Babayaga
Pretty Things Beer & Ale Project

BabayagaBabayaga
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From:
Pretty Things Beer & Ale Project
 
Massachusetts, United States
Style:
Foreign / Export Stout
ABV:
7%
Score:
88
Avg:
3.93 | pDev: 10.18%
Reviews:
195
Ratings:
458
Status:
Retired
Rated:
Mar 28, 2022
Added:
Nov 10, 2009
Wants:
  59
Gots:
  56
Babayaga, our autumn seasonal beer, appears each year just as the winds begin to blow a little stronger and the nights bring Winter’s first frost. The beer is a 7% export-strength woodland stout. We found this beer in a cauldron in a tiny wooden cabin perched on chicken legs in the woods near the Volga River. The old lady inside, an ancient witch/wise-woman/baby-eater called Baba Yaga, let us try some. We liked it so much, she said we could brew it for all of you here back home, as long as we named it after her. And so we did! How could we not have: she’d have eaten us if we didn’t!

It took us a while to figure out the secrets to Baba Yaga’s recipe, but we think we’ve got it: We smoke some malt with rosemary, and we add a few other eerie embellishments that she’s making us keep hush-hush. We ferment with a mix of English and Belgian yeast strains. This beer should taste like Eastern European folklore, like woodland, streams, cold dark nights and woodsmoke. Enjoy it!

…And what’s over here? A poem about the eerie old woman and the beer she brought to us! Close your eyes, imagine yourself lost deep in the foggy thicket somewhere, and click the little linky below…
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Ratings by m1ked:
Photo of m1ked
Reviewed by m1ked from California

3.71/5  rDev -5.6%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4
Listed as a Sylvan Stout....not sure what that is, so I listed it as an American Stout.

A- Pours a black black black liquid ,starts with an inch of foamy tan head that transforms into some espresso skim covering the whole top.

S - The aroma is verylight all around. Some lightly burnt wood, light ground coffee beans. Bittersweet chocolate. Kinda the usual suspects here. Def not bad, but not outstanding .

T- I get a dark cocolate covered dark cherry with some etoh brandy like heat. Burnt wood and bitter chocolate.

M- The cask warmness makes it feel thin at first, but it does have some thickness to it. I must admit I like cooled (not cold) casks ( ala Hamilton's in San Diego) vs the warm/hot cask...just my 2 cents though. No carb , bit of an etoh burn.

D- I would love to have this on tap ( as opposed to a warm cask), and let it warm up a little. Nice flavor. My offering from this brewery. I am pleased and will keep my eyes peeled for some more.

Brewed out of the now defunct Buzzards Bay Brewery.
Nov 10, 2009
More User Ratings:
Photo of LeRose
Reviewed by LeRose from Massachusetts

3.88/5  rDev -1.3%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75
Pour looks good, almost black with a half inch tan head. Falls fairly quickly, leaves a nice ring and big island. Pretty leggy, liquid clinging to the glass.

Slightly smokey smell initially, a molasses sweetness, roasted malts, a nutty component, and unfortunately a smidge of oxidation. Just a little chocolate, and a kind of herbal presence that I can't identify from the mix as it isn't very strong.

Wow...pleasant tasting brew here. Smokey and more peat-like, maybe reminiscent of Scotch. There's molasses/caramel flavor, and more chocolate than the nose suggests. Malty, slight char on the back end, and that herbal thing floats in...rosemary springs to mind. The flavor overall hits pretty hard, but it is oddly clean, and subsides pretty quickly.

Medium bodied, slight tingle, somewhat dry.

Overall, pretty smooth brew. Certainly highly drinkable and it seems to meet the style pretty well. I think it has held up pretty well.
Mar 28, 2022
Photo of Harrison8
Reviewed by Harrison8 from Missouri

3.98/5  rDev +1.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4
Pours a still black with a finger of light tan foam. Aroma is light peat, with smoke behind. Smoke is at a moderate intensity, not a wildfire symphony, but still enough that it dominates the nose. Toasty, nutty malts fall in behind, although oxidation has taken its toll, drawing out some of the malt character at the back. Flavor profile is smoke, with peat, caramel, molasses, and faint chocolate filling out the spaces in between. That chocolate becomes a little more strong as the beer warms. Flavor profile starts strong and intense, but decays quickly. Toasty, roasty, and caramel malts round it out a little. Mouth feel is medium-thin with a near still effervescence. Keep in mind, this bottle is aged, so it makes sense the effervescence is so still. The initial head formation shows there is still life in this bottle. Overall, the smoked malt is rather far forward, but otherwise the stout itself has held up well. Still clean roasty and toasty malts in the mix, with no off notes.

Served in a 15.5oz Speigalau tulip from a 22oz bottle. October 2015.
Feb 19, 2022
 
Rated: 3.99 by jaxon53 from Connecticut

Apr 13, 2020
 
Rated: 4 by Patches826 from Massachusetts

Dec 28, 2018
 
Rated: 3.6 by thumperskibum from Indiana

Jan 25, 2016
 
Rated: 3.96 by frekky from Massachusetts

Jan 13, 2016
 
Rated: 2.83 by mjwellman from Texas

Dec 20, 2015
 
Rated: 4.25 by mikemikemike from Massachusetts

Dec 14, 2015
Photo of DovGibor
Reviewed by DovGibor from New York

3.97/5  rDev +1%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
12oz pour. Pitch black with a small creamy brown head that lingers well.

Aroma is light toast. Little malt, no noticeable hops. Silky mouthfeel. Not as thick a mouthfeel as some stouts but decent. Flavor flavor is light toast with suggestion of coffee.

Nice beer; a good replacement for Guinness. But nothing outstanding.
Dec 13, 2015
 
Rated: 3.78 by LoudRed from Massachusetts

Dec 12, 2015
 
Rated: 3.75 by heerboth from Pennsylvania

Dec 07, 2015
 
Rated: 3.8 by TheElectricOne from Rhode Island

Dec 06, 2015
 
Rated: 3.75 by ArkyVaughan from New Jersey

Nov 24, 2015
Photo of Dolphinsmarlins1
Reviewed by Dolphinsmarlins1 from Massachusetts

3.88/5  rDev -1.3%
look: 4.25 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
The aspect of this one that stands out is the smokey flavor. It isn't obnoxious, but it isn't a flavor I prefer in a beer. Nevertheless, it is a decent brew for the price. I was told that this style (Sylvan) is a unique and is a must try. I have tasted better, but I have also tasted worse.
Nov 21, 2015
 
Rated: 3.88 by bobstockwell from Massachusetts

Nov 20, 2015
 
Rated: 3.77 by A-Sox from Rhode Island

Nov 15, 2015
 
Rated: 4 by nathanmiller from New York

Nov 14, 2015
 
Rated: 4 by YalovaIA from Iowa

Oct 31, 2015
 
Rated: 4 by mattycasey from Massachusetts

Aug 07, 2015
Babayaga from Pretty Things Beer & Ale Project
Beer rating: 88 out of 100 with 458 ratings