El Gordo
Good People Brewing Company

4.5/5  rDev +0.4%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5
by OompaMentor from Georgia

Wakefest 2019; Medium MF. well balanced with roasted malts. Back to basics beer!

Oct 17, 2019

3.85/5  rDev -14.1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
by maximum12 from Minnesota

Thanks to David H. for sending me this 750ML bottle. Split with my wife.

The dark liquid smells like sweet malts, bitter chocolate, with a light coating of Mount Yasur ash over the top. Plus something odd & flat. Maybe I can tease it out of the taste.

El Gordo has something unusual going on. Chocolate so bitter that it actually roughens the tongue. Vanilla & roast mid-palate, along with that unusual, almost oaky dryness. Faint raisin, touch of smoke & pine. Heavy & thick, & no alcoholic warmth at all, which is remarkable. Not a problem to put this down.

In 2009 this would have been a stout that made my nipples harden. Now, it’s a very good stout in a world gone mad with same. Looking forward to the variants - this seems like a great base to build on.

Feb 20, 2019

4.5/5  rDev +0.4%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5
by Fee from Pennsylvania

Honestly one of the best stouts I have ever experienced. Pours a dark brown with a nutty/coffee aroma. SO MUCH FLAVOR! This is an exquisite stout. So smooth and flavorful!

Feb 15, 2019

4.25/5  rDev -5.1%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
by brentk56 from North Carolina

Appearance: Arrives with an espresso color capped by a mocha head that leaves a dancing pattern of lacing behind

Smell: Dark chocolate, espresso and molasses

Taste: Dark chocolate and espresso forward with the molasses tone building; a hint of prune emerges, as well; through the middle, the hops come through to cut the sweetness and bring a moderate amount of bitterness

Mouthfeel: Full bodied with moderate carbonation; some warmth in the gullet

Overall: I tasted the 2017 and 2016 versions side by side and found that while the 17 had a bit more alcohol burn, the 16 was developing a fruity complexity

Oct 20, 2018

3.83/5  rDev -14.5%
look: 4.25 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 3.75
by WickedBeer from Alabama

2017 batch hooked up on draft, Loosa Brews, Tuscaloosa, AL.

Pours viscous and black, fairly cold and left without much head on it. What little residual head and lace appeared was tan in color.

Malt, chocolate, and coffee on the nose. Doesn’t boast anything fancy, just a nice balance of adjunct-free imperial stout goodness. A little bit of vanilla sweetness lingers.

Malty and bold, but quickly followed up by bitter cacao nibs and booze. A nice balance, with a slightly overly bitter finish. However, the complexity of mild vanilla, bourbon, charred malt and chocolate make for an intriguingly complex beer.

Smooth, light but sharp carb, boozy. Smooth, sticky finish, nice mouthfeel. The one thing I will say is I don’t love how it warms.

Oct 12, 2018

3.75/5  rDev -16.3%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
by stevoj from Idaho

750ml bottle at share. Black pour with small cap of beige head. Aroma comes in a bit sweet, roast grains, sugar, smoky. Taste follows with a bit more of the roasty grains. Nice feel over all too.

Jun 21, 2018

3.88/5  rDev -13.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4
by Sabtos from Ohio

Shiny black with a large, airy foamy dark tan head.

Smell is milk chocolate with coffee, molasses, and woody hops that exhibit a sort of light char.

Taste starts off with a darker chocolate, yet also has bitter baker's cocoa and a cedary, woody hop presence that gives off sharp pine resin and grapefruit rind. This is like a more bitter Yeti, and the sharp bitterness builds boldly, with a near Worcestershire tang.

A slick medium-light but round body has a crisp, light carbonation, finishing semi-dry.

Feb 03, 2018

4.35/5  rDev -2.9%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
by Buck89 from Tennessee

Just a fantastic beer. Poured thick and viscous - opaque with a modest tan head. Rich chocolatey aroma with some toasted malt, coffee, and floral hop notes. Huge dark chocolate on the palate. Mixed in was roasted coffee, caramel, some raisin. Bitterness there as well. Full bodied but not overly sweet. ABV well-hidden for the size.

Dec 03, 2017

4.29/5  rDev -4.2%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25
by JacobusFavier23 from Texas

Six month old beer poured into a tulip glass.

L- Tar-y deep black with a minimal brown lacing that hugs the side of the glass.
S- Notes of coffee, chocolate, toffee, roasted oak and nuts, raisins and vanilla. I also get the aroma of alcohol intertwined between the other aromas.
T- Same as the nose but especially focused on the coffee. Roasted oak woodiness is also picked up. Sweet molasses flavor as well as a mocha-chocolate flavor. Bite of alcoholic buzz.
F- Thick and creamy.
O- This beer is a well crafted, flavorful, full bodied, heavy hitter. Best beer to come to from the state of Alabama in my opinion. A real treat.

May 30, 2017

3.42/5  rDev -23.7%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 3.25 | overall: 3.25
by AmeriCanadian from Tennessee

I understand what Good People represents to the Alabama craft beer scene, but this is the umpteenth beer of theirs that flat-out doesn't match its reputation. Maybe some aging would do it some good, but as a fresh beer this is a pedestrian Imperial Stout, at best. Look is in line, jet lack and viscous-looking with a thin khaki head of large bubbles but minimal lacing. Smell is all coffee and roasted malt, maybe a little bit of vanilla and charred wood, with no spice, dark fruit, chocolate, or licorice to be had. Taste is all coffee, basically a mouthful of dark roast with absolutely zero other notes or complimentary flavors, and certainly nothing resembling bourbon. Extremely disappointing. And the texture is thin and underwhelming, with little but bitter coffee in the aftertaste. Not a bad beer, but very one-note and far from memorable, so I'm pretty perplexed why this beer has the reputation it does.

Apr 15, 2017