We're Baaaack!

BACK TO TELL YOU WHAT ALES US

Back a few years ago, when we first started writing this blog, the BOTB Guys tried to meet once a month and taste and review seven (or so) beers that fit some predetermined style - IPA, Stout, Porter, Brown Ale, Blonde, Bitter, Oktoberfest, etc. In the early days we were not all fluent in all styles - in part because the beer scene in the U.S. was still dominated by the mega-brews such as Budweiser, which meant cheaply produced lager and light lager.

But soon we began to learn which ones we were drawn to and which ones we weren't crazy about, such as Sours and overly fruity beers. We also avoided the mega-brews like Bud and Bud Light and pretty much any beer with "Light" or "Lite" as part of its name. It made little sense to spend time drinking seven beers we all disliked. As a result we began coming up with "beer themes."  The theme might be a particular seasonal or a beer with a funny name. It sort of allowed us the freedom to choose a beer that would be enjoyable. Because, seriously, otherwise what would be the point?
Not that every beer we try gets our stamp of approval.

* Just as a reminder: we judge the beers on pour, color, aroma, mouth-feel and taste. We then give it an Overall rating based on a sliding scale from "Leave It On The Shelf" to "I Could Drink That!" to "Can't Get Enough!"  *

In the intervening years, craft beer has exploded - much to our delight. Styles have morphed into sub-styles. IPAs, our personal fave, have split into West Coast, East Coast, No Coast, Grapefruit, Belgian, English, Black, White, Red, Double, Triple, Imperial, and Session. Stouts and Porters and Browns and Ambers and Blondes all have their plethora of sub-genres from traditional to out-there crazy taste combos. The American Craft Beer scene has become a fun wild-west show of styles and flavors. 

However, with 7 Beer Guys and 7 wives, finding a monthly date for a meeting has become more and more difficult due to various family commitments and travel. Particularly travel. We've had a few meetings since the last blog, but often haven't reviewed the beers, just enjoyed them. Meanwhile we've also enjoyed beers from outside the U.S. on various treks beyond our borders.

Below are some highlights from a recent Viking River Cruise from Budapest to Amsterdam:

A couple of beers in one of Budapest's Ruin Bars

Budapest craft beer

The original Lowen Brau on the right, brewed in Passau, Germany - way better
beer than the Lowenbrau that was once brewed here - a case of buying the
name and making another meh lager at a premium price.

Kolsch beer from Cologne.

A Dunkel served on the ship.

Found this little beauty in Germany. A brewery called Steam Brau

In Bamberg, Germany, the home of Rauchbier. Good stuff.

Okay, it wasn't all beer, but this is a beer blog and we sailed through the heart of bier country.

We did also saw sights like these as well: 

An actual windMILL. Strangely, no toxic fumes and no dead birds.

This entire family lived in one of those windmills, by the way.

Amsterdam - loosely translated I think it means "city of bikes and houseboats."

Just because.

Alright, so much for the travel brochure. Suffice it to say, regarding beer there is a world of difference between a German lager and the mega-brew lagers that dominated the States for years. 

This month, we decided that revisiting Stouts as a style would be a fun diversion from our usual hoppy brews. We thought it would be good to start with the original Stout - Guinness - and then sort of compare and contrast some Stouts we have not previously reviewed. 

We did have a few"palate cleansers" so to speak. It was important to get our minimum daily requirement of hops. Though we didn't review them, we merely enjoyed. So a quick shout-out to:

 Hopshire Farms Haze in the Hollow New England IPA. It's a terrific hop bomb loaded with Citra, Mosaic, Centennial and Galaxy hops. 

Zero Gravity 40 Theives Double IPA - A big (8%) Juicy Double IPA brewed with Cita, Nelson and Azacca hops. Both of these I'm sure will get a closer examination at a future date.

Woodland Farms 15 Miles Pale Ale - A real tasty old school Pale Ale.

GUINNESS STOUT - (original)

GUINNESS BREWING

THE BEER FACTS: BREWER: Originally - St. James Gate Brewery (Grudlann Gheata Naomh Seamuis) - Guinness Brewing, St. James Gate, Dublin, Ireland, stateside - Halethorpe, MD; STYLE: Stout; ABV: 4.2%

WHAT THE BREWER SAYS: "Rich and creamy. Distinctively black. Velvety in its finish. This iconic beer is defined by harmony. Sip after sip, sweet counters bitter as the malt arrives on cue to compliment a base of roasted barley. Just as the unmistakable white head sits flush atop the dark beer, so do the flavors counter and combine perfectly."

COLOR: Obsidian

POUR: Well, Guinness Class, of course

AROMA: Malty, bit of chocolate

BODY: Medium

TASTE: Sweet, malty with strong hints of coffee and chocolate

OVERALL IMPRESSIONS: I Could Drink This!

COMMENTS: "Forgot how good it is; Take it for granted until you have one every now and again; I remember when it was about the only non-fizzy yellow beer you could buy - if you could find it here; A good beer to start on when comparing stouts; It always tastes the same, you can count on it."

GUNNER'S DAUGHTER

MAST LANDING BREWING

THE BEER FACTS: BREWER: Mast Landing, Westbrook, ME; STYLE: Milk Stout; ABV: 5.5%

WHAT THE BREWER SAYS: "Our beautifully aromatic and balanced milk stout with delicious notes of peanut butter, coffee and dark chocolate."

COLOR: Black - perhaps even a bit darker than Guinness

POUR: Close to Guinness Class

AROMA: Dark chocolate

BODY: Medium

TASTE: Chocolate - milk chocolate, quite sweet with a bit of a nutty undertaste - though peanut butter didn't seem that dominant. Mostly sweet milk chocolate.

OVERALL IMPRESSIONS: I could drink this. 

COMMENTS: "Sweet - maybe a little bitter taste would work for me here; Candy bar in a can; A touch sweeter than I like; Nice after-taste; Little bit of malt, I don't really taste the peanut butter, which is fine by me; Throw a little vanilla ice cream in there and you'd have an interesting float."

SPONGE CANDY STOUT

RESURGENCE BREWING CO.

THE BEER FACTS: BREWER: Resurgence Brewing Co., Buffalo, NY; STYLE: American Stout; ABV: 5.5%

COLOR: Black

POUR: Near Guinness Class though somewhat less, nice lacing

AROMA: Mild sweet aroma, a little bit of cocoa in there

BODY: Medium

TASTE: Burnt sugar, candy, toffee, a little roastiness, sweet, but not overly so

OVERALL IMPRESSIONS: I Could Drink This! 

COMMENTS: "Somewhat of a watery mouth-feel; A bit more carbonated than the others so far; Sweet and candy taste - not surprising; Not a cloying sweetness, which is surprising based on the name; Grows on you; If you're looking for a unique New York stout - this does it!"

AUTOCRAT COFFEE STOUT

NARRAGANSETT BREWING

THE BEER FACTS: BREWER: Narragansett Brewing, Pawtucket, RI; STYLE: Coffee Stout; ABV: 5.5%

WHAT THE BREWER SAYS: "Autocrat Coffee Milk Stout is officially BACK and one swallow will tell you; this is a seasonal beer you do not want to miss! This beer is a unique collaboration between two iconic Rhode Island companies. A custom blend of Narragansett's bittersweet milk Stout with dark, delicious Autocrat Coffee makes for a delightful beer that is more Rhode Island than Roger Williams himself."

COLOR: Black

POUR: Between Decent and Guinness Class - dissipates quickly with light tan lacing

AROMA: Light roasted malt, some coffee in there but it doesn't jump out at the nose

BODY: "Fluid feel on the tongue as opposed to creamy; A little bitter early; A good morning beer!; 'Autocrat - good to the last drip!' A good mowing beer; A swallow will tell you; Fairly light bodied, with some nice malt in there with the coffee."

TASTE: Dark, bold cold coffee, chocolate

OVERALL IMPRESSION: Between "I Could Drink This!" and "Can't Get Enough!"

COMMENTS: "Fluid feel on the tongue as opposed to creamy; A little bitter early; A good mowing drink; 'Autocrat - good to the last drip'; A swallow will tell you."

BARNEY FLATS OATMEAL STOUT

ANDERSON VALLEY BREWING

THE BEER FACTS: BREWER: Anderson Valley Brewing Company, Boonville, CA; STYLE: Oatmeal Stout; ABV: 5.7%; IBU: 14; MALT: Pale two-Row, Crystal, Roasted Barley, Munich, Chocolate, Oats; HOPS: Columbus, Northern Brewer

WHAT THE BREWER SAYS: "The deep ebony color, voluptuous mahogany head and bold, roasty flavors in our Barney Flats Oatmeal Stout are what serious beer drinkers expect from this style. Aromas of freshly baked bread, espresso, and dried cherries meld seamlessly with rich toffee flavors and a creamy mouth feel to create an unparalleled drinking experience."

COLOR: Black

POUR: A bit beyond Decent

AROMA: Subtle caramel, malt, a little chocolate

BODY: A bit beyond Medium

TASTE: Sweet toffee, little bit of bitterness, some dark chocolate in there, nice balance of flavors

OVERALL IMPRESSIONS: I Could Drink This!

COMMENTS: "Taste sticks on the roof of the mouth; Subtle coffee, chocolate and sweet; That's good!: A bubble off plumb compared to the others tonight."

NITRO MILK STOUT

LEFT HAND BREWING

THE BEER FACTS: BREWER: Left Hand Brewing, Longmont, Colorado; STYLE: Milk Stout Nitro; ABV: 6%

WHAT THE BREWER SAYS: "Super smooth with soft roastiness and mocha flavors."

COLOR: Black

POUR: Decent effervescent head

AROMA: Not a strong aroma, a bit of chocolate

BODY: Medium

TASTE: Sweet chocolate, coffee, roasted malt

OVERALL IMPRESSIONS: Between "I could drink this!" and "Can't Get Enough!"

COMMENTS: "Creamy mouth feel, but not thick; Fullest mouth feel so far; Really good milk stout; Smooth, easy to drink; Effervescent pour; Nice smooth creaminess; Real nice beer." 

SYMPHONY OF STARS OATMEAL STOUT

FOUR QUARTERS BREWING

THE BEER FACTS: BREWER: Four Quarters Brewing, Winooski, VT; STYLE: Oatmeal Stout; ABV: 6%

WHAT THE BREWER SAYS: "Flavors of instant coffee, rye bread, dark chocolate, round oatey mouthfeel - something you'd take outside to the porch with the Sunday paper ever so conspicuously just to show your neighbors how cultured you really are...The name is a nod to astronomy, where they use radio telescopes to 'hear' radio waves from all sorts of celestial objects."

COLOR: Black

POUR: Guinness Class with a lasting head

AROMA: Slight malty, bready aroma

BODY: A bit beyond medium

TASTE: Toward the sweet, with malt, bread, coffee, and some dark chocolate

OVERALL IMPRESSIONS: Between "I could Drink this" and "Can't Get Enough!"

COMMENTS: "Mustache filling head; Carbonated, more so than some of the others; Very tasty; Subtle aroma; Nice to great after-taste; Balanced between burnt-bitter and sweet; Great label and name; Really good stout - just what you want in an Oatmeal Stout." 

ANTWERPEN STOUT

GUINNESS BREWING

THE BEER FACTS: BREWER: Guinness Brewery, Baltimore, MD; STYLE: Special Export Stout; ABV: 8%

WHAT THE BREWER SAYS: "This 8% ABV stout has long been a secret pleasure among beer connoisseurs and indeed our Brewers, who value the mouth watering intensity of its roasted malt, smoked wood and dark chocolate notes, not to mention its excellent and seemingly endless finish. Since 1944 we have been exclusively exporting this same special stout from Ireland into Belgium through the vibrant port of Antwerp. This is the first time we're making it available for general release in America."

COLOR: Black with red highlights

POUR: Guinness Class - big, full

AROMA: Malty, a bit smokey

BODY: Medium

TASTE: Dark chocolate, smokey malt, some coffee, sweet but with a nice bitterness as well

OVERALL IMPRESSIONS: Between "I Could Drink This!" and "Can't Get Enough!" 

COMMENTS: "Red-headed step child of Guinness; Really good!; Kind of like Chinese sweet and sour only sweet and bitter; The alcohol comes through but doesn't overpower; Really complex taste, a lot going on - chocolate, coffee, smoked malt; Very tasty beer."

OLD RASPUTIN

NORTH COAST BREWING

THE BEER FACTS: BREWER: North Coast Brewing, Fort Bragg, CA; STYLE: Russian Imperial Stout; ABV: 9%; IBUs: 75; 2018 World Beer Championships Gold Medal winner; North Coast Brewing was honored as 2019 Best for the World Environment by B Lab.

WHAT THE BREWER SAYS: "Produced in the tradition of 18th Century English brewers who supplied the court of Russia's Catherine the Great, Old Rasputin seems to develop a cult following wherever it goes. It's a rich, intense brew with big complex flavors and a warming finish. The Old Rasuptin image is a drawing of Rasputin with a phrase in Russian encircling it - A sincere friend is not born instantly."

COLOR: Black

POUR: Guinness Class

AROMA: Sweet, coffee, chocolate

BODY: Between Medium and Full

TASTE: Sweet taste of dark chocolate, coffee, roasted malt, dark fruits, bit of alcohol

OVERALL IMPRESSIONS: Near "Can't Get Enough!"

COMMENTS: "A quality brewed brew, for sure; Does not taste like a 9% - 'Danger Will Robinson!'; It's like 'You Can't Get Enough!' but you can get enough - a conundrum for sure; Really delicious beer; Nice winter evening with Tolstoy kind of beer." 

CONCLUSIONS

As with any particular style, there are similarities across the board. With a stout that means the presence of coffee, chocolate, and roasted malt in varying degrees. Some have a bit more hops, some are higher in alcohol, some accent the coffee, some the chocolate. You get the idea. So, bottom line, I'd say our favorite was North Coast's Old Rasputin. Maybe Antwerpin came in second. From there, it was a case of personal choice for each guy. All in all a good bunch of Stouts. 

Slante,

The BOTB Guys

American Stouts

LEGENDARY BREWS

Along with the growth of craft beers has come a phenomenon I call Legendary Brews. These are beers that, either regionally or nationally, gain a near mythical status. For any number of reasons - limited production creating demand, unique taste profile, word of mouth, a particular hype upon release, or a combination of any and all - these beers become the stuff of legends. Usually they are brewed only certain times of the year, sometimes only once a year, and their release becomes a kind of beer geek celebration. Heady Topper from The Alchemist Brewing was one of the early Legendary Brews. Heady Topper started the New England Style IPA movement with a hazy, citrusy, hop-forward beer for which people wait in line for hours upon release in order to purchase a limited number of 4-packs.

Nearly every part of the country seems to have a Legendary Brew: Kentucky Stout from Toppling Goliath Brewing in Iowa, Sip of Sunshine from Lawson's Finest Liquids out of Vermont, Sexual Chocolate Imperial Stout from Foothills Brewing in North Carolina, Hunahpu's Imperial Stout from Cigar City in Florida, Dark Lord Imperial Stout from 3 Floyds in Indiana, Dogfish Head's 120 Minute IPA, or Dave, a barleywine from Hair of the Dog Brewing in Portland Oregon. Most of these are available regionally, which seems to add to their mystique. While Dogfish Head's 120 Minute IPA is more of a national brew, selling for over $40 per 4-pack. For many of these brews people will camp out at the brewery overnight prior to the release of the beer. Dark Lord, Hunahpu, Sexual Chocolate are all released once a year with big release parties. Dave is aged 20 years and its last release was in 2013 with only 12 bottles selling at $2,000 per. They sold out within hours.

A Central New York beer that has reached Legendary Brew status is Mass Riot IPA from Prison City Brewing in Auburn, NY. It is a New England style IPA that recently gained national attention (which pushed it into the realm of Legendary) when it was named Best IPA by Paste Magazine. We at BOTB were lucky enough to get into the brewpub on a Mass Riot release date for a member's birthday celebration. Like so many craft beer brewpubs, Prison City, located in The Armory building in
Auburn, has that nice, laid-back, hip industrial vibe. Our waitress was a lot of fun and knowledgeable. The food was terrific. And Mass Riot lives up to the hype. It's a wonderful beer. But it was by no means the only good beer available. Like many brewpubs, Prison City rotates beers in and out and experiments with different styles. Much to our delight they had a number of IPAs on tap besides Mass Riot including a Red and a Black and a New England.  Along with the myriad IPAs there were Sours, Lagers, Porters, Blondes, Belgians and hybrids of various ilk. It'll be interesting to see if their success equals wider availability.

AMERICAN STOUTS

Why "American" Stouts? After all the birthplace of stout is Ireland with Guinness Stout (ergo our nod to Guinness with our "Pour" section rating - Guinness Class Head). As American craft beer has grown, however, nearly every brewery has its own stout or several variations of Stouts. As has happened with the craft beer industry, American brewers took the basic essence of a style and tweaked it in various ways. In the case of Stouts, the basics amounted to a dark, malty beer with subtle hints of coffee and chocolate. American craft brewers have been toying with that formula to create stouts that tend to be a bit bigger and bolder and often hoppier than their cousins across the ocean. This month we decided to check out stouts produced exclusively by American brewers. 

OATMEAL STOUT

BRECKENRIDGE BREWERY

THE BEER FACTS: BREWER: Breckenridge Brewery, Littleton, CO; STYLE: Oatmeal Stout; ABV: 5%; IBU: 36

WHAT THE BREWER SAYS: "A well balanced easy drinking stout is timeless. Deeply roasted malts lend hints of coffee and dark chocolate. There's a softness that comes from the oatmeal, which when combined with the malts, adds a touch of sweetness at the onset. This transitions to an unexpected dry finish."

COLOR: Deep Mahogany

POUR: Decent tan head

AROMA: Malty, molasses dominates

BODY: Bit less than medium

TASTE: Toward the sweet side of balance with overtones of chocolate and coffee.

OVERALL IMPRESSION: Between "I Could Drink This" and "Can't Get Enough!"

COMMENTS: "Creamy on the tongue; A little thinner body than you might expect from a stout; Nice and mild; Not over the top, but easy-drinking beer; Nice, solid beer."

OLD MOUNTAIN MILK STOUT

BLUE LINE BREWING

THE BEER FACTS: BREWER: Blue Line Brewery, Saranac Lake, NY; STYLE: Milk Stout; ABV; 5.1%; IBUs: 25; MALTS: Roast, Chocolate, Crystal, Victory.

COLOR: Black

POUR: Slight head with some lacing

AROMA: Brown sugar

BODY: Between Medium and Full

TASTE: Sweet with notes of coffee, vanilla, brown sugar

OVERALL IMPRESSION: Between "I Could Drink This" and "Can't Get Enough!"

COMMENTS: "More malty; A bit creamier even than Breckenridge; Roasty; On the sweet side - I like it; Kind of like a nice latte; Yeah, coffee and vanilla; Good beer."

NITRO BREAKFAST WITH CHURCHILL OATMEAL COFFEE STOUT

WAR HORSE BREWING

THE BEER FACTS: BREWERY: War Horse Brewing, Geneva, NY; STYLE: Oatmeal Stout; ABV: 7.2%; MALTS: 2-Row, Oats, Roasted barley, Chocolate Malt, Crystal 55; HOPS: Bravo, East Kent Golding; OTHER: Colombian Coffee

WHAT THE BREWER SAYS: "Breakfast With Churchill is full of roasty smooth dark chocolate notes and balanced bitterness. With the addition of freshly roasted Colombian Coffee from our good friends at Glenn Edith in Rochester, it's a perfect start, or finish, to your day."

COLOR: Near Black with a red tint

POUR: Between Decent and Guinness Class with long-lasting lacing

AROMA: Brown sugar and coffee

BODY: Between Medium and Full

TASTE: Nice sweetness on the front with a pleasing bitterness at the end with a strong coffee taste throughout

OVERALL IMPRESSION: Darn near "Can't Get Enough!"

COMMENTS: "Creamy; More roasted taste than some of the others; Fills the mouth; Like a nice mug of coffee; Real nice mouth feel; They really hit the coffee stout sweet spot - a little sweet a little bitter with a nice big flavor; Coffee, yes, but still beer; Little bit of dark chocolate in there too; I like it."

DRAGONSLAYER

MIDDLE AGES BREWING CO.

THE BEER FACTS: BREWER: Middle Ages Brewing, Syracuse, NY; STYLE: Imperial Stout; ABV: 9.5%; HOPS: English hops

WHAT THE BREWER SAYS: "Brewed in the style of a Russian Imperial Stout. Strong, chocolatety and aggressively hopped with finest English hops

COLOR: Near pitch black

POUR: Near Guinness Class head - big, rich and long-lasting

AROMA: Roasty malt, candy

BODY: Near full

TASTE: Somewhat sweet, with coffee and dark chocolate dominant

OVERALL IMPRESSION: Near "Can't Get Enough!"

COMMENTS: "A bit more carbonated than many; Roasted coffee bitterness; Iced coffee; Not a dessert beer yet, but a meal ender; Bit of licorice taste in there; Big malty taste; Got a nice dark chocolate taste to it; The British vibe comes through with the English hops; Another good beer from one of our favorite breweries."

THICK MINT STOUT

SOUTHERN TIER

THE BEER FACTS: BREWER: Southern Tier Brewing, Lakewood, NY; STYLE: Imperial Stout Dessert Beer; ABV: 10%; IBU: 60

WHAT THE BREWER SAYS: "Inspired by the legendary cookie, Thick Mint joins our world-class rated Blackwater Series of dessert beers alongside Creme Brulee, Choklat Oranj, Salted Caramel and Choklat in 2017. This Imperial Stout is a mouthful of perfectly balanced mint and chocolate. Roasty malts coalesce with notes of Belgian dark chocolate, sweet mint and just a touch of sweet caramel. So decadently delicious, you'll wish you'd bouth another box...er, bottle."

COLOR: Black

POUR: Between Decent and Guinness Class

AROMA: Mint and chocolate

BODY: Full

TASTE: Sweet with dark chocolate and mint, bit of caramel and roasty malt

OVERALL IMPRESSION: Near "Can't Get Enough!"

COMMENTS: "Tastes like a Girl Scout cookie; Dessert; Creamy; Great mouthfeel; Deceptively alcoholic; I'm the one dissenting voice here - I'm just not a fan of mint in anything other than a candy of gum, just don't care for it. Having said that, I like this better than I thought I would - the mint is subtle enough to not overpower."

HYPNOPOMPA IMPERIAL STOUT

OMNIPOLLO BREWING

THE BEER FACTS: BREWER: Omnipollo Brewing, Boston MA; STYLE: Imperial Stout; ABV: 11%

WHAT THE BREWER SAYS: "Hypnopompa is our Imperial Stout brewed with almost 100 kilos of marshmallows and Tahitian vanilla beans ( the size of cigars). Low carbonation and boiled a bit extra for good measure, this is a beer strictly for the stout inclined."

COLOR: Black

POUR: Decent chocolate brown head

AROMA: Chocolate, sea-salt, caramel/sweet

BODY: Full

TASTE: Sweet dark chocolate

OVERALL IMPRESSION: Near "Can't Get Enough!"

COMMENTS: "Could chew this; Dessert beer; Tastes like a liquid S'more; Lady Godiva; After-dinner drink; Almost like chocolate syrup; Could put it on French Vanilla ice cream; Good - and different."

KBS (KENTUCKY BREAKFAST STOUT)

FOUNDERS BREWING

THE BEER FACTS: BREWER: Founders Brewing Co., Grand Rapids, Mich., STYLE: Bourbon barrel-aged Imperial Stout; ABV: 12.3%

WHAT THE BREWER SAYS: "What we've got herre is an imperial stout brewed with a massive amount of coffee and chocolates then cave-aged in oak bourbon barrels for an entire year to make sure wonderful bourbon undertones come through in the finish. Makes your taste buds squeal with delight."

COLOR: Black

POUR: Decent Head

AROMA: Chocolate, coffee

BODY: Full

TASTE: Big chocolate and coffee with smooth bourbon undertones

OVERALL IMPRESSION: Near "Can't Get Enough!"

COMMENTS: "Coffee grounds; Green pepper? I think; Sweet smelling - maybe horehound; Bourbon taste comes through nicely - sort of blends in nicely almost like a nice Irish Coffee made with bourbon; A real tasty sipper."

BOURBON BARREL DRAGONSLAYER

MIDDLE AGES BREWING

THE BEER FACTS: BREWER: Middle Ages Brewing, Syracuse, NY; STYLE: Imperial Stout; ABV: 12.5%

WHAT THE BREWER SAYS: "This version of our imperial stout Dragonslayer has been aged in Bourbon Barrels for over 6 months."

COLOR: Black

POUR: Guinness-class  with nice lacing

AROMA: spicy, alcohol, subtle

BODY: Full

TASTE: Coffee, bourbon, alcohol, bit of toffee with fruity hops

OVERALL IMPRESSION: Near "Can't Get Enough!"

COMMENTS: "Alcohol up front; Booze; Serious stuff; A 'get-me-in-trouble' beer; I taste a little coconut in there; Dangerously delicious; One of the hoppier stouts we've had today.

Sláinte,

The BOTB Guys