure coffee, no more, no less. Tastes do not reflect the huge aroma. I guess I was expecting a big gulp of coffee, but instead I got a rather reserved, porter, mildly roasted flavor. The...
Choklat
22 oz bottle. Many, many thanks to mikesgroove for this gift well ahead of Southern Tier making it to GA. Opening the bottle (even before pouring) reveals a very strong chocolate aroma. It has a cocoa, drinking chocolate, dryish element to it. Small head, with some lace but not much. Color is a deep, deep dark brown, but with plenty of red highlights as the light catches the beer. Average mouthfeel with a bitter and slightly acidic finish. A coffee like ending. Interesting and plenty of...
Beer Geek Breakfast
$11.99 Brawley's, Charlotte, NC, USA. 22oz bomber long before this came to GA. Inky, black pour with a generous, thick mocha head. Some lace. Bready (brown bread) nose with a little coffee, but not as much as I was anticipating. Mouthfeel and alcohol are quite reserved for the style, neither really coming on strong in body of the beer, but a little more alcohol in the finish. Coffee bitterness comes into its own as the mouthful goes down. Nice beer that I enjoyed but somewhat over-hyped I...
Founders KBS (Kentucky Breakfast Stout)
12 oz bottle, thanks to Hoppymeal for the trade. Poured into the Val-Dieu chalice the beer is dark brown with a very small mocha head and very little lace. This looks like a cold coffee and that's very appropriate. Alcohol laced, ice-cold coffee is a simple description. A more complex one would be one that adds vanilla and a touch of bourbon. Aroma is obviously very coffee-like but there is also considerable alcohol. The alcohol is NOT as prominent in the taste. Very smooth in the mouth and...
AleSmith Speedway Stout
750 mL, elegant, screen-printed bottle with dense silver foil on the neck. Capped. Thanks go out to someone(!) as part of a great trade - apologies but I forget who, this was a long time ago. Vintage? I'm not sure. I went for the UK pint glass - I like my stouts as pints - the full 20 oz mind you, too! No girly tulip for me. (Different bottle pictured) Another MASSIVE beer with a MASSIVE hype - we'll see. Jet black, viscous pour, but to be honest the head and lace is disappointing. Creamy...
Sweetwater Happy Ending Imperial Stout
Following up on last years on-tap offering, the newly bottled version at $8.99 a sixer from Green's, Ponce, Atlanta, GA, USA. (2014 vintage, in 12oz bottles pictured). Excellent black color and plenty of (if somewhat thinnish lacing), but this is where the really good quality ends. Weird, herbal notes in the aroma, somewhat floral and soapy. Hops way TOO prominent for the style. This is an odd beer to me, at least in terms of the style. A thin body, very high hop bitterness for the style, edgy...
Péché Mortel (Imperial Stout Au Cafe)
I'd been sitting on this for a while. 660 mL bottle purchased at Brawleys, Charlotte, NC, USA back in January of 2006. Michael was kind enough to get this from "the unadvertised stash" that he often has. Bottled in August of 2005. In a unusually pleasing scenario, the notch system for dating the bottle had been replaced by what appeared to be a Sharpie type mark - certainly very clear, I suppose it has the potential to be "false"? It cost $16 + change. Having drunk some Oskar Blues RIS (the...
Terrapin Coffee Oatmeal Imperial Stout
On tap at Twain's. 2007 version. $4.50 for 20 oz. As ever, this looks great. Black as night body with a large mocha head. Lacing is superb. As others have commented this years version seems more bitter than last year, but I didn't think there was any more coffeee notes, just more bite. The nose is bigger, but the body seems a wee bit lighter than 2006. Still has remarkable drinkability for such a large brew.
Cappuccino Stout
22oz bomber, Green's, Atlanta, GA, USA. Thinnish looking pour, but nice lacing. A little spotty head left. Body is a ruddy, red brown. Not much coffee in either the aroma or the taste, but there is some coffee-like residual bitterness in the finish. Body is pretty thin, but this doesn't detract from the experience too much. Definitely over-carbonated for the style, but again this doesn't seeem to matter too much. A stout? Well, I guess so, but the lack of body leaves me with a little doubt....
Jefferson’s Reserve Bourbon Barrel Stout
Thanks go out to BEERchitect for the chance to try this one. 12 oz bottle. Dark brown body with no lacing and virtually no head. Don't really get this on a number of fronts. If this is 11% I'm a Dutchman. It drinks nowhere near that. Secondly this is amazingly light to drink - even to the point of having no body. Dry tastes with a VERY mild bourbon taste somewhere in the deep, deep background. I can't beleive that a beer that has the words, "Reserve", "Bourbon", "Stout", "Double" and "11%" in...
Big Bear Black Stout
22 oz bomber, part of a recent trade (sorry, for now I forget who). Good black color with some dark brown highlights at the extreme edges. Nice looking pour with a very good creamy head that lasts well, with some latte coffee type lacing. There's a real creamy sweetness about this beer, and a distinct lack of bitterness. VERY mild, sweet and "lactose like" considering the style. In fact the more I drink it, the more lactose notes that creep in. Slightly lighter body than one would expect for a...
Mephistopheles’ Stout
Bottled January 2006, Batch 1. My oh my! In the wake of Samael's & The Beast, I was thinking that Avery had just about covered the bases on MASSIVE beers, but this went to a new level. Poured from the 12 oz bottle into the Gouden Carolus mini-chalice it essentially had a body that is equivalent to motor oil, with a milk chocolate bubbly head that is quickly gone. Very little lace. Aroma has strong but not overpowering alcohol, but it is intensely sweet. I mean SWEET, and that's coming from...
Bourbon County Brand Stout
I knew this was going to be huge, and I was not disappointed. Inky black pour with a small tinge of cognac brown in a ring at the top of the pour after the dark tan head has disappeared. The smell and the taste are quite exceptional. Layer after layer of bourbon, alcohol, vanilla, cream, chocolate and sugar. Amazingly complex and complete. Despite all of this, the beer is still exceptionally drinkable - by that I mean it is massive, but everything blends together perfectly to make you want to...
Sweetwater Happy Ending Imperial Stout
Updated Review 01/08 === $4.50 16oz Taco Mac, East West Connector, Austell, GA, USA - AGAIN! MUCH, MUCH more mild than a couple of years ago in terms of bitterness. In fact, almost relegated to a Porter! Still has that mild green tinge on the head. MUCH less bitter than a couple of years ago, BUT really lacks the punch of an American RIS. RIS lite. Original Review 02/06 === $4.50 16oz Taco Mac, East West Connector, Austell, GA, USA. Jet black pour with a tan/mocha head and a faint green tinge...
Terrapin Coffee Oatmeal Imperial Stout
=== Updated Review 11/10 === Bottle label has "Seasonal : 2010" in vertical text on the right hand side. Same ABV, same Jittery Joe's, same everything! Pour is just as inky black as usual, but the nose and tastes remain VERY "black coffee" rich. One of the bigger nose and tastes that give a strong sense of coffee grinds - no doubt. You've got to be in the mood for a coffee stout, but if you ARE, and you REALLY want coffee grinds, then this is for you. I wonder what this would be like with a...
Bell’s Batch 7000
OK, another American double stout. The pour is exactly as one would expect and looks good. Opaque, jet black body and a small tan and dense head. Some lacing but not extensive. Aroma is good, with lots of deep alcoholic chocolate. The first few seconds of the taste reflect the deep chocolate sweetness, but then comes the bitterness and it's BIG! The bitter finish overwhelms things a little bit for me, and as a result I cannot imagine ever drinking much more than 12 oz of this in any one...
World Wide Stout
=== Updated Review 01/08 === 2005 Vintage Got a chance to revisit this at The Brick Store - thanks to Simon for the sample. Rumor has it that this vintage topped out at around 24%! Great legs in the glass, silky smooth and chocked FULL of flavor. About one-third of a 12oz bottle is enough for me. Remains very wine/port like with immense presence. === Updated Review (not dated) === 2004 Vintage As part of a trade a few months ago, apologies I forget who was kind enough to get this to me. Still...
Bell’s Java Stout
Well, I love coffee and I love beer, so I thought this would probably work out OK, but not so. Another example of a beer that is simply taken to an extreme which overwhelms any possible subtlety or finess. Don't get me wrong, I love a big beer, but this isn't really big, it's just cold, sweet, incredibly strong alcoholic black coffee. The coffee taste totally takes over any hop bitterness to such an extent that the sweetness that I assume is coming from the malt backbone, just tastes like...
Founders Breakfast Stout
This is an absolutely exceptional beer. Utterly opaque, jet black with the smallest of dark, burnt golden heads, it looks dangerous in the glass! Aromas are amazingly chocolately with a very pronounced alcohol presence. Doubtless you will have come across lots of other stouts that you thought were "chocolately" or "coffee-like", but I challenge you to find anything that is close to this on either front. Astonishing! Without doubt it is THE most authentic chocolate and coffee tasting beer that...
Stoudt’s Fat Dog (Imperial Oatmeal Stout)
Updated November 2007 === Six pack purchased for $4.99 (yes, $4.99!) at Whitlock Package in Marietta, GA, USA. Bottled 03/14/07. Nose has more chocolate and alcohol than I remember. Still packs an alcohol punch, but in balance. Original review January 2005, Max's Fells Point, Baltimore, MD === A magnificent meal in a bottle! Delicious, big, thick head with a really chewy overall feeling. Amazing bready experience all the way through. There’s no doubt here that you are getting a serious beer....