Big Hugs | Half Acre Beer Company
Brewed by:
Half Acre Beer Company
Illinois, United States
halfacrebeer.com
Style: American Imperial Stout
Alcohol by volume (ABV): 10.00%
Availability: Winter
Notes / Commercial Description:
This beer is a thug. Big and chock full of tender embrace.
HISTOGRAM
View: Beers | Place Reviews
Ratings: 775 | Reviews: 191
Reviews by cvm4:
4.19/5 rDev +1.2%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
2012 Bottle
A - Pours pretty black with a thin tan head that dissolves into just a ring around the glass.
S - Coffee abounds with vanilla, roasted malts and light semi-sweet chocolate.
T - Starts off with a great coffee notes and roasted malts as balance. Semi-sweet chocolate, toffee, vanilla and molasses. Bitterness from may'be the coffee?
M - Medium to full bodied with medium to low carbonation. Very smooth and velvety.
O - Awesome label! Just in your face coffee bitterness with secondary flavors and a body to back it up.
535 characters
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
2012 Bottle
A - Pours pretty black with a thin tan head that dissolves into just a ring around the glass.
S - Coffee abounds with vanilla, roasted malts and light semi-sweet chocolate.
T - Starts off with a great coffee notes and roasted malts as balance. Semi-sweet chocolate, toffee, vanilla and molasses. Bitterness from may'be the coffee?
M - Medium to full bodied with medium to low carbonation. Very smooth and velvety.
O - Awesome label! Just in your face coffee bitterness with secondary flavors and a body to back it up.
535 characters
More User Reviews:
4.1/5 rDev -1%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Nothing special coming from this bomber, just a good stout to share with friends over a football game.
Simple, a bit thin, but drinkable and sweet on the palate.
Artwork on the label was the highlight.
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look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Nothing special coming from this bomber, just a good stout to share with friends over a football game.
Simple, a bit thin, but drinkable and sweet on the palate.
Artwork on the label was the highlight.
205 characters
4.04/5 rDev -2.4%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4
I'm updating my rating below after letting the beer sit for several weeks. The carbonation seems to have died down, which improved the taste and feel bigly. The carbonation on my first one was so high it was affecting the flavor and making the beer taste lager-like. Not a problem this time. Also, less carbonation helped turn the mouthfeel from "thin" to "drinkable". I enjoyed this one.
L: jet black with a fizzy tan head
S: not very strong, a little bit of coffee aroma
T: VERY thin for a stout with this high of an ABV. The coffee is the strongest flavor, and the coffee isn't even that strong. There really isn't much else going on, I get a little bit of a grainy flavor, almost like a lager, and maybe a little bit of chocolate, but really lacking complexity and strength. Almost tastes more like a black lager than a stout.
F: thin feel and high carbonation for a RIS. It's easy to drink for a beer this strong, and it hides the alcohol well.
O: very disappointing. I was really hoping for more flavor after the hype this beer gets. It's not terrible, but I can't see how anyone would wait in line to get this. Plenty of better stouts can be found on the shelves of any good liquor store year round.
Updated for 2018 version: This year's is very different from last year's. Still a very drinkable coffee stout for its ABV, but this year's has a LOT more coffee flavor and is significantly better IMO. The vanilla is almost undetectable in the Vanilla variant because the coffee is so strong. I like it.
1,518 characters
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4
I'm updating my rating below after letting the beer sit for several weeks. The carbonation seems to have died down, which improved the taste and feel bigly. The carbonation on my first one was so high it was affecting the flavor and making the beer taste lager-like. Not a problem this time. Also, less carbonation helped turn the mouthfeel from "thin" to "drinkable". I enjoyed this one.
L: jet black with a fizzy tan head
S: not very strong, a little bit of coffee aroma
T: VERY thin for a stout with this high of an ABV. The coffee is the strongest flavor, and the coffee isn't even that strong. There really isn't much else going on, I get a little bit of a grainy flavor, almost like a lager, and maybe a little bit of chocolate, but really lacking complexity and strength. Almost tastes more like a black lager than a stout.
F: thin feel and high carbonation for a RIS. It's easy to drink for a beer this strong, and it hides the alcohol well.
O: very disappointing. I was really hoping for more flavor after the hype this beer gets. It's not terrible, but I can't see how anyone would wait in line to get this. Plenty of better stouts can be found on the shelves of any good liquor store year round.
Updated for 2018 version: This year's is very different from last year's. Still a very drinkable coffee stout for its ABV, but this year's has a LOT more coffee flavor and is significantly better IMO. The vanilla is almost undetectable in the Vanilla variant because the coffee is so strong. I like it.
1,518 characters
4.5/5 rDev +8.7%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5
4.21/5 rDev +1.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25
3.89/5 rDev -6%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Growler provided by Richard and shared among friends, poured into a Cigar City snifter.
It pours big, black and thick with a smaller mocha colored head.
The aroma is filled with a deep roasted fresh coffee with a backend of bitter chocolate
The taste follows up with the huge roasted coffee flavor, it borders on burnt though which is distracting. An alcohol is pretty noticeable at the end as well.
The mouthfeel is on the lighter side which really help the beer from becoming too sweet. Drinkability is also pretty good with the only exception being the alcohol finish.
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look: 3.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Growler provided by Richard and shared among friends, poured into a Cigar City snifter.
It pours big, black and thick with a smaller mocha colored head.
The aroma is filled with a deep roasted fresh coffee with a backend of bitter chocolate
The taste follows up with the huge roasted coffee flavor, it borders on burnt though which is distracting. An alcohol is pretty noticeable at the end as well.
The mouthfeel is on the lighter side which really help the beer from becoming too sweet. Drinkability is also pretty good with the only exception being the alcohol finish.
575 characters
4.32/5 rDev +4.3%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.5
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.5
4.1/5 rDev -1%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 5 | overall: 4
22oz brown bomber with no freshness date though we are most certain this one will cellar well.
LOOK: Black as black can be, sticky tan froth all over
SMELL: Espresso, charcoal, nougat, burnt currants
TASTE: Smooth, creamy, charred palate, shot of espresso, dark chocolate, blackstrap molasses, black currants, herbal hop, very warming alcohol, bittersweet charred finish
So anyway ... we are beer lovers, and we love to drink, we think about how cute they are, and how their labels, and caps, and we just love them. We just want them in a basket, with a bowtie, on a rainbow and in our bed to roll around. But we can't hug every beer.
640 characters
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 5 | overall: 4
22oz brown bomber with no freshness date though we are most certain this one will cellar well.
LOOK: Black as black can be, sticky tan froth all over
SMELL: Espresso, charcoal, nougat, burnt currants
TASTE: Smooth, creamy, charred palate, shot of espresso, dark chocolate, blackstrap molasses, black currants, herbal hop, very warming alcohol, bittersweet charred finish
So anyway ... we are beer lovers, and we love to drink, we think about how cute they are, and how their labels, and caps, and we just love them. We just want them in a basket, with a bowtie, on a rainbow and in our bed to roll around. But we can't hug every beer.
640 characters
3.8/5 rDev -8.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5
Thanks to emerge for grabbing me this one. Pours an extremely dark brown that borders on black with a thin light tan head on top. Aromas are solid with dark roasted malts alongside a bright fresh brewed coffee, akin to sniffing some fresh ground beans.
First sip brings smooth dark malts up against a wall of rich coffee flavor. Hints of chocolate intertwine with a nice roast. Flows down with a touch of creaminess and lingering java aftertaste. Not nearly as viscous as I expected.
Mouthfeel is smooth with good carbonation..body is more along the lines of a regular stout to me than an "imperial" stout but I'm not complaining. Overall, a tasty coffee stout from a great new local brewery. Being this is my first bottle Half Acre beer I've tried, I am looking forward to more.
781 characters
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5
Thanks to emerge for grabbing me this one. Pours an extremely dark brown that borders on black with a thin light tan head on top. Aromas are solid with dark roasted malts alongside a bright fresh brewed coffee, akin to sniffing some fresh ground beans.
First sip brings smooth dark malts up against a wall of rich coffee flavor. Hints of chocolate intertwine with a nice roast. Flows down with a touch of creaminess and lingering java aftertaste. Not nearly as viscous as I expected.
Mouthfeel is smooth with good carbonation..body is more along the lines of a regular stout to me than an "imperial" stout but I'm not complaining. Overall, a tasty coffee stout from a great new local brewery. Being this is my first bottle Half Acre beer I've tried, I am looking forward to more.
781 characters
4.2/5 rDev +1.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Thanks to bu11zeye for sharing this bottle.
The beer pours a dark brown to black color with a tan head. The aroma is full of coffee and chocolate with a lot of roasted malts. A very nice smelling Imperial Stout.
The flavor is more of the same. The chocolate and coffee really compliment the roasted malt notes well. There is also a nice cream and oats component to the flavor which I really enjoy.
Thick mouthfeel and medium carbonation.
A very nice Imperial Stout.
471 characters
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Thanks to bu11zeye for sharing this bottle.
The beer pours a dark brown to black color with a tan head. The aroma is full of coffee and chocolate with a lot of roasted malts. A very nice smelling Imperial Stout.
The flavor is more of the same. The chocolate and coffee really compliment the roasted malt notes well. There is also a nice cream and oats component to the flavor which I really enjoy.
Thick mouthfeel and medium carbonation.
A very nice Imperial Stout.
471 characters
3.72/5 rDev -10.1%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 3.75
Bottle (2010)
Acquired via trade
Thanks, crushedvol!
(Aged for 3 years)
Nearly black, but truly a very dark brown and ruby. Small dark brown head. Irregular spots of stick left down the glass. Pretty stout.
Not a hugely expressive aroma. Will adjust this as I let the beer warm throughout the review, if necessary. Roast and a touch of coffee. Just a bit of chocolate-covered dark fruit as well. In fact, as the beer warms, lots of oxidation character emerges. It's not distracting, but it's not ideal, either.
The flavor follows the aroma, with chocolate-covered dark fruits and a bit of roasted coffee character emerging nicely. Moderate bitterness. Very drinkable, and the alcohol is exceptionally well hidden.
Near full in body with low carbonation.
Excellent. This aged nicely.
790 characters
look: 3.75 | smell: 3 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 3.75
Bottle (2010)
Acquired via trade
Thanks, crushedvol!
(Aged for 3 years)
Nearly black, but truly a very dark brown and ruby. Small dark brown head. Irregular spots of stick left down the glass. Pretty stout.
Not a hugely expressive aroma. Will adjust this as I let the beer warm throughout the review, if necessary. Roast and a touch of coffee. Just a bit of chocolate-covered dark fruit as well. In fact, as the beer warms, lots of oxidation character emerges. It's not distracting, but it's not ideal, either.
The flavor follows the aroma, with chocolate-covered dark fruits and a bit of roasted coffee character emerging nicely. Moderate bitterness. Very drinkable, and the alcohol is exceptionally well hidden.
Near full in body with low carbonation.
Excellent. This aged nicely.
790 characters
Big Hugs from Half Acre Beer Company
Beer rating:
4.14 out of
5 with
775 ratings
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