Teddy Bear Kisses Toasted Coconut
Upland Brewing Company

 

Canned on 10/23/19.

A - Very dark brown, borderline black color with creamy burnt toffee colored head on top. Foam sticks to the sides of the glass like glue, this looks great!

S - Chocolate roast, toasted coconut, and light bourbon with oak char.

T - Chocolate, char roastiness, bourbon, oak, some booziness, light toasted caramel malt.

M - Thick, viscous, velvety, slight warming on the way down, and very dry on the back of the tongue.

O - My favorite variant so far. This is fantastic and recommended.

 

Quarantine day thirty one: I thought about playing Dungeons & Dragons today. Someone please save me. 12 oz. can that arrived as an extra from barrelbeer.

Black. Plenty of sweetness comin’ off the surface, malt + chocolate.

Teddy Bear Kisses with Coconut & Cocoa Nibs is easily the best beer I’ve tasted from Upland to date. The bourbon is right up front, smoother than a stripper’s silicon, & tastes a lot better (& costs less). Slip-and-slide bourbon flows into copious chocolate, sting of bitterness & the sharp tang of green wood & a near-rye spiciness. Coconut springs forth to claim the finish, along with a soft, deep kiss of alcohol. I find myself taking constant sips, about 1/5 an ounce at a time, because I want to have it in my mouth, but I want it to last as well.

This is beautiful, a stout that brings together all the delicious components advertised in lovely harmony. Excellent beer.

 

 

 

 

12oz can stamped CANNED: 10/29/19 (1 month ago) poured into a tulip pint glass at fridge temp 11% ABV. The beer pours dense black with brown, rust tinted head. The head builds quickly on a hard pour and leaves a nice cap, slowly settling to a thin ring and island. Minimal lacing. The aroma is mild with bits of cocoa, vanilla, coconut, oak and bourbon. The taste is semisweet caramel and chocolate at first with coconut, vanilla, bourbon rushing in mid palate. The finish is medium bitter and semi dry. The mouthfeel is full bodied, creamy, almost oily with just less than medium carbonation. Overall, very good. It leans a little sweet, but the dry character of the barrel pulls it back enough for me. Nice roasted malt element with the added cocoa and coconut.

 

 

Much better than the base Teddy Bear Kisses, with plenty of barrel oak tannins verging on a subtle tartness. Lots of coconut character that pairs well with the cacao nibs. However, this is not a cloyingly sweet Mounds bar in a can, still more of a baker's or bitter dark chocolate flavor.

 

 

On tap at Tap and Mallet in Rochester, NY.

This one pours a fairly dark black color, with a small head, and not much lacing.

This smells a bit like harsh black booziness, with a slight wisp of coconut, dark fudginess, coffee, and tons of oak.

I would want a lot more coconut here. It's also a bit fusel and harsh on the finish. The oak character is very nice, and the bourbon is very forward and hot. The base stout is decent, chocolatey, with a bit of coffee like flavor.

This is medium bodied, but I'd want it to be a bit more creamy, for sure. It's very much a slow sipper, with how boozy it is.

I wanted a bit more out of this one.

 

On draft at savages ale house. This is much better than the original version for me with a much thicker body. Not thin and watery. Coconut comes as just a slight kiss, it’s balanced. Dark fruit is prominent and surprising. Some warming bourbon and dry oak.

Overall, this really did end up much much better than the original for me.

 

 

Sample at Mikkeller Beer Celebration Copenhagen 2018, Yellow Session. Aroma is sweet and malty with some dried fruits. Taste is bittersweet with dark fruit notes, dark chocolate, cacao, dried figs, bitter finish with roasted malt flavors.