Big Bad Baptist - Double Jam
Epic Brewing Company

 

Big Bad Baptist Double Jam from Epic. Purchased from Franklin Beer, Franklin, PA, 26/04/25. 22 fl oz bottle, $14.00 (Including tax), $ 0.657/fl oz. Reviewed 03/05/25 (Review 3522). Note that I use DD/MM/YY protocol.
Stamped on label “RELEASE#2” but otherwise undated. Stored on room temperature shelf at the distributor, 39 degrees F at home; served at 57.2 degrees F in a hand washed and dried Jester King snifter. The final temperature is 60.0 degrees F.
Appearance – 4
First pour – Deep Amber (SRM 15), clear.
Body – Amber Brown (SRM 18), opaque. Under direct light, same. When rear-lite, deep amber at the edges.
Head – Average (Maximum 1.1 cm, aggressive center pour). Caramel, high density, average retention, collapsing to a 0.5 cm crown and a thin, partial cap.
Lacing – Good. Bands of tiny bubbles slowly devolving into torn curtains.
Aroma – 3.5 – Berry-ish but lacking specificity. No yeast, no hops, no char, no alcohol, no coffee, no roasted malt, neither whiskey nor barrels.
Flavor – 3.25 – Begins sweet (but not cloying) with generic berries. No yeast, hops. A hint of chocolate. No alcohol (11 % ABV, according to the label). No dimethylsulfide or diacetyl. Again, no coffee. No whiskey/barrels. Barely noticeable gastric warming. Blackberry on the aftertaste.
Palate – 3.5 – Medium: weakly creamy: soft carbonation.
Style: Follows the loose style guidelines as condensed by BA.
Final impression and summation: 3.25 (After deducting 0.25 point for an undated bottle) Uncredited label artist. Tastes like a subdued box of fruit drink – alcohol, coffee, whiskey barrels definitely well-hidden. Distinctly non-beer like. Now the question becomes whether to waste the expense by drain-pouring or waste my time by drinking the rest of the bomber. But wait! As the end nears, the gastric warming becomes noticeable and pleasant.

Pours an effervescent ebony with one finger of mocha colored head. Viscous, some head retention & lacing

S: Loads of dark fruit, currant, dark cherries & berries

T: Cocoa, dark chocolate, raspberry, some dryness & raw barrel up front. Barrel dryness, dark chocolate & raspberries, a touch of Whiskey heat & some coffee notes once this beer is warmed up. Finishes with milk chocolate, sweet/tart Raspberry & a trace of Whiskey, plus some dryness & a little vanilla

MF: Medium body/chewy with dialed back carbonation, some warming. Carbonation picks up once warmed up

Pretty good imp stout, I thought the beery additions were restrained & that helped with drinkability

Appearance: Very dark amber, verging on black. No highlights to be seen, even at the narrow point of the glass. The head is small and tan-colored and quickly collapses to a scattering of foam on the surface. Very thin, and scattered fine-beaded lacing adorns the glass wall.

Aroma: Berry notes and vinous alcohol are notable in the aroma. Raspberries and blackberries are prominent, but also raisins, plums and dark chocolate and a faint coffee aroma. The alcohol has a sweet note that reminds me somewhat of port wine, though a bit more subtle. Considering the ABV of 11.5%, the alcohol seems quite restrained.

Taste: The taste begins with a strong wave of bitter chocolate. The berry flavors are present as well, but the chocolate dominates at the onset. Midway through the taste, the berries have their moment, with a layer of raspberry and blueberry jam riding a bitter chocolate wave. The alcohol adds a pleasant sweetness and a gracious warmth, but is a supporting player to the chocolate and berry jam. Late in the taste the flavor turns to cold coffee and sweet and spicy whiskey, with an accompanying surge off gentle warmth. The taste ends with a note of cold coffee.

Mouth feel: Soft and full, with a body like that of whole milk, and just a bit of soft carbonation.

Drinkability/notes: A wonderful example that seems an auspicious choice as my first beer of 2024. This stands very well on its own, but would also be a superb pairing with chocolate desserts.

Presentation: Packaged in a standard twenty-two ounce brown glass bomber with a pry-off crown, served in a La Fin du Monde tulip. This example is noted as "2021 REL #3", with a stated ABV of 11.6%.

Pours a dark brown color with a minimal head that disappears quickly. Aroma of jelly, coffee and roasted malts. Taste is sweet jelly with a alcohol warmth that gets stronger at the finish.

 

 

 

 

Dark black pour with slight head risen.
Notes of jelly, jam, sugary fruity grapes, chocolate, vanilla.
As the nose indicates but with a artificial fruitiness along. Chocolate, vanilla, coffee, tartness.
Feel is medium heavy bodied, slight carbonation. Easy to drink. Abv sips easier than it's given.
Overall a good experimental beer! I would purchase again but must try.

L: Pours a rich, dark hickory brew that is near-black, forming a crisp espresso head that dissipates fairly quickly, leaving behind a thin cloud of retention in the snifter with no lacing. Held to the light, this beer is a dense, opaque umber that is barely distinguished from a purely black hue.

S: Fruity aromas at first, along with a sweet chocolate character and hints of malts. I detect raspberries, plums, blackberries, and a hint of boysenberry. Malts, chocolate, and a trace of coffee and bourbon barrel towards the finish.

T: Sweet and tart to start - blackberries, raspberries, and a hint of blueberries. Some whiskey spice, dark roast coffee, and cacao towards the middle. Hints of char and bourbon, and perhaps some tobacco in the finish.

B: Full-bodied. Light carbonation, velvety, a bit chewy almost. Finishes dry, oddly I detected both fruit and char in this stage.

O: Big Bad Baptist is one of the best imperial stout lineups in the nation, and this was a fine addition. My favorite is the Breakfast Baptist, but this beer doesn't stray far from the tried-and-true formula. Plenty of malt, chocolate, coffee, and notes of char, oak, and spice. The blackberries and the raspberries lend a tart yet sweet character that is welcomed. Well-received and worth a purchase.

Large shared bottle.

Appearance. Near black body with a short beige head.

This stout has a lot going on. In addition to the expected coffee, whisky, chocolate and berries, the aroma carries some smoke that doesn't mix in well. The flavor is less smokey but here the coffee clashes with the berries.

Release #2, I'm guessing from 2021.

Pours black with a healthy head of tan foam, pretty good lacing.

The smell is fruity, raspberries dominate, roasty, coffee, some chocolate.

The taste is raspberries, coffee, chocolate, roasted malt, with only a hint of tartness. Well integrated flavours.

Full bodied, imho, carbonation is on the lower side.

$11.49 for the bottle, which seems reasonable to me.

 

2021 vintage, brewed & bottled in Salt Lake City, Release 2, Bottle 7510.
Brought out at 50°. Popped the cap, fragrance of berries filled the room. Aggressive pour into a 6 ounce taster brought a nice thin light brown head that hung around awhile.
First taste impression is light blackberry compote with a little bit of a sour note. Surprised that I embraced it, I don’t like sours.,.and in a moment, the familiar BBB profiles kick around the palate. A wave of cacao powder, whisp of coffee, a little sublime barrel hit. Nice finish. Not much alcohol burn at all.
The beer lost some of its fruity complexities as it warmed. Present, but in a diffetent place, if that makes sense.,.
Epic has such a good base Stout that whatever it gets treated with seeme to (usually.,.) work, and this is no exception. Double Jam is straightforward, doesn’t have a syrupy adjunct flavor, and is yet another fine variant.

2021 vintage

It’s been nearly 2 years since I’ve had BBB or any of its variants, after the horribly infected bottle of Hazelnut Vanilla Latte I had. I was pretty turned off of them because of that, but it has been quite a long time now, and this variant caught my interest. Let’s see if this can redeem it

Pours completely pitch black with a finger of dark tan head that fades to a thin cap and leaves decent lacing

The fruit comes through really vibrant in the nose, but it’s not overpowering with everything else going on. I’m picking up on aromas of tart raspberry jam, cocoa powder, medium roast coffee, sweet vanilla, jammy blackberry, toasted oak, and a touch of port wine

In taste, it unfortunately loses some complexity and tends to feel a bit thin, though it’s certainly not bad. On the front end of the sip I’m tasting tart raspberry , cocoa powder, medium roast coffee, spicy whiskey, and a touch of oak. The swallow brings notes of dark chocolate, jammy raspberry, acidic coffee, spicy whiskey, roasty bitterness, and light vanilla

A full body pairs with gentle tingling carbonation, resulting in a boozy and sharp beer. Finishes mostly dry for what it is surprisingly

The taste here is a bit weird, but the overall experience is quite nice. I can’t help but feel that the fruit faded before anything else, which is unfortunate. Oh well

Black with clear brown edges and low to no head.

Taste is chocolate drizzled PB&J with a huge punch of whiskey.

The medium-light body has an expanding froth but finishes stingingly paper dry.

Definitely my least favorite of today's BBB variants, but fun all the same.

 

Bomber from Homebrewstuff. Black pour, a few beige bubbles. Jam like aromas, berries, chocolate. Berries dominate the taste too, raspberries first. Chocolate remains in the background, light roastiness. Sweet and not overly strong.