Category Archives: 5 – Excellent (must buy)

5 - Excellent (must buy), American Imperial Stout, Beer Reviews, Perennial Artisan Ales, USA

Perennial Abraxas

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Brewery: Perennial Artisan Ales
Country: USA
ABV: 10%
Style: American Imperial Stout

Brewer Description: (from bottle) Ale brewed with ancho chili peppers, cacao nibs and cinnamon sticks.

My rating: 5
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.47
My ratebeer.com rating: 4.4

Intro: A 750ml bottle, bottled in 2017 (I think 27th November 2017). Poured into a snifter glass.
Appearance: Dark dark brown to black in colour with a minimal brown head that dissipated quickly and left only sparse to no lacing.
Aroma: Cinnamon, creamy chocolate, carrot cake, and hints of chili peppers.
Taste: Cinnamon dominates when cooler, but as it warms it gets better as the roastiness, rich chocolate and cocoa, tones down the harshness of too much cinnamon. Only hints of chili spice on the finish.
Mouthfeel: Creamy, smooth, full bodied with soft carbonation.
Overall: Cinnamon was too strong and harsh at cooler temperatures, but as it warmed, this was a wonderful balanced sipper.

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5 - Excellent (must buy), American Imperial Stout, Beer Reviews, Epic Brewing Company, USA

Epic Triple Barrel Big Bad Baptist

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Brewery: Epic Brewing Company
Country: USA
ABV: 11.4%
Style: American Imperial Stout
Other Notes: 2017 Rare Release. Imperial Stout aged in whiskey & rum barrels with cacao nibs, barrel-aged coffee beans, and barrel-aged coconut added. Malts – Muntons Maris Otter Malt, Briess 2-Row Brewers Malt, Crystal Muntons, Weyermann Light Munich Malt I, 2-Row Chocolate, Malt 2-Row Black Malt and Roasted Barley. Hops – Nugget, Chinook and Cascade. Spices – Barrel Aged Coffee, Barrel Aged Coconut, and Cacao Nibs

Brewer Description: (from bottle) Three’s not a crowd in this limited edition Triple Barrel Big Bad Baptist. We aged coconut and Blue Copper’s Colombian coffee beans in fresh whiskey barrels, while our Imperial Stout aged separately in both rum and whiskey barrels. The trio was then hand-blended, creating our most over-the-top version of Big Bad Baptist yet. Best enjoyed slowly, three sips at a time.

My rating: 5
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.57
My ratebeer.com rating: 4.5

Intro: A 22 fl. oz. bomber, release #6, bottled on 15th November 2017. Poured into a snifter glass.
Appearance: Black in colour with an almost one finger dark beige head that had decent retention and eventually settled to a thin layer and left some nice spotty lacing.
Aroma: Roasted malts, coffee, cacao nibs, chocolate, toasted coconut, vanilla, oak, with hints of whiskey and Malibu.
Taste: Toasted coconut, Malibu, rum, whiskey, light sweetness, chocolate, coffee, light bitterness, with hints of roasted malt and a touch of booze.
Mouthfeel: Creamy, medium to full bodied and soft carbonation.
Overall: Loved the aroma and great easy drinking flavours. Body was a little light, but other than that, everything was just so good, especially the coconut.

5 - Excellent (must buy), American Imperial Stout, Beer Reviews, Jackie O’s Pub & Brewery, USA

Jackie O’s Bourbon Barrel Oro Negro

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Brewery: Jackie O’s Pub & Brewery
Country: USA
ABV: 12%
Style: American Imperial Stout
Other Notes: Stout brewed with walnuts, conditioned on spices & aged in bourbon barrels

Brewer Description: (from bottle) Oro Negro spawned from our unwavering compulsion to experiment. Infusing imperial stouts with spices, fruits, and wood has been a staple at our bottle releases since 2009. Oro Negro is the culmination of note-taking and listening to our patrons. Our cherished Oil of Aphrodite was aged in bourbon barrels and infused with cacao nibs, vanilla beans, habaneros, and cinnamon sticks. A refined stout filled with rich character and a touch of heat.

My rating: 5
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.47
My ratebeer.com rating: 4.4

Intro: A 12.7 fl. oz. bottle, 2016 vintage, poured into a snifter glass.
Appearance: Dark dark brown to black in colour with a thin beige head that disappeared almost immediately while leaving some sparse spotty lacing.
Aroma: Mexican hot chocolate, light roast, chocolate, bourbon, vanilla, cinnamon, chili and wood, with maybe even some light nuttiness.
Taste: Bourbon, roasted malt, chocolate, cocoa, cinnamon, chili, raisin, coconut, vanilla, almond and oak, while a touch herbal.
Mouthfeel: Creamy, moderate to full bodied with soft carbonation.
Overall: Good balance between the barrel, booze and spices. It drinks smooth and is a great sipper. However, I do think that I prefer the unbarreled aged version just that little bit more. Still a must buy though.

5 - Excellent (must buy), American Imperial Stout, Beer Reviews, Jackie O’s Pub & Brewery, USA

Jackie O’s Oro Negro

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Brewery: Jackie O’s Pub & Brewery
Country: USA
ABV: 10%
Style: American Imperial Stout
Other Notes: Stout brewed with walnuts & conditioned on spices

Brewer Description: (from bottle) Oro Negro spawned from our unwavering compulsion to experiment. Infusing imperial stouts with spices, fruits, and wood has been a staple at our bottle releases since 2009. Oro Negro is the culmination of note-taking and listening to our patrons. Our cherished Oil of Aphrodite is infused with cacao nibs, vanilla beans, oak staves, habaneros, and cinnamon sticks. A refined stout filled with rich character and a touch of heat.

My rating: 5
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.53
My ratebeer.com rating: 4.4

Intro: A 12.7 fl. oz. bottle, 2017 vintage, poured into a snifter glass.
Appearance: Black in colour with a thin brown head that dissipated quickly while leaving some nice spotty lacing.
Aroma: Carrot cake, chocolate, cocoa, light roast, cinnamon, vanilla, toffee, and a nice light chili kick. It’s like liquid dessert.
Taste: Roasted malts, chocolate, cacao, cinnamon, carrot cake, raisins, vanilla, light nuttiness and a good moderately strong spicy chili kick on the finish.
Mouthfeel: Medium bodied with soft carbonation.
Overall: Body may be a little lighter than I’d prefer, but everything else seems to work really well. Aroma was especially perfect with great cake and dessert like smells. Taste was also nice as the sweetness was balanced by the chili spice. Everything just went well together.

5 - Excellent (must buy), Beer Reviews, Founders Brewing Company, Scottish Scotch Ale / Wee Heavy, USA

Founders Dirty Bastard

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Brewery: Founders Brewing Company
Country: USA
ABV: 8.5%
Style: Scottish Scotch Ale / Wee Heavy
Other Notes: 50 IBUs. Scotch Style Ale

Brewer Description: (from bottle) So good it’s almost wrong. Dark ruby in color and brewed with seven varieties of imported malts. Complex in finish, with hints of smoke and peat. Paired with a malty richness and a right hook of hop power to give it the bad attitude that a beer named Dirty Bastard has to live up to. Ain’t for the wee lads.

My rating: 5
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.51
My ratebeer.com rating: 4.4

Intro: A 12 fl. oz. bottle, bottled on 4th October 2018. Poured into a snifter glass.
Appearance: A clear amber copper orange colour with a one finger tanned head that dissipated fairly quickly but left some nice lacing.
Aroma: Fruity, sweet artificial cherry, cotton candy, plum, prunes, light roast, chocolate and caramel.
Taste: Roasted malts, lightly sweet, caramel, burnt sugar, smoke, light peat with a light lasting bitter finish.
Mouthfeel: Medium bodied with moderate to soft carbonation.
Overall: Wow, this was much better than expected and I enjoyed this even more than Backwoods Bastard, especially the aroma which impressed me.