Big Bad Baptist - Chocolate Raspberry
Epic Brewing Company

 

Review: 2348
Name: Big Bad Baptist Chocolate Raspberry
Brewery: Epic Brewing
Location: Salt Lake City, UT
ABV: 10.5%
Canned: 2020
Date: 29 Mar 2025
As the temperature drops, I will review another Baptist from the cellar. I am using a tulip glass and serving the beer at 50 degrees. The pour created a frothy, foamy, creamy, two-fingered, tan head with average retention. The somewhat slow dissipation left no lacing on the glass. The color is pitch black with dark, rusty brown hues, charting at SRM 36, and opaque. The appearance is average for this style; I was happy to see the head retention.
Nosing the glass, I smell tart raspberries, coffee, chocolate, bourbon, char, earthiness, oak, dark roasted malts, lightly toasted cereal grains, malty sweetness, molasses, raisins, and a hint of toffee. I also notice yeast, floral, caramel, pine, and fruity notes.
Sipping the beer, I noticed its tart, ripe raspberries, chocolate caramel, toffee, nuttiness, dark roasted malts, molasses, lightly toasted grains, malty sweetness, burnt sugar, raisins, figs, earthiness, yeasty phenol, grassy.
The mouthfeel is tart, and the finish is dry. The body is medium-plus with medium-low carbonation.
I was surprised by this beer; the raspberries are bright and tarty and not showing the five years it has been in the bottle. The letdown I had was the chocolate component of the beer. I was expecting the chocolate, flavor, and aromas to be more present in the beer. The barrel aging does add more texture to the overall drinking experience. Chocolate Raspberry is a solid beer, except for what I mentioned above.

Copenhagen 17/4 2022. 65 cl bottle from Meny, Rotunden, Hellerup. The label is literally dripping with chocolate and with a bearded baptist (probably mad) drawn in white. Apparently a 2020 Rare Release.

Pours opaque, dark brown with a big, bubbly dark beige head. Disappears after a minute leaving no traces behind. No lacing. Aroma is fairly intense with a dark, sweet, fruity, boozy and malty scent mingling with earthy odors. Sugared whiskey and oak tingling with raspberries with a tart edge. Potent chocolate and brown sugar.

Light carbonation. Medium thick, oily, slightly viscous, almost flat texture.

Flavor is intense with a strong sweetness followed by a almost strong coffee bitterness. Aftertaste is bitter-sweet with a tart streak. Lingering. Finish is rather dry.

The darkest fruit bomb.

Pours dark and fairly thin. Big raspberry aroma. Flavor is mainly raspberry, I get chocolate on the finish, with more raspberry at the end. Thin mouthfeel light carbonation. Overall a very tasty raspberry stout. Light bodied. Held up well for 3 years old.

10/14/23
Bomber, 2020 release
4.25 rating

 

 

Poured a black body with pretty much no head. Aroma is a mild mix of chocolate and tart raspberry. Smooth, easy to drink, the raspberry presence is the dominant taste profile and there is a smattering of chocolate sweetness underneath the tart raspberry. Good balance as leans more to the raspberry tart side but does have an easy finish.

This will certainly be a polarizing entry in the Big Bad Baptist series, although it shouldn't be shocking given the name, as the reason is prominently featured: it's the raspberry.

There's quite a bit of it, and the way it comes across in the overall blend is much brighter, and even more bitter, than other BBB entries. I don't personally think that's a bad thing (again, it's kind of the entire point), but to really take this beer to another level and succeed in the way that other berry stouts have (e.g. Lizard of Koz), I think they really need to double the chocolate flavor - or more - and probably age it a bit longer in the whiskey barrels.

It's lacking that rich sweetness from both, and the result is a very tasty and interesting stout - but it's just too sharp and tart. Overall, I appreciate the attempt, but it could be better, and it's not the best BBB variant.

i love this! so thin and tasty and easy to drink.... only 10.5 % though...

 

Black with virtually no head. Aroma: Raspberries! Well balanced taste, not bitter or sweet. Flavors: raspberry is upfront, then chocolate, prune, coffee, fig & finally a hint a whiskey accompanied with long lasting stomach heat. Feel is thick & velvety smooth but lacking carbonation. Overall: chocolate raspberry sounds so delicious but I’ve yet to find a beer that incorporates my favorite foods with my favorite beverage.

 

 

Picked up a bomber 12-3-20 from the Craft Beer Quick Stop for $10.99 (holidays promotion discount from $15.99). Presumably packaged in October 2020, consumed 2-27-21.

Beer poured black as night with a very nice tan head with the original pour.

When the bottle was opened there was an immediate waft of heavy raspberries and immediately thought this was going to be too sweet. But the raspberries and chocolate with some barrel is good.

Taste as predicted is sweet. Definitely a dessert beer to be taken in small doses. Large malt base that is mild roast allows for the berries and chocolate to assault the palate with sweetness. The barrel attempts to balance but there is not enough there.

Mouthfeel is a tad thin for the BBB series, light to medium bodied and sort of smooth.

Overall a nice effort put in but the barrel aging was not enough. Fun to try though. Would recommend if you have a major sweet tooth.

Appearance:
An imposing, impenetrable obsidian with a contrarily unimposing head: A diminutive slip, the color of dark brown sugar, barely the width of a paperclip. Too timid to do more than stare at you from behind its blackened window.

Bouquet:
Hershey’s chocolate syrup, laden generously over a heaping tablespoon of sharp, raspberry sherbet. Dark malts speckle the aroma like sprinkles on a sundae.

Feel:
This hefty medium conforms around the tongue like a supple, satin glove. Then, a tranquil tingle of carbonation settles up next to you before whiskey warmth blossoms in your chest.

Taste:
Raspberry frozen yogurt with a swirl of gooey chocolate fudge. Booze heat comes on slow, like slipping into your favorite winter blanket. After getting you warm and cozy, a half-finger of hospitably mild whiskey slides over the palate: like a welcome arm around your shoulders as you enjoy that chocolate raspberry treat, while wrapped your comfy blanket.

L: black, nice creamy tan head, nice lacing
S: sweet and tart raspberries is all I get
T: raspberry is dominant, some roasty malts and chocolate on the finish
F: decent mouthfeel
O: too much raspberry for me, otherwise, it’s a solid brew

Not the fullest-bodied stout I've ever had, but a smooth barrel-aged beauty with a well-blended chocolate-raspberry flavor. The abv is brilliantly disguised. The beer pours almost black with a tan head. Didn't pick up coffee in the flavor at all, surprisingly. A romance beer? Maybe. A tasty dessert stout? Definitely.