Neapolitan Dynamite
Stone Brewing

 

This whole quarantine/lockdown/fast cruise business has done wonders for me in terms of clearing out massive swaths of the backlog here at Chez Woody! This latest renewal of a long-standing love affair with Stone Brewing began with me simply pulling out a couple of CANs, but then it became like tugging on a pesky loose thread on a knit sweater. Soon, I was left facing a bundle of unraveled string in the form of a massive mess of Bottles (gasp!) & CANs! OMFG. Additionally, I am looking to close out sister site Untappd's "Better Together" badge for drinking collaboration beers. This one will mark #491/500!

From the Bottle (!): "2017 Stone Collaborations"; "Paul Bischeri & Patrick Martinez/Stone/Abnormal Beer Co."; "Imperial Stout brewed w/Chocolate, Vanilla, Strawberries and Coffee"; "An Imperial Stout Scooped from the Freezer into your Glass"; "At Stone Brewing, we a proud to partner with the American Homebrewers Association to host a chapter member rally and homebrew competition in the commons at Stone Brewing World Bistro & Gardens - Liberty Station. Every year for the last 8 years, San Diego region AHA members have submitted their homebrews to be judged by their peers, and a team of Stone folk (that always includes Steve and Greg, natch). The prize? A chance to strut their stuff in front of craft beer fans on the national stage."; "You hold in your hands the most recent winner. Finding inspiration in that humble box of striped ice cream from our childhoods, Neapolitan Dynamite is an intense Imperial Stout brewed with vanilla, strawberries and chocolate, revved up with a shot of coffee to fuel the ultimate dance contest on your palate, gosh!"; "You see, this specialty Imperial Stout is the Rex Kwon Do of Imperial Stouts. It's got nunchuck skills, computer hacking skills AND bow hunting skills. Pair this dynamite stout with life's finer things, like quesadillas, tater tots and freestyle dancing."; "This also answers the eternal question: Can you pair a stout with a liger? Hell yes you can. We just did."

I Pop!ped the cap & started a more free-flowing pour than usual, but I figured that as an AIS, it could stand up to the aggressiveness. It responded in kind, quickly forming just under two fingers of dense, foamy, rocky, deep-brown head with moderate retention. It just seemed to suddenly exhale & fall like a soufflé when the oven door is banged shut. 8=( Color was stygian Black/Opaque (SRM = 44_, allowing ZERO light penetration & even sucking some of the light out of the room! 8=O Nose was definitely coffee-forward at this point, but who's complaining? Not me! Mouthfeel was big, thick & solid, like a dollop had been scooped into my mouth & onto my tongue! The flavors just seemed to erupt in my mouth with the coffee continuing to lead the way, followed closely by the chocolate with the strawberry & vanilla bringing up the rear. When I was a wee lad in the early-1970s, freeze-dried everything was the hot item with people wanting to eat what the astronauts were eating. I vividly remember eating freeze-dried Neapolitan ice cream & this is exactly what that tasted like! As an older man, I am not a huge fan of sweets like I was as a kid, but the coffee kind of helped to hold it in check. Finish was once more in the Twilight Zone between semi-sweet & semi-dry. Sure, the majority of the adjuncts led to a sweetness, but at the same time, the coffee & deeply-roasted malt(s) dried things out. This was quite the find in my backlog! YMMV.

 

 

 

 

Strawberry strong on the nose, not as strong on the taste. This wasn’t a bad brew, just not as exciting as it might have been. To me the coffee was the strongest of the four flavors on the bottle... and the only one that is not in Neapolitan.

 

Bottled 8/25/17-so over one year old on review. I did have this beer fresh, so freshness contrast comments are added when evident.

Look-beautiful dark beer with a dark, mocha head. Substantial head resulted from a less than aggressive pour. Lacing clings and chases the glass all the way to the last drop. One year old beer had some particulate that clung to the sides (similar to what you may see in some pastry stouts).

Smell-dark chocolate and dark roast coffee with a hint of nondescript fruity sweetness. Vanilla and strawberry all but gone from the cellar bottle.

Taste-Pretty much a dark chocolate bomb, held up with a clear coffee presence, balanced (with some effort) with what remains of the fruit and vanilla. Beer grew sweeter with time as it warmed. Now the vanilla and strawberry are minor players, helping to create a nice sweet aftertaste.

Feel-rich, thick, well carbonated. This beer is a 8.50%, but feels better than some 10-12% beers I've had in the mouth.

Overall-fun to see how this changed over time. I wasn't really surprised to see the strawberry and vanilla fall off, but I was surprised how enjoyable the evolved version was. Recommended.

Presentation: Draft, served in a tulip glass.

Appearance: Black with a very dark tan half finger head. The lacing coats the entire glass.

Smell: The smells come through distinctly and beautifully. Vanilla, strawberry, dark chocolate, coffee. It's not very strong but pleasingly aromatic.

Taste: Unlike the nose, there are some elements that rise above the others. The dark chocolate and coffee are more noticeable and present over the faint vanilla and strawberry notes. Overall very sweet tasting.

Mouthfeel: The sweetness is cloying, as expected. It's smooth and medium bodied with medium carbonation.

Overall: A good beer, but it would have been that much better if the taste was as balanced as the scent. The vanilla and strawberry notes come through but are overpowered by the chocolate and coffee. The cloying mouthfeel was expected from such a sweet beer but it kills the experience a bit.

 

Pours black with a big brown head.

Indeed, quite reminiscent of Neapolitan, with strawberry and vanilla amongst chocolate and coffee.

A nice big thick classic chocolate/coffee stout with a hint of strawberry. The vanilla - creaminess could be bumped up a bit - why not make this as a milk stout?

Nice chewy mouthfeel.

One of those dessert beers like Southern Tier turns out that leaves you asking how in the world...? Nicely conceived and implemented.

L: Jet black color like thick engine oil, one finger brown head, great lacing, no visible carbonation.

S: Strawberry coffee, vanilla, chocolate. Heaven!

T: Strawberry coffee, vanilla, chocolate. Marvelous!

F: Full bodied, full flavored.

O: Masterpiece of a beer.

Bottled 8/25/17, opened 7/29/18. Pours as dark as dark can be, with a medium brown head made up of the tiniest of bubbles. I didn't have a bottle fresh, so I can't make any comparisons, but as it stands, this stuff is tasty. Nose is sweet and rich, with notes coffee, chocolate, strawberry, and something creamy and smooth we'll call the vanilla. For all the adjuncts involved, I didn't expect each one to be so detectable, yet they are, and that's impressive. Flavor's not quite as amazing as the nose, but it's very nice. Getting some coffee bitterness and berry tartness, but not much else. Body is rich and smooth and satisfying to sip. Aftertaste truly is reminiscent of a swirled up bite of Neapolitan ice cream.

Pours jet black with some fine chocolate colored foam.

Smell is very coffee forward with hints of dark chocolate and a slight fruitiness.

Taste is again very coffee rich, with dark chocolate and just a hint of berries in the background.

Mouthfeel is medium, well carbonated.

Overall, a good stout, that I hoped would be a little bit more out there. As it stands, it's a coffee stout with hints of other things, rather than a full blown ice cream stout.

Released in Sweden in May 18, 2018.

very dark brown to black beer with a brown, creamy head that leaves lacing on the glass.

Nose: Coffee, vanilla, red berries, dark chocolate and whipped cream.
Taste: Espresso, bitter coffee beans, I get some berries on the back of my tongue but I'm not sure what type of berries. Almost a tart and still sweet taste.
Mouth: Full body. Creamy. Bitter, sour ending.