Category Archives: 4 – Good (buy)

Epic Son of a Baptist

Brewery: Epic Brewing Company
Country: USA
ABV: 8%
Style: American Imperial Stout
Other Notes: Novo Coffee – Epic Espresso Blend. Malts – Ultra-Premium Muntons Marris Otter, 2-Row Brewers Malt, Black Malt, Crystal Malt, Chocolate Malt, Roasted Barley, Cara-Aroma and Demerara Sugar. Hops – Nugget, Chinook and Cascade

Brewer Description: (from website) Son of a Baptist is an 8% ABV imperial stout. It is not barrel aged like its father, Big Bad Baptist; instead its flavor profile was designed to highlight the complex and often unique flavors of small batch coffees. Instead of sourcing a coffee that would play well in a beer we sought out creative and innovative roasters, then asked them which beans they’re passionate about. Each resulting release of Son of a Baptist is widely different depending on the coffee selected. Some are fruity and sweet with notes of jam and chocolate, others are rich and earthy with a big roasted finish. Each limited release will return to the Roaster’s home market where the beer and the coffee can be sampled side by side.

My rating: 4
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.13
My ratebeer.com rating: 4

Intro: A 12 fl oz can with no clear canned on or best before date. Novo Coffee – Epic espresso blend. Poured into a Lost Abbey teku glass.
Appearance: It was dark brown to black in colour with a just over one finger light brown head that had good retention and left lots of nice lacing.
Aroma: Roasted malt, coffee, dark chocolate with hints of brown sugar and a light char.
Taste: Roasted malt, coffee, milk, bittersweet chocolate and caramel. Sweetish to begin, while lightly bitter on the finish.
Mouthfeel: Creamy and velvety smooth, medium bodied with low carbonation.
Overall: Nice tasting and great to drink, but definitely preferred the barrel aging of its father, Big Bad Baptist.

Almanac Vanilla Cherry Dogpatch

Brewery: Almanac Beer Co.
Country: USA
ABV: 7.6%
Style: American Wild Ale
Other Notes: Farm to barrel. Barrel aged in oak

Brewer Description: (from bottle) Sour red ale aged in wine barrels with cherries and whole vanilla beans.

My rating: 4
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.46
My ratebeer.com rating: 4.4

Intro: A 375ml bottle, released in May 2017. Poured into a Holy Mountain tulip glass.
Appearance: A lightly hazy pinkish orange colour with a one finger white head that dissipated quickly and left sparse to no lacing.
Aroma: Sweet and tart cherry, vanilla, oak and red gummy candy.
Taste: Very similar to the aroma with sweet and tart cherry, vanilla, oak and a light citrus tang.
Mouthfeel: Medium bodied with moderate carbonation.
Overall: This was really nice and enjoyable. The vanilla and oak mixed really well with the cherries.

Thisted x Mikkeller Beer Geek Limfjords Porter

Brewery: Thisted Bryghus x Mikkeller ApS
Country: Denmark
ABV: 7.7%
Style: Baltic Porter

Brewer Description: (from ratebeer description) Beer Geek Limfjordsporter is a double stout with coffee and licorice. A collaboration between Mikkeller and Thisted Bryghus, based on the world’s best stout “Beer Geek Breakfast Stout” and “Limfjordsporter”.

My rating: 4
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.15
My ratebeer.com rating: 4.1

Intro: A 330ml bottle with a best before date of 17th May 2018. Poured into a Lost Abbey teku glass.
Appearance: Black in colour with a one finger dark tanned head that dissipated fairly quickly while leaving some sparse spotty lacing.
Aroma: Roasted malts and coffee with a light smokiness. There is also some chocolate and liquorice in the background.
Taste: Rich bittersweet chocolate, coffee powder, light burnt smokiness with hints of liquorice and prunes. Nice balance of sweet and bitter.
Mouthfeel: Medium bodied with moderate to low carbonation.
Overall: I think I was surprised about how good this was, in particular that rich bittersweet chocolate flavour. Very enjoyable.

To Øl Amass B&W “Black Is Beautiful” Oatmeal Stout

Brewery: To Øl
Country: Denmark
ABV: 6.8%
Style: Milk / Sweet Stout

Brewer Description: (from bottle) “Black Is Beautiful” Oatmeal Stout.

My rating: 4
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.06
My ratebeer.com rating: 3.9

Intro: A 330ml bottle with a best before date of 13th May 2019 (seems a bit long to me, but anyway). Poured into a Lost Abbey teku glass.
Appearance: Very dark brown in colour with a two finger brown head that had decent retention while leaving only sparse to no lacing.
Aroma: Roasty malts, chocolate and coffee with a hint of plum and prunes.
Taste: Dark fruit sweetness like plum at the beginning, followed by lots of roasty-ness and dark chocolate bitter sweetness. Finish is definitely more bitter than sweet.
Mouthfeel: Medium bodied with light to moderate carbonation.
Overall: This was enjoyable, especially the bittersweet chocolatey finish.

Bruery Terreux Sans Pagaie

Brewery: Bruery Terreux
Country: USA
ABV: 6.5%
Style: American Wild Ale
Other Notes: 2017 vintage. Our kriek-inspired sour is made with Montmorency and Balaton cherries

Brewer Description: (from bottle) Sour Blonde Ale aged in oak barrels with cherries. Tart – piquant – up a kriek.

My rating: 4
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.25
My ratebeer.com rating: 4.1

Intro: A 750ml bottle, 2017 vintage. Poured into a Holy Mountain tulip glass.
Appearance: A nice cloudy ruby red colour with a just over one finger white head that dissipated fairly quickly while leaving sparse to no lacing.
Aroma: Tart, cherry, oak and vanilla.
Taste: Like the aroma, sour, tart, cherry, oak and vanilla.
Mouthfeel: Medium to light bodied with moderate carbonation.
Overall: Nice, refreshing acidity with great aromas and taste.