Big Bad Baptist in the Rye
Epic Brewing Company

Sampled from a bottle dated 2021.
This is a pretty basic and straightforward imperial stout. The cacao stands out to me more on the tongue than the coffee, which works for me. This isn’t my favorite beer style, but my experience with Epic has been good and this continues the trend.

Bottle from Tavour.
Have previously enjoyed BBBs from EPIC and love Rye barrel aged beers, but this particular version just seems light. Served at 50degrees in snifter. Nice color to body but head was thin and bubbly; no creaminess or pillowy body. Immediately disappeared with no residual or lacing. 12% doesn’t really supper this. Nose improved as beer had second warmer pour. Nice malt, wood and spice. Taste mirrored but was mostly barrel. No complexity or anything interesting. Very unlike prev BBBs I’ve had which had much more flavor and complexity. Body is also thin and bright for a big imp stout.
Overall it remains a nice BAIS. But it is a simple straightforward rye barrel stout ramped up to an RIS with a bumped up abv. Not bad at all. But a BBB version that doesn’t excite.

Good pour. Almost black color, with a good head that stays a while.

Not much on the smell after the head leaves.

Good stout - nothing really outstanding.

L: Pours a thick chocolate, with a very faint effervescence forming a light swirl of khaki bubbles. Held to the light, this beer has a near-black, opaque, crunchy carob hue.

S: Notes of oak/barrel, vanilla, booze, and dark chocolate. Fainter aromas of coffee roast, charred malt, and burnt sugar.

T: Flavor follows the nose, with the rye barrel imparting an immediate booziness. Coffee roast and strong notes of cacao nibs. There is a pleasant charred malt and a spiciness towards the middle. A flourish of caramel sweetness. Finishes bitter, with some hoppiness.

F: Slick, oily mouthfeel. Medium- to full-bodied. Smooth, with some very faint carbonation.

O: The rye barrels are a nice touch to what is already a fantastic stout base in the original BBB. Spicy and bold. Not my favorite of the Epic stout series, but a great beer on its own merit. Warrants a try if you like big stouts.

2021 batch. Drank 11/17/2023.
Pour is black with a beautiful cinnamon cap of foam that fades to a little ring around the glass and small cap
Nose is bourbon soaked coffee grounds, chocolate - not over powering, but probably not unexpected after 2ish years
Taste follows - bourbon immediately, followed by a huge wave of coffee, chocolate, lightly peppery character from the rye, vanilla.
smooth, creamy, thick body.
excellent beer.

Poured into a tulip glass from a 1 pt 6 oz bomber.

Appearance: Black, with a very slight head — more of a foam ring — that left nice, even lacing.

Nose: Wonderful — dark roast, brown sugar, alcohol.

Mouthfeel: Medium, left a light coating on my tongue.

Attack: Follows the nose well — dark roast, just a bit of sweetness, rye alcohol, a bit of coffee.

Finish: Bitterness from the roast and maybe a bit from the coffee, to balance the attack.

Overall: This is a sipper, and a very nice one. Good job, Epic!

 

 

Taster at Growler Guys. Black pour, relatively flat, thin beige ring. Boozy, woody aroma, spicy. Taste is roasty, chocolate, peppery, strong. Dry, mouth coating.

 

Silky black pour with some foam risen to the surface.
Aromas of milky chocolate, caramel, vanilla, spices, whiskey.
Taste follows the aroma in a balanced form. Bakers chocolate upfront with some vanilla and caramel. You can taste slight spices in here slight nutmeg. Definitely can taste the alcohol in this.
Medium bodied, slightly acidic, you can taste the ABV on this one for sure. Sipper, enjoyable.
Overall I'm glad I got this on sale because this is a good one to try.

 

A: Pours an opaque yet still clear thick viscous jet black in color with moderate amounts of active visible carbonation rising along the edges of the glass and faint dark chestnut brown + dark cola brown + dark amber colored highlights. The beer has a two finger tall dense sudsy foamy dark tan head that slowly reduces to a handful of small patches of medium thick film surrounded by a large patch of mottled very thin film covering the remainder of the surface of the beer and a thin ring at the edges of the glass. Light to moderate amounts of lacing are observed.

S: Slightly stronger than moderate aromas of roasted + dark + chocolate + caramel malts with light to moderate amounts of caramel sweetness and hints of charred malts. Light aromas of dark chocolate + cacao nibs + coffee and slightly heavier than light aromas of spicy rye whiskey + toasted oak. Light to moderate aromas of earthy hops.

T: Upfront there are slightly stronger than moderate flavors of rich roasted + dark + chocolate + caramel malts with light to moderate amounts of caramel sweetness and hints of charred malts. That is followed by light flavors of dark chocolate + cacao nibs + coffee and slightly heavier than light flavors of spicy rye whiskey + toasted oak. Finally there are light to moderate flavors of earthy hops. Slightly stronger than moderate amounts of lingering roasty + earthy hop bitterness.

M: Slightly heavier than medium bodied with moderate amounts of carbonation. Smooth with a hint of alcohol warming.

O: Drinks quite easily considering the strength of the beer and the alcohol is well hidden with an enjoyable smooth mouthfeel. Nice complexity of malts flavors without too much sweetness and enough earthy hop to balance it out. Nice roasty bitterness and the flavors/aroma are well complemented by the contributions from the rye barrels.

 

L: Pours a dark black color with a small tan head and a spattering of lacing on the glass.

S: Very peppery, notes of caramel and molasses, and earthy malt, and a note of chocolate.

T: Strong peppery note, followed by toasted malt, caramel and chocolate and some earthy malt, different than the regular Big Bad Baptist but still nice and enjoyable.

F: Smooth large body.

O: Definitely a different take on the Big Bad Baptist but enjoyable.

Poured from a 22 oz bottle from 2021 into the test glass
A - Inky black, little carbonation, sticky rings cling to the glass
S - Char, vanilla, dark chocolate, cigar tobacco. There is a solid alcohol thread
T - Bakers chocoalte, vanilla, peppery rye, all blend into a real winner
M - Slick, heavy body, avoids being sweet, dry finish with a slightly boozy exhale.
O - A big beautiful stout, the rye barrel treatment is full bore and unabashised

 

22oz bottle. Poured out an opaque, jet-black color with a good-sized, khaki-colored head of foam. It left sticky rings of lace on the glass. It smelled very smokey and charred with oak, vanilla, chocolate and molasses. Very smokey tasting with whiskey, oak, vanilla and dark chocolate.

Poured out a dark brownish-black with a thick tan head. Smell is of some coffee and of alcohol. The taste is what's in the smell, some coffee and the rye. Not as good as the other BBB Stouts but I wouldn't say no if one was offered.

**
10/02/22

Thick black. Small cappuccino head. Ok retention.

Coffee and roasted malt. Medium strength.

Fudge, bittersweet cocoa, coffee upfront and wood and spicy rye in finish. Well balanced flavor-wise.

Mostly smooth. Full body.

Very nice. A touch raw, even aged about a year.

**