Imperial Stout

Chocolate heavy Westbrook 7th Anniversary on the way

Westbrook 7th Anniversary, celebrating the brewery’s 7th birthday, is coming soon. 

Celebrating birthdays is how famed Westbrook Mexican Cake got its start. It was originally brewed to celebrate a milestone, and fan demand caused to be an annual release. (Now with barrel-aged variants.)

It Continue Reading →

Posted in Oskar Blues Brewing, Seasonal Return

Oskar Blues Java Ten Fidy returns again for one day only

Barrel-Aged Ten Fidy is hitting shelves nationally again this month. An even rarer edition of the imperial stout will also return – Oskar Blues Java Ten Fidy.

By now you should be familiar with Oskar Blues Ten Fidy, one of the most well-known imperial stouts in the business. The barrel-aged edition has proven to be an instant hit, and not easy to find. This month a Java Ten Fidy will return to both of the brewery’s taprooms for one day only.

Ten Fidy has been aged in a blend of bourbon barrels for nearly a year before a finishing flourish of Hotbox Roasters coffee being added. That’s the same coffee found in the brewery’s Hotbox Porter, and Hotbox IPA.

There is a downside, however. Unlike the national availability of BA Fidy, Java Ten Fidy will only be available at Oskar Blues in Brevard on November 11th, 2017. Numbered wristbands will be handed out starting at 9:30 am, with sales commencing at 10 am.

No distribution.

Style: Imperial Stout (w/ Coffee. Barrel-Aged. Bourbon.)
Availability: 19.2oz Cans. Tap Room Release.
Debut: 11/4/16
Latest Return: 11/11/17

?? ABV

by Reid Ramsay
Posted in Mother's Brewing Company

Mother’s Brewing Brandy Barrel MILF

Mother’s Brewing Brandy Barrel MILF

by Reid Ramsay
Posted in Evil Twin Brewing, Headlines, New Releases, Westbrook Brewing Co

Evil Twin Maple Bourbon Barrel Aged Imperial Mexican Biscotti Cake Break debuts

Evil Twin Maple Bourbon Barrel Aged Imperial Mexican Biscotti Cake Break debuts as October comes to a close.

What started with two highly sought after beers: Evil Twin Biscotti Break and Westbrook Brewing’s Mexican Cake Imperial Stout. Since Evil Twin was gypsy brewing until Westbrook’s roof, the brewery’s opted to combine the two beers into one beast of a beer – Imperial Mexican Biscotti Cake Break. The result was dark, bold and complex.

Now some barrel-aged variants will be available to fans – Double Barrel Aged Imperial Mexican Biscotti Cake Break, aged in Marsala wine and bourbon barrels, and Evil Twin Maple Bourbon Barrel Aged Imperial Mexican Biscotti Cake Break.

The latter uses the base mash-up, an imperial stout brewed with coffee, cinnamon, almonds, cocoa nibs, vanilla and habanero peppers, aged in maple bourbon barrels. A mouthful? Yes. Sound delicious? Of course.

Evil Twin Maple Bourbon Barrel Aged Imperial Mexican Biscotti Cake Break will be available in 22-ounce wax top bottles for the first time in the last week of October.

Style: Imperial Stout (Coffee, Cinnamon, Almonds, Cocoa Nibs, Habanero Peppers. Barrel Aged. Maple Syrup Barrel Aged.)
Availability: 22oz Bottles
Debut: Late October 2017

10.5% ABV

by Reid Ramsay
Posted in SweetWater Brewing, Don't Miss This, New Releases

SweetWater has bottled their coffee bourbon barrel-aged stout as ‘Sinners Son’

Coffee and bourbon barrel-aging meet in SweetWater Sinners Son, a release that truly needs to be on your radar.

The road to this release began with SweetWater Bourbon Barrel-Aged Imperial Stout. After years of working on the barrel-aged stout, it was finally released in 2015.

RELATED: SweetWater Cherry Pit & The Pendulum debuts soon

Earlier this year, SweetWater opened a new extension to the brewery designed just for wild ales and barrel-aged beers dubbed The Woodlands. Ever so casually, the brewery introduced a coffee infused edition of the bourbon imperial stout on draft in the expansion. The result? Absolutely incredible.

The blend of vanilla oak, freshly roasted coffee, and a touch of bitter chocolate makes SweetWater Sinners Son one of the best barrel-aged coffee stouts we’ve ever tried. It was finally bottled under its new name.

Sinner’s Son is ripe with age, driven to the cellar for months to mature in bourbon barrels. Just prior to bottling, a fresh blend of coffee and espresso beans from the JavaVino farm was introduced to harmonize with roasted malts and bring balance to its complex barrel aged soul. This imperial stout is decadent at 12.4% ABV with rich chocolate and vanilla notes, a velvety mouthfeel, and hints of oak.

SweetWater Sinners Son was blended in late-September and bottled this week.

Style: Imperial Stout (w/ Coffee. Barrel Aged. Bourbon. Lactose.)
Hops: Columbus
Malt: 2 Row, Chocolate, Roasted Barley, Flaked Oats, Crystal, Victory

Availability: 500ml Bottles, Draft.
Debut: Halloween Weekend 2017

12.4% ABV

by Reid Ramsay
Posted in Westbrook Brewing Co, Coming Soon, Headlines

Chocolate heavy Westbrook 7th Anniversary on the way

Westbrook 7th Anniversary, celebrating the brewery’s 7th birthday, is coming soon. 

Celebrating birthdays is how famed Westbrook Mexican Cake got its start. It was originally brewed to celebrate a milestone, and fan demand caused to be an annual release. (Now with barrel-aged variants.)

It would seem Mount Pleasant, South Carolina based brewery loves dessert beer when it comes to anniversary releases. Westbrook 7th Anniversary is first an foremost an imperial stout that is all about chocolate. Think of it like liquid cake.

For our 7th anniversary beer, we went big on the chocolate and added a little sea salt to make it interesting. Luscious notes o liquid cocoa and a smooth salinity make this beer deliciously decadent.

Westbrook 7th Anniversary will be available in 22-ounce bottles. Each of the anniversary releases have debuted around January in the past.

Style: Imperial Stout (w/ Chocolate. Sea Salt.)
Availability: 22oz Bottles, DRaft.
Debut: TBA

10% ABV

by Reid Ramsay
Posted in Seasonal Return, Headlines

Surly Darkness 2017 is still everything death metal & damn delicious

Surly Darkness 2017 releases on October 21st. Here’s your sneak peek.

2006 saw the first batch of Surly Darkness. As the story goes, one-morning brewery founder Omar Ansari showed up on a weekend to get some work done to find folks standing outside. They wanted Darkness. A line for beer was weird back in 2006.

Now, 11 years later, Surly Darkness Day has become one of the “must attend” events in craft beer. Thirsty people travel from all over the country to see the darkest of metal bands and sip Russian imperial stout as the leaves change. It’s like a damn greeting card, but with strong beer and double bass kicks.

Tomorrow, this big bottle of metal is unleashed again.

As we sit barstool-deep in the Craft Beer Gold Rush, a line for an in-demand beer outside your local brewery’s door is not uncommon.  In 2006, it was fucking weird. And great.

Surly Darkness is anything but a simple Russian imperial stout. The 22-ounce bottles sport some of the darkest, most sinister labels in the industry that change every year. Seriously, if Rob Zombie had an art event at The Louvre, we think it would look like 11 years of these beer labels.

Darkness has set a high bar for the style in just over a decade. This year’s release is right on point with the flavors that have garnered such a loyal following. Each sip is wash of dark chocolate and a touch of coffee, with hints of raisins and dark fruit, finishing with a smooth boozy heat. Put the pumpkins down, this is the flavor of an upper mid-west fall. Drinking a Darkness is a basically a required merit badge for the craft beer drinker.

Surly Darkness 2017 is a limited 22-ounce bottle release at the brewery in Minnesota. The line starts at 11 AM.

Style: Russian Imperial Stout
Hops: Warrior, Simcoe, Amarillo
Malts: 2-row, Golden Promise, Aromatic, Chocolate, Black, 50/60, Special B, Roasted Barley, Oats, Brewers Crystals, DMEAvailability: 22oz Bottles, Draft.

Availability: 22oz Bottles, Draft. Limited Release.
Latest Return: 10/21/17

12% ABV 2017

PIC: Beer Street Journal

by Reid Ramsay
Posted in Stone Brewing Co., Abnormal Beer Co., Headlines, New Releases

Inspired by ice cream: Stone Neopolitan Dynamite debuts. Here’s who’s getting it

Ice cream inspired beer? Stone Neopolitan Dynamite, a collaboration with Abnormal Beer Co. and American Homebrew Association Rally winners Paul Bischeri and Patrick Martinez, has debuted.

RELATED: Stone to team up with punk band NOFX

2017 marks the 10th year AHA members have submitted their beers for judging which includes team members at Stone Brewing. Past winners include Ken Schmidt twice (Mint Chocolate Imperial Stout) and (Kona Coffee, Macadamia, Coconut Porter), and Jason Fields and Kevin Sheppard (Chocolate Cherry Stout). The winner brewer or brewers gets to brew the beer on a production scale, usually with a guest production brewery.

This year’s release Stone Neopolitan Dynamite is inspired by Neopolitan ice cream. The base beer is an imperial stout, brewed with strawberries, vanilla, chocolate and coffee.

You hold in your hands the most recent winner. Finding inspiration in that humble box of striped ice cream from out childhoods, Neapolitan Dynamite is an intense Imperial Stout brewed with vanilla, strawberries, an chocolate, revved up with a shot of coffee to fuel the ultimate dance contest on your palate, gosh!

Stone mentions this Rex Kwon Do of imperial stouts has it all. Nunchuck skills, computer hacking skills, AND bow hunting skills. Plus it pairs well with a liger. That’s half man, half tiger.

Stone Neopolitan Dynamite will be available in 22-ounce bottles, and draft as a limited release. Is it headed to your market? Check the distribution below.

Style: Imperial Stout (w/ Chocolate, Vanilla, Strawberries. Coffee)
Availability: 22oz Bottles, Draft.
Debut: September 2017
Distribution: AK, AZ, CA, CO, CT, IA, IL, IN, KS, MA, MD, MI, MO, NE, NH, NV, NY, OH, OR, PA RI, TX, VA, VT, WA, WI and Puerto Rico

8.5% ABV

by Reid Ramsay