Empathy - Ghanaian Cacao Nibs & Toasted Coconut
Anchorage Brewing Company

Silver-waxed 375ML bottle. You’d think that closing in on 4,000 reviews I’d have a wax remover. I don’t. And again have to pay for it with two bruised fingers. Wax plus questionable judgement and clumsy fingers isn’t a forgiving combo.

The pour is dark & fizzes for a few nanonseconds before lapsing into moody stillness, a la Lloyd Cole circa 1990. Or 2020, for that matter. Nose is lighter than expected: barrel, cocoa, not much of either.

Empathy with Cocoa & Coconut is heavy on the base & light on the alleged adjuncts. Heavy stout with roast & residual sweetness is backed by more sweetness (Honey, I Presume?) & a quick lick of chocolate. The coconut waits until the beer has almost reached room temp before it peeks out. Bourbon wends its way throughout, also strengthening as it warms until it’s nearly all that’s left. Thick. Boozy. Bottle should be bigger. Will be weepy when this is gone.

Want advice? Take this out & let it warm for at least 20 minutes before diving in. A beer that changes more than most as it warms up. Excellent beer that nudges the elite.

Poured from a silver-waxed white label bottle into a SP light bulb stemless snifter. Does not pour as menacingly thick and dark as typical Anchorage imperial stouts. More of a shiny black with see-through dark brown edges. Still, no foam or head to speak of on the pour. This one is chocolate heavy on the nose. Lots of bourbon. Not much coconut. Although as it warms there is a coconut sweetness to the nose but the spirit barrels also intensify. Chocolate, whiskey, barrel char and toasted coconut on the taste. Sweet, of course, but the prominent barrel notes tend to cut that sweetness a bit. The toasted coconut in conjunction with the barrel-aged imperial stout and cocoa nibs also gives off some vanilla aromas and flavors. Thick mouthfeel. Slick and sticky. Good collab. Maybe not up to the typical Anchorage standards but still very enjoyable and high quality.