Imperial Stout

Posted in Terrapin Beer Company, Don't Miss This, New Releases

Negan approved. Terrapin Lucille, a second Walking Dead collaboration is cracking heads

Athens, Georgia based Terrapin Beer Company made waves a while back with their zombie themed Walking Dead Bood Orange IPA. In February, it returned once again in cans for the first time. The brewery now has two zombie apocalypse inspired beers on shelves. The newest?  Terrapin Lucille.

If you follow the show, Terrapin Lucille is named for the evil fella wreaking havok on our beloved Rick Grimes and crew – Negan and his weapon of choice, Lucille. The barbed wire should be a dead give away. If you haven’t been watching, the show gets pretty brutal. (And bloody.)

This beer drinks like dessert, but doesn’t drink like the 9.4% alcohol by volume beer it actually is. Perhaps this “Lucille” will do a little damage to your head as well. The imperial stout is brewed with both molasses and vanilla, and aged on hickory, maple, and white ash. All the wood that makes baseball bats.

Molasses dominates this beer, but isn’t overpowering, heavy or syrupy. Expect hints of brown sugar, dark chocolate oak and a touch of smoke.

Terrapin Lucille is available now in 500 milliliter bottles for a limited time.

Style: Imperial Stout (w/ Blackstrap Molasses, Vanilla Beans. Oak Aged.)
Availability: 500ml Bottles
Debut: March, 2017

9.4% ABV

PIC: Beer Street Journal

by Reid Ramsay
Posted in The Bruery, Headlines

The Bruery Share This OC releases this month. Think chocolate oranges

The Bruery Share This OC ships this month, marking the third release in the brewery’s charitable series.

The series of imperial stouts are all about sharing the love. Both with friends and with those in need. This edition of the imperial stout is inspired by southern California’s history with oranges. California citrus once was called the “second gold rush.” Orange County was once home to millions of orange trees, and still grow quite well there, if you can afford the land.

RELATED: The Bruery Share This: Mole

Taking the roasty, chocolatey base that is Share This, the brewers added cocoa nibs from San Francisco’s TCHO Chocolates, orange zest, and vanilla beans. The result is what we figure will be something a bit like a chocolate orange you get in your stocking at Christmas. Except this one gets you drunk, not hyper.

Drawing upon the southern Cali inspiration, a portion of the proceeds will benefit Food Forward. The group works to eradicate food waste and act as a bridge to get fresh healthy produce to over 1.25 million of the region’s most at risk.

“It’s hard to not have an affinity for oranges when you grow up in Orange County. Oranges and chocolate are a natural pair, each flavor enhancing the other. We’re excited to bring this flavor combination to Share This, and to support Food Forward, a local charity that benefits our community by providing delicious, fresh fruit to those who might not have access to it otherwise.” – Patrick Rue, The Bruery Founder & CEO

Thus far, the Share This Series has raised nearly $100,000 dollars for selected charities.

The Bruery Share This OC will be available starting in March, in 750 milliliter bottles.

Style: Imperial Stout (w/ Chocolate, Vanilla Beans, Orange Zest)
Availabilty: 750ml Bottles
Debut: March, 2017

?? ABV

PIC: The Bruery

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

Drink this every 3,000 miles. Hi-Wire 10W-40 Imperial Stout

Expect this one to pour like motor oil. Meet Hi-Wire 10W-40 Imperial Stout.

This decadent imperial stout is brewed with fresh vanilla beans, dark chocolate from Asheville local French Broad Chocolates, and Organic Dynamite Roasting Company coffee beans. The sum of the parts means one big decadent way to drink your dessert.

The beer truly delivers on flavor. Coffee, chocolate and vanilla in a big stout is heaven to us, but what we can’t get over is the branding. Sure it would be easy to find some creature from Greek mythology, or an obscure Shakespearian phrase, combine with some comic book art, and launch the beer. Absolutely nothing wrong with that. In this case, when we say this beer pours like motor oil, we have a can that follows suit. This release is just the start of something new for Hi-Wire Brewing.

…coffee accentuates the cocoa and adds slight roast to balance out the vanilla in this dessert beer.

Hi-Wire 10W-40 Imperial Stout became available in 16 ounce cans starting January 6th.

Style: Imperial Stout (w/ Cocoa Nibs, Vanilla Beans, Coffee)
Availability: 16oz Cans, Draft.
Debut: 1/6/16

8% ABV

by Reid Ramsay
Posted in The Bruery, Coming Soon, Don't Miss This

The Bruery Chocolate Rain will soon be available to the general public for the first time

The Bruery Chocolate Rain will be available for public purchase for the first time in March.

One of the holy mothers of dessert beer in America started with a single cask at the first Black Tuesday release in 2009. Demand was instant, and The Bruery Chocolate Rain was finally bottled in 2011. The only downside to this beer? Only available to The Bruery Reserve Society members.

This March, it will Chocolate Rain for all. The base imperial stout features TCHO cacao nibs, and fresh vanilla beans. To top it all off, it’s huge. 19.6% alcohol by volume huge.

Rich in chocolate, vanilla, oak and bourbon, it truly puts the “imperial” in imperial stout.

On March, 24th, here’s how you get it.

  1. Ship in California. Buying online from TheBrueryStore.com, and shipping throughout Cali. The first 500 orders get special TCHO Chocolate.
  2. Tasting Room purchase. First come, First Serve on March 24th.
  3. Society Members and Preservation Society members have their own climate controlled storage for all releases throughout the year.

Again, 2017 marks the first time The Bruery Chocolate Rain will be available for public purchase, outside of society memberships.

Style: Imperial Stout (w/ Chocolate, Vanilla Beans. Barrel Aged. Bourbon.)
Availability: 750ml Bottles. Limited.
Latest Return: 3/24/17

19.6% ABV

by Reid Ramsay
Posted in Creature Comforts, New Releases

Creature Comforts Condor Chocolate Stout releases in Taproom Series

Creature Comforts Condor Chocolate Stout debuts today in the Athens, Georgia based brewery’s Taproom Series.

Recently, the brewery started releasing small batch taproom only releases, available on select brewery tours. The latest (and currently still available at the time of this article) is a pilsner dubbed Green Ghost.

Creature Comforts Condor Chocolate Stout is a collaboration with local chocolatier Condor, whose nibs have been found KoKo Buni Milk Stout and upcoming Terrapin Chubby Bunny.

Those seeking Condor Chocolate Stout will have their first opportunity on February 28th, as a to-go option on tours.

Style: Imperial Stout (w/ Cocoa Nibs)
Availability: 12oz Cans. Brewery Only.
Debut: 2/28/17

8% ABV

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

A 14% vanilla bean sucker punch. Orpheus Abandon All Hope

Orpheus Abandon All Hope, a barrel-aged imperial stout with vanilla beans, debuts on February 22nd.

This release is actually the fourth iteration of this stout. The road to the final release has been paved with various blends of the Atlanta brewery’s imperial stout stock, with other beers like The Ferryman, or YE Who Enter Here.

The most popular blend, and imperial stout aged in bourbon barrels with vanilla beans, has been chosen for Abandon All Hope. The beer has been aging in a blend of bourbon barrels for 12 months, with twice the amount of vanilla as previous blends.

This beer is huge. Honestly huge is an understatement. The imperial stout is downright chewy, smells of charred oak, vanilla and molasses, drinks like dessert, and laces so well it looks like the glass will never come clean.

Abandon All Hope is an overwhelming bourbon barrel-aged imperial stout. Rich notes of chocolate and oak on a pillowy blanket of vanilla come from a year spent in Woodford Reserve Double Oaked, Heaven Hill 10 year, and Jack Daniels Single Barrel Select barrels and aging on fresh vanilla beans.

Orpheus Abandon All Hope is available in 22 ounce bottles and draft. Extremely limited.

Style: Imperial Stout (w/ Vanilla Beans, Dark Candi Syrup. Barrel Aged. Bourbon.)
Hops: Apollo
Malts: 2 Row, Munich, Chocolate, Beechwood Smoked Malt, Special B, Roasted Barley, Black Patent, Honey Malt

Availability: 22oz Bottles, Draft. Limited Release
Debut: 2/22/17

13.9% ABV

 

by Reid Ramsay
Posted in Martin House Brewing Company, Don't Miss This, New Releases

The borders of hell meet in Martin House Acheron

Martin House Acheron, the Fort Worth, Texas based brewery’s barrel-aged imperial stout, is now available in cans.

Does this beer look and sound a little death metal to you? Acheron in Ancient Greek means “River of Woe”, one of the rivers of Hades in Homer’s The Odyssey. In Dante’s Inferno, the Acheron river forms the border of Hell. Like we said… metal.

Martin House Acheron dark, burly, and boozy. The 12% alcohol by volume imperial stout is unblended, aged six months in whiskey barrels. The brewery finished it with a touch of brown sugar, balancing the bitterness and increasing the ABV.

…this 12% abv stout will satiate your sinuous desires for something bold, burly, boozy, and barbarous.

Martin House Acheron is available in 12 ounce cans, in 2-packs. Think of it as two extra ounces when compared to the traditional 22 ounce bomber.

Style: Imperial Stout (Brown Sugar. Barrel Aged. Whiskey.)
Hops: Columbus
Availability: 12oz Cans
Debut: Mid-February, 2017

12% ABV

PIC: Martin House Brewing

by Reid Ramsay