4th Anniversary
Westbrook Brewing Co.

Very dark appearance with slight tan head that dissipates quickly. Mild coconut and chocolate aroma. Taste is a very pleasant almond and coconut blend with a touch of chocolate. A little thin.

 

 

 

22 oz bottle as, I hope, UGA beats Auburn for the SEC championship.
Essentially black body with a good light brown head.
All expected elements present: chocolate (the most obvious adjunct; more milk chocolate than dark chocolate until the aftertaste), almond (although hard to detect without some warming), coconut (faint), and dark roasted grains. Perhaps a bit sweeter than ideal but achieves good balance by the finish. Improves with warming.
Nice smooth and near full body.
Be forewarned: this has partially hidden ABV and is easy to drink quickly.

 

Big thanks to dogdoc for sending this one! Reviewed from (long-standing) notes. Consumed May 7, 2015. Poured from 22 oz. bottle into a Cycle Brewing snifter glass.

A: Essentially black and opaque, with a thin mocha head that fades quickly. Minimal if any visible carbonation bubbles.

S: Chocolate, roasted malts and pipe tobacco. A bit of coconut and mildly boozy.

T: Chocolate and bitter cacao. Dark roasted malts with a modest amount of accompanying bitterness. Some coffee flavors with more rich tobacco. A fairly noticeable alcohol heat and ethanol sweetness in the middle, but it doesn’t come across as fusel. There is a nuttiness on the exhale that I’m willing to call almond – but it’s not strong. Coconut flavors might be here if you work at it, but they’re mild as well; this stays true even as the beer is allowed to warm.

M: Heavy-bodied, but not glass-coating like Cigar City stouts. Alcohol presence is noticeable but not overly hot. Low carbonation sensation.

O: A reasonably tasty beer, but I’m disappointed by the relative lack of the promised coconut and almond flavors. I had really high hopes for this beer – thought it sounded amazing. But it ended up as a fairly good chocolate-forward stout, albeit maybe a bit warming for a non-barrel aged stout at the listed ABV…rather than a coconut and nut-forward stout.
I kept expecting the flavors to really open up as this warmed, but if anything the alcohol is becoming more prominent instead…which isn’t helping particularly.

 

L: pours pitch black with no head
S: big chocolate, vanilla sweetness and some coconut. Nice complex aroma, layered. Just not powerful enough to get a 5 here. But it is almost 2 years old
T: very nice and layer like the aroma, but like the aroma it is all subdued. I imagine it was better fresh. But there is nice chocolate, and a almond/ vanilla sweetness.
F: it's thick and smooth, but not elite
O: a good beer, but I'm too late to the party

On tap at CBC 2016, day 2. Whiskey, chocolate, toasted coconut, vnailla and some roasted nuts in the background.