Pineapple Express
To Øl

To Øl Pineapple Express, 10% ABV. Pours medium viscosity and black, with a 5 finger persistent tan head which left foam instead of lacing. Nose is coffee, light pineapple, and alcohol peeking through. Taste is malt, some coffee, slight pineapple, and a moderate bitter close. Slightly heavy carbonation, decent mouthfeel. Overall excellent.

 

 

From the bottle, it pours as black as motor oil with zero head and no lacing at all. It literally looks like a glass of oil. Smells of soy sauce, roasted grains, char, smoked malts or burnt wood, burnt coffee grinds and some fruity notes. Flavor has more chocolate and malts in the mix along with more fruit like with the pineapple peeking through, as well as smoky aspects and roasty malts which kept the sweetness in check. The cognac and oaky/whiskey barrels gave off some nice minor spices and mild vanilla, but this brew was dominated by the dark, sweet molasses or soy sauce flavors. Earthy notes come through but don't cut down on the malty dominance. The booze is always present, but not hot.

Per the To Øl website: "As always at To Øl we look to push our boundaries and find ways of balancing ingredients you classically wouldn’t find together, and this latest beer fits right into that category. We produced a 10% imperial stout, full of rich roasted dark malts, blended with fresh pressed coffee to further boost the rich roasted flavours, and then balanced it out with bright and zesty pineapple."

 

A: Poured into a snifter to a black beer topped by a dense three finger tan head which fades slowly to a collar around the edge of the glass with excellent lacing
S: Smells of coffee and some smoke along with a little bitter dark chocolate and roasted malts.
T: Taste is light pineapple with smoke, coffee, bitter dark chocolate, and roasted malts with a nice underlying sweetness. Swallow is more roasted malts, pineapple, coffee, and chocolate with some lingering smoke.
M: This beer has a moderate amount of heft on the palate with a slightly silky mouthfeel. Carbonation is light but adequate while the beer has a drying finish.
O: Overall this is a pretty interesting beer. It has a plenty of complexity and the flavors are rock solid while being well integrated. The pineapple seems to add a nice sweet note to the beer throughout. If they make it again it's worth trying.

Served in a small pint from the bottle here at Cervecería Esparte un Conil, Spain.

Appearance: Thin black body with a slightly dark tan head rising half an inch off the body and settles quickly after one sip.

Smell: Malty scent for a stout with a grass scent.

Taste: Bitter and touch sour. Malty and coffee coffee if you know what I mean. Has a weird lemon skin feel.

Mouth: Little different than what I'm used to but it does retain it's stickiness. Medium carbonation and smooth malts to finish.

Overall: Seen this a few times and finally bit the bullet...If you want your more refreshing imperial stout you shouldn't hesitate. Salud!

 

 

for whatever reason, i had higher hopes for this. i love what these guys do, but their coffee beers havent really wowed me ever. something about the travel time and conditions i think must break it down a little bit, it always tastes on its way to stale to me. this one is better than others, but the coffee presence just seems sort of minimal, maybe lost a bit to all the roast in here, this beer is quite dark and dense. also, how the heck did i not know it was 10% abv, that explains the physical symptoms after consuming this one kind of swiftly, it sure doesnt drink that hot at all. the pineapple element is the coolest part, its sweet and more like canned juice than fresh fruit, but the flavor is mighty distinct, and its bold enough to push through the darker malt flavors and all this body. i wish the coffee was more prominent, and that its bitterness was there to balance the necessary sweetness of the pineapple, but in the end, its better on paper than it is in the glass, at least in my experience. the bitterness seems entirely grain derived, and it comes on too late to be impactful with the fruit. i liked it, but it could be so much better i think. the artwork on the label is amazing though, and i appreciate the clever idea, i just think it could be refined a little bit into a superior beer without a lot of work. these guys continue to be one of the more creative breweries anywhere, and i respect them like mad! better than i am making it sound for sure...

 

 

12.7 oz. bottle

Pours black with a dense creamy brown foam head. Smells like fresh ripe pineapple, coffee, dark chocolate, smoky roasted malts, vanilla, caramel, brown sugar, molasses, toasted bready malt, with floral earthy herbal grassy pine. Tastes like fresh tangy pineapple, roasted coffee, dark chocolate, smoky roasted malts, vanilla, caramel, brown sugar, molasses, nutty toasted bready malt, with floral earthy herbal grassy pine. Feels medium bodied, creamy with moderate carbonation. Overall a really nice imperial stout with pineapple and coffee.

Poured into a Fremont small snifter. Pours a very dark mahogany brown, appearing nearly black in the glass with a nice two finger light brown head with great retention and lots of lacing. Aroma of dry biscuity toasted malt, coffee, licorice and an obscure fruit component that I would not have identified as pineapple right away without knowing it ahead of time. Flavor is dark toasted malt with light char, brewed coffee, licorice and light, slightly tart pineapple. Lingering dark malt with more mildly tart pineapple Medium bodied with a good creaminess. A somewhat dry stout body, with a profile closer to a heavy foreign export stout. Nice char notes. The pineapple was interesting, but had the unfortunate light tartness that barrelled stouts get when they are going off (which this does not appear to be; the light tartness is exactly what I'd expect from pineapple). The coffee is present mostly as coffee bean bitterness in the finish. Enjoyable and interesting, but sour notes in stouts do not appeal to me. Odd and well made as I'd expect from this brewer. No skunkiness from the green bottle, which is a big plus.

On-tap at Mugs Alehouse, Brooklyn, NY

A: The beer is jet black in color. It poured with a short but dense tan head that left lots of lacing on the surface and down the sides of the glass.
S: Light aromas of coffee beans are present in the nose.
T: The taste starts off with some coffee and stout-like licorice flavors, but transitions to notes of pineapples in the finish.
M: It feels medium-bodied on the palate and has a moderate amount of carbonation.
O: The pineapple is a unusual addition and while it is blended well with the beer, I didn't think that the mixture of flavors was overly interesting.

Serving type: on-tap

 

 

 

 

A bit of a shape-shifter, this beer. Had the label not tipped me off about the pineapple, I'd never have noticed. Not that this is bad. Rather, the subtle integration is a sign of skillful brewing. If anything, I'd have guessed (blind) that this is a stout that has seen some smoked malt. Who knows? Maybe it has.

The beer's as black as the night is long. The aromas suggest smoked meat and nights by the campfire. Fire-roasted pineapple? Let's go with that. And plenty of chocolate notes, all the way to cocoa-dusted ganache.

On the palate it's not nearly as weighty as its 10% might suggest. If anything, it has a beguiling acidity reminiscent of red wine ... and all the earthy (licorice), chocolaty, nutty (sherry) and roast-like espresso notes you'd expect in a beer like this. And that smoky note carries all the way through. Finishes dry, with a lingering savory note. (If you're looking for a dessert stout, this isn't it.)