Big Bad Baptist - Toasted Coconut
Epic Brewing Company

this is great, one of the best variants of this ive had in awhile, huge thanks to my boy for sharing, we ripped a few coconut dark brews in this session and this one was a standout for me, lots of barrel, lots of coconut, enough bitter chocolate character, not too sweet, woody, drinkable for its strength cant believe this is so strong, it stays out of the way even at temperature, and there is a cool oily slickness from the coconut, its almost fatty to me, some people might not dig that, but i love the smoothness and the richness it brings, definitely authentic on the coconut, real well balanced overall, not over flavored, the stout stands up to the added ingredients, overall this is elite, kind of tropical in the middle of winter too which is fun. thought this would have higher ratings. slick looking pour, near black, greasy kind of, high shine. the nose and taste are toasted coconut all the way, a macaroon cookie thing, even down to the condensed milk richness, some chocolate from the malt meets the deeper nibs, subtle vanilla and honey from the whiskey, char, oak, smoke, molasses, and fudge, really appealing. the coconut is only a little sweet, the body is big and the taste and feel are long lingering, but its not riding a ton of residual sugar for what it is. not particularly carbonated beer, but i dont think it needs to be, i like the pace and the staying power. amazing coconut profile is what makes this special, but the overall quality is high, and epic does it again with this now legendary baptist series. i would rank this pretty high on the all time list, if you like coconut, this is a cant miss. really really good.

Very tasty overall, but frankly, one of the most disappointing entries in a series that routinely underwhelms (outside of the OG BBB, and special barrel treatments such as DBA, TBA, and QBA).

The problem, such as it is (because, again, this is a tasty beer), is the coconut. It tastes a bit out of place and artificial, and in combination with the barrel, just gives off a cheap impression - similar to how Dragon's Milk comes across, especially when compared to thicker, more potent BBA imperial stouts. The cacao is mostly absent on the palate, and the coffee from OG BBB is missed, as well.

Is this a flavored BA imperial stout? Yes. Is it tasty? Yes. Is it a standout in the style? Only in that it stands out as definitely not being one of the best.

 

 

 

Poured into a Fremont small snifter. Poured into a Fremont small snifter. Pours a very dark mahogany brown, appearing nearly opaque black in the glass with an initially fizzy, one finger dark khaki head that nevertheless had great retention and nice lacing. Aroma of dark toasted malt, light whiskey, baker's chocolate, toasted coconut and light coffee. Flavor is dark toasted malt, dark chocolate, whiskey, toasted coconut and light coffee. Chocolate, whiskey, coffee and coconut finish. Medium bodied with moderate creaminess; great mouth feel. The classic rich BBB stout base with good chocolate, light coffee and whiskey but with pleasant light coconut. The coconut has distinct toasted character and as usual, the coffee is present, but not dominating; mostly chocolate and barrel notes. I'm a big fan of this series and largely due to the excellent base stout that is rich and well balanced. The coconut is deftly handled. This might be my favorite of this year.

22oz bomber. Poured out an opaque, jet-black color with a small, khaki-colored head of foam. It left sudsy trails of lace on the glass. It smelled strongly of toasted coconut, chocolate, toffee and molasses. Sweet chocolate taste with toasted caramel, toffee and hints of bourbon and oak.

Im not at all impressed with this one. None of the 2022 set are "bad" but they're not it to me chief. Where is the coconut? Is this not just the regular with more abv? This year's releases were a let down for me idk.

From the 22 oz bottle in a snifter. This solid imperial pours a coal black with
a very nice head of tan foam that settles to a thick ring, thin dusty layer, and
sports some very nice lacing. Nose of light whiskey, faint oak, dark chocolate,
and toasted coconut. Flavors crank it up from the rather muted nose; rich
dark chocolate, whiskey, spicy rye, oak, vanilla, deep dark coffee, dark berry
notes of blackberry and raspberry, brewers licorice hints, cream, nicely toasted
coconut, and brulee. Mouth feel is full, smooth, rich, coating, light carbonation,
and finishes with a nice bitter malt note of balanced toasted coconut.

Overall, more excellence from an excellent brewer!

One of our Christmas brews (!!!!)

Cheers

 

2022 release
Pours a foamy 1/2 finger brown head with fair retention, nice lacing, nice legs, jet black color

Nose brings a lot, dark chocolate, cocoa, toasted coconut, marzipan, nutty almond and pecan, nougat, baking spices, vanilla spice, toasted oak, fudge, a bit of candy bar chocolate caramel, roast, espresso mocha java, Mounds bar

Taste brings more of everything, dark chocolate cocoa, a bit fudgey, roasted malt, coffee and mocha, some warming alcohol, into more candy bar with nougat, almond paste and marzipan, general nutty notes, fair toasted coconut, once again Mounds bar kinda thing, although not a ton of coconut up front, some bitter spicy hop notes and bitter roasted malt, a bit of barrel with some vanilla and toasted oak, hint of whisky, baking spices. Drier finish with more of everything blending together

Mouth is fuller bod, a bit thick chewy, light warming smooth alcohol, med to lighter carb

Overall in line with typical BBB series, nice base beer, good adjuncts with a bit of toasted coconut and cocoa nibs, barrel was a bit on the light side but enough to blend in, nicely balanced, not incredible but solid

22 oz bomber, bought at the brewery in Salt Lake City, poured into a snifter.
Aroma is typical BBB, coconut is barely present, but there.
Taste is BBB - coffee, cacao, roasty malt, bourbon & barrel. I do not get smacked in the mouth with roasted coconut, and that’s a shame. Good alcohol content.
Feel is smooth, medium carb, a little creaminess.
Overall, low to no roasted coconut leaves me with a Big Bad Baptist. And that’s a good thing, I guess.

Draft at Hops & Bottles. Dark brown pour, ring of beige bubbles. Aroma is cocoa, light coconut. Taste also leads with the cocoa, sweet, roasty malts, coffee and coconut just minor notes. A bit of booziness creeps in at the end.

 

 

**
12/12/22
Bottle to snifter.

dark black, medium light brown head. Good retention.

Cocoa and coconut are evident, but not as smooth or potentially as some other adjunct stouts. Whiskey evident in the back of the flavor profile, but not necessarily strong in the nose.

A touch thin for the style.


Very tasty and a beer right up my alley, but certainly not perfectly executed. Mildly recommended.

**

These are almost not worth it to chase every year; they are almost $20, they sit in our market for over a year, and they are all very similar and honestly nothing earth-shattering. That being said, this variant was pretty good, smooth sweetness in the aromas and palate, minor impressions of coconut really but a balanced approach overall with notes of that coffee and darker chocolate cacao nib, subdued alcohol presence and no burn, very smooth and approachable.

I don’t feel like I should have to plead for more coconut in a beer that’s supposed to be distinguished by the presence of coconut. Over priced and underwhelming.

Look: Pours motor oil black with barely any head. Was a bit difficult to make out the color of the head because it was so feint. Still a good looking imperial stout though.

Smell: I’m getting coffee, vanilla, and coconut. The coconut isn’t as strong as I was expecting. This is a boozy stout but I’m not getting much of the booze on the nose.

Taste: The taste really comes through after an underwhelming nose. Beautiful combo of the whiskey and coconut, and then hints of cacao and vanilla.

Feel: Heavy as expected, and also boozy. Hits similarly to others in this series of beers.

Overall: There are better versions of the Big Bad Baptist but this one is serviceable. I do wish the look and aroma had more character, the taste in this one is really nice though.