Imperial Eclipse Stout - Java Coffee
FiftyFifty Brewing Co.

Imperial Eclipse Stout - Java CoffeeImperial Eclipse Stout - Java Coffee
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From:
FiftyFifty Brewing Co.
 
California, United States
Style:
American Imperial Stout
ABV:
11.9%
Score:
95
Avg:
4.3 | pDev: 6.98%
Reviews:
89
Ratings:
467
Status:
Active
Rated:
Mar 28, 2021
Added:
Dec 07, 2012
Wants:
  90
Gots:
  116
SCORE
95
World-Class
Imperial Eclipse Stout - Java CoffeeImperial Eclipse Stout - Java Coffee
Notes: Lavender Pearl wax.

The 2013 version had 4Roses, High West Rye, High West Bourbon, Elijah Craig12 Eclipse and blended with a bigger Imperial Stout known as Totality Squared(aka Masterpiece) Starting gravity for the Stout was 31.5* Plato vs Totality's 26.5* Plato. Different hops, fermented with a blended yeast(s).
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
Photo of q33jeff
Reviewed by q33jeff from New Jersey

4.08/5  rDev -5.1%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
**
03/28/21

2017 Bottle to snifter.

Aroma:
Sweet Coffee on the nose, roasted barley, little touch of bittersweet chocolate .

Taste: Mildly bitter chocolate, Lots of oak Decent whisky flavour. Some hints of coffee, but others dominate. Cola. A little smoke comes out as it warms.

Feel:




**
Mar 28, 2021
 
Rated: 4.24 by Mikexw from New York

Nov 22, 2020
Photo of WickedBeer
Reviewed by WickedBeer from Alabama

3.77/5  rDev -12.3%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75
2015 vintage, BR/1. 4th of July beer.

It was good, but showed clear signs of age. Oxidizing malt, mildly metallic & a bit of green pepper. The honey shines, with notes of rye, boozy oak, & stewed fruit. Finishes with mild roasty bitterness; coffee mostly gone, though. Smooth & warm.
Jul 09, 2020
 
Rated: 4.38 by jakecattleco from California

Nov 10, 2019
 
Rated: 4.25 by csfcmitchell from Texas

Sep 01, 2019
Photo of kitch
Reviewed by kitch from Hong Kong

4.24/5  rDev -1.4%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4.25
A 22 fl. oz. waxed bomber, 2016 vintage. Poured into a snifter glass.

Appearance: Dark dark brown to black in colour with a orangey dark brown hue and a one finger tanned head that dissipated fairly quickly but left lots of nice lacing.

Aroma: Roasty, dark malt, coffee, chocolate, with a splash of piney notes and licorice.

Taste: What you’d expect from the aroma with lots of roastiness, coffee, chocolate, oak, hints of licorice, pine and a light bitterness on the finish.

Mouthfeel: Creamy, medium bodied with soft carbonation.

Overall: Not as thick and heavy as I hoped for, for this style, but otherwise, aroma was brilliant and flavours were balanced and went well together. Not sure the honey was showing, but nevertheless, this was good.
Aug 29, 2019
Photo of kemoarps
Reviewed by kemoarps from Washington

4.59/5  rDev +6.7%
look: 4.75 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.5
As far as I can tell this is a 2014 bottle of Eclipse Java Coffee. Is that wax purple or lavender pearl? I would have guessed purple, but the person who gave it to me had written 'coffee' in sharpie on the wax, so I'm guessing it's lavender pearl.
Either way, it's BR/1 2014, so the first bottling run from 2014.
Thanks John for sending me home with this!

Pour is the colour of black coffee. Just this side of obsidian, with a nice powder-brown head with interspersed big soapy bubbles. Good retention.

Still has a big rich espresso aroma backed up with layers of fudgy chocolate and an almost nutty/roasty character.

Flavour is rich black coffee... chocolate dipped espresso beans. Straight up, it's dipped espresso beans. Complete with the little bite at the end... I can almost feel the crunch of the bean between my teeth. Hint of molasses and wood in the third quarter, but the finish is the coffee bean and a dry cocoa powder chocolate. This is phenomenal.

Body isn't thin, but I like my big stouts as chewy as can be and this is medium at best. That's picking nits, though. Unassuming but present carbonation. Lingering finish of rich coffee and fudgy ribbon.

This is wonderful. I've heard that coffee drops off fairly quickly, but at 5 years out, it's still going strong on this one. I have not tried it fresh, so I can't say if this is a function of the aging, but everything is so intricately entwined and mellowed out and just rich and luxuriant and incredibly well done. I'm a huge fan.
Aug 22, 2019
 
Rated: 4.04 by nmann08 from Virginia

May 14, 2019
 
Rated: 4.4 by dafla67 from Pennsylvania

May 01, 2019
Photo of GuyFawkes
Reviewed by GuyFawkes from Illinois

4.67/5  rDev +8.6%
look: 4.75 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.75
2013 vintage; drank 6/11/14 @ the Kid's.

Brown/black hue.

Khaki head; minimal lace.

Chocolate syrup nose with hints of roasted coffee.

Thick, smooth, creamy mouthfeel.

The flavor opens to a chocolate bomb with some muted coffee notes; as it warms, oak & booze emerge, & the coffee gets more assertive.

In the upper echelon of coffee stouts, for sure.
Mar 09, 2019
 
Rated: 4.06 by mholdefer from Alabama

Jan 31, 2019
 
Rated: 4.44 by rolltide8425 from Pennsylvania

Jan 19, 2019
 
Rated: 4 by Cpmitchno1 from Virginia

Nov 23, 2018
Photo of stevoj
Reviewed by stevoj from Idaho

4.4/5  rDev +2.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
Catch up rating from notes, 2014: Taster at annual Imperial Stout share, courtesy of Darrell. Pours out a an oily black/mahogany, small tight beige head. Aroma is full of rich notes, chocolate, coffee, caramel, some sweetness, whiskey barrel. Taste is roasty and sweet, molasses, bitter, boozy. Nice slick, smooth feel. Excellent!
Sep 11, 2018
 
Rated: 4 by SaraMatt from California

Sep 02, 2018
Photo of HardTarget
Reviewed by HardTarget from Texas

4.28/5  rDev -0.5%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
Appearance: Black glass doesn't hold a head, only a couple of spots of tan at the edges, no lacing.

Aroma: Dark roasted grain, coffee grounds, maple syrup, mineral water.

Taste: Slightly sweet start quickly goes dark and roasted, a touch of barrel wood, a hint of piney hops, and back to a slightly sweet finish. A nice tour de force of flavor but all balanced and complementary.

Mouthfeel: Medium heavy body, almost flat carbonation, oily texture manages to finish pretty clean.

Overall: It's the dog that didn't bark, alcohol. It's in there, but it's under a lot of flavor and goes unnoticed. Well crafted and tasty, I'll be looking for others.
Aug 25, 2018
Photo of Phyl21ca
Reviewed by Phyl21ca from Canada (QC)

3.73/5  rDev -13.3%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.75
Bottle: Poured a pitch-black color stout with a large dark brown foamy head. Aroma of coffee with light green peppers notes with some roasted/black chocolate malt notes. Taste is also dominated by coffee notes with lightly bitter roasted malt with some chocolate malt notes and light green peppers notes which are more or less pleasant. Body is full with nice creamy texture and good carbonation with no apparent alcohol notes. Enjoyable but I could have done with less green pepper notes.
Aug 04, 2018
 
Rated: 4.25 by brittanylicious from Indiana

Jul 07, 2018
 
Rated: 4 by Bunuelian from Minnesota

Jul 04, 2018
 
Rated: 4.25 by heysuz from Indiana

Jul 01, 2018
 
Rated: 4.5 by FLBeerGuy from Florida

May 20, 2018
 
Rated: 4.27 by Muss42 from Michigan

Apr 14, 2018
Photo of drizzlemybeerzle
Reviewed by drizzlemybeerzle from California

3.85/5  rDev -10.5%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 3.75
Pours a thick black, with a medium head. For the coffee version, I was anticipating a strong coffee flavor. However, that flavor profile was absent. The over flavor is very good for a BA stout, but if this was called a normal BA stout I wouldn't even have noticed the difference. Strong flavor, very smooth overall, but for a BA coffee stout, did not quite live up to expectations.
Mar 26, 2018
 
Rated: 4.04 by byronic from Canada (ON)

Mar 22, 2018
 
Rated: 4.74 by petewheeler from Maryland

Feb 03, 2018
 
Rated: 4.13 by ScubaLeon from New York

Feb 02, 2018
 
Rated: 4.28 by khargro2 from Tennessee

Jan 20, 2018
 
Rated: 4.03 by CharlesK from Pennsylvania

Jan 02, 2018
 
Rated: 4.28 by ruzzal from Texas

Jan 01, 2018
 
Rated: 4.27 by chewy6935 from Michigan

Dec 22, 2017
 
Rated: 4.25 by Danielr26 from Michigan

Dec 22, 2017
Photo of BEERchitect
Reviewed by BEERchitect from Kentucky

4.21/5  rDev -2.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25
As its reputation precedes it, the Eclipse series sat down in 2013 with rye whisky, bourbon and coffee for a medley of tastes that's become quite legendary even before the first sip.

FiftyFifty's Java Coffee Eclipse Stout pours a very dark garnet, nearly black and crowned wit a dainty skirt of creme. Rich aromas of chocolate, coffee and spicy booze tease the nose while nuances of coconut, caramel and charred oak play modestly underneath. Its rich taste is nutty, toffee-like and showing hints of molasses, honey and sorghum.

As the flavors move along, the sweetness begins to slowly waver and the barrel and coffee character begins to take command of taste. Coffee brings its soilish earthen character to the middle palate. Scorched earth leads to a gritty barrel char with light campfire, alcohol spice and bold oaken tannins. Broadly bitter with woodsiness, coffee and rye husk. Still a underlayment of honey sweetness remains for balance and complexity.

Full bodied and rich on the late palate, the beer's whisky spice, oak tannin and slightly astringent coffee grounds gives the beer an ease in drinkability but also a slight distraction in taste and powder fine texture. A long and roasty taste rolls into the aftertaste with peppercorn and smoldering embers.
Dec 05, 2017
Photo of MutuelsMark
Reviewed by MutuelsMark from Kentucky

4.75/5  rDev +10.5%
look: 4.75 | smell: 4.75 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.75 | overall: 4.75
Dark chocolate with bourbon kick. Not to mention the coconut hints. This stout warms the palette and the throat and the belly. This felt like a curling up next to a fire.
Dec 03, 2017
 
Rated: 4.07 by Lucnifter from California

Oct 03, 2017
Photo of BoldRulerVT
Reviewed by BoldRulerVT from Vermont

4.24/5  rDev -1.4%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25
2013 vintage poured into a snifter.
Pours near jet black with very minimal dark caramel colored head.
Aromas are a lot of roasted coffee, roasted malt and light levels of bourbon.
Flavors are really nice and the bourbon isn't terribly prominent. Nicely balanced with chocolate, coffee, bourbon.
Mouthfeel was good but Id like a touch thicker here.
Overall, delicious beer. Way too expensive for what it is though.
Sep 29, 2017
 
Rated: 4.19 by Ristaccia from Nebraska

Sep 25, 2017
 
Rated: 4.5 by paulish from New York

Aug 27, 2017
 
Rated: 4.4 by Monkeyknife from Missouri

Aug 22, 2017
 
Rated: 4.44 by SMH_NWI from Texas

Aug 22, 2017
Photo of rkarimi
Rated by rkarimi from Colorado

4.4/5  rDev +2.3%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5
07-19
Jul 20, 2017
Imperial Eclipse Stout - Java Coffee from FiftyFifty Brewing Co.
Beer rating: 95 out of 100 with 467 ratings