Abraxas
Perennial Artisan Ales

AbraxasAbraxas
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From:
Perennial Artisan Ales
 
Missouri, United States
Style:
American Imperial Stout
Ranked #103
ABV:
11.5%
Score:
99
Ranked #244
Avg:
4.47 | pDev: 7.61%
Reviews:
489
Ratings:
3,120
Status:
Active
Rated:
Friday at 12:00 PM
Added:
Dec 16, 2011
Wants:
  1,189
Gots:
  810
*ABV varies by year*

An Imperial Stout brewed with ancho chili peppers, cacao nibs, vanilla beans, and cinnamon sticks. Pouring deep brown with a thick head, this beer has a complex body with a delicious lingering roastiness. Abraxas is brewed with unique ingredients intended to challenge and excite the palate. It may be enjoyed right away or allowed to age in the bottle. Vertical tastings are encouraged.
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
Ratings by mvdillman:
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Rated by mvdillman from Indiana

4.75/5  rDev +6.3%

Feb 09, 2014
More User Ratings:
 
Rated: 4 by Beecham from California

Friday at 12:00 PM
Photo of taxandbeerguy
Reviewed by taxandbeerguy from Canada (ON)

4.55/5  rDev +1.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.75 | overall: 4.75
750ml bottle from a US visit. Served cool into a long-stemmed trappist glass. Listed at 10.5% ABV. Been waiting a while to cross this one off my list.

Appearance - Slick and oily looking from the glass, pitch black with a finger plus of short lived deep tan head with a nice hiss. Leaves a tiny soapy collar and no lacing.

Smell - Cinnamon is the biggest star, with a healthy amount of dark chocolate and vanilla to back things up. Maybe it's the combo with the chilis, but the cinnamon really pops in the most pleasant of ways.

Taste - Sort of sweet with the chocolate leading up front, vanilla mixed in and plenty of cinnamon. Becomes more bitter with some darker chocolate, a touch of earthiness and the peppers start to kick in. Then afterwards the chilis continue to prickle which is enhanced by the cinnamon. Maybe even a hint of smoke in the aftertaste. A flavor profile that will stay with you for a while.

Mouthfeel - Full bodied and with low carbonation, but luscious and velvety with the prickliness from the peppers once and then again the peppers come for round two with the cinnamon riding shotgun.

Overall - I've enjoyed my fair share of the Mexican style Imperial Stouts in my time, but Abraxas, just seems to delve a little deeper than most of the competition (which are excellent stouts in their own rights), with the linger chilis and the prevalence but not overuse of cinnamon coming through in such a pronounced manner. Awesome beer that should be enjoyed at cellar (but not fridge) temperature and completely worth the arm and leg of financial cost needed to obtain it. For a special sipper, it's worth it.
Mar 13, 2024
 
Rated: 3.6 by emptyglassagain from Massachusetts

Feb 23, 2024
 
Rated: 4.24 by Bil_Ganhs from Florida

Feb 02, 2024
 
Rated: 4.56 by Zanico from Ohio

Dec 25, 2023
Photo of dcotom
Reviewed by dcotom from Iowa

5/5  rDev +11.9%
look: 5 | smell: 5 | taste: 5 | feel: 5 | overall: 5
Taken from fridge and allowed to warm before pouring into a stemmed wine goblet. Pitch black, with a thin tan head. Untappd lists this at 80 IBU, but I'm not getting it. What I am getting are huge aromas and flavors of cocoa, cinnamon, and vanilla, plus char, licorice, chili heat, and enough alcohol warmth to "...light up the city of Toledo" ($1 to Trapper John McIntyre). It's also quite sweet, with a syrupy mouthfeel and a long and satisfying finish. Nothing to complain about here. This pushes all the right buttons for me.
Dec 16, 2023
Photo of hmf05
Reviewed by hmf05 from Colorado

4.73/5  rDev +5.8%
look: 5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 5 | overall: 4.75
Pours jet black with a huge creamy tan head. The aroma is incredible. I get cinnamon up front with some of the chilis. I get a touch of chocolate but no vanilla. Holy crap is this balanced. The taste is cinnamon, chilis and chocolate. No bitterness, but not cloyingly sweet either. Alcohol is not noticeable. Hard to say I've had a better imperial stout. 10/10
Dec 09, 2023
 
Rated: 4.75 by Nyoder

Nov 26, 2023
 
Rated: 4.79 by RoyalKaiju from Kentucky

Nov 15, 2023
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Reviewed by MutuelsMark from Kentucky

4.53/5  rDev +1.3%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.75 | overall: 4.5
Horse, super dark with a nice tan head. The nose is slightly cinnamon, and even more slightly char. The taste is soft with a bite of cinnamon. The ABV is not super evident as one would expect. Obviously a world-class beer.
Nov 15, 2023
Photo of LifesAnesthesia
Reviewed by LifesAnesthesia from Virginia

4.68/5  rDev +4.7%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.75 | overall: 4.75
L - Deep brown, nearly pitch black with a small tan head that dissipates quickly leaving no real lacing
S - cinnamon and chillis straight away followed by rich chocolate, roasted malts, hints of vanilla
T - rich chocolate and cinnamon, quickly followed by chillis, roasted malt, and hints of vanilla
F - full bodied with light carbonation - smooth, silky
O - truly incredible stout. A Xocoveza on steroids.
Nov 04, 2023
 
Rated: 4.21 by wisegreensoul from Idaho

Oct 08, 2023
 
Rated: 4.65 by beersampler6 from Michigan

Sep 23, 2023
 
Rated: 4.5 by leinie13 from Ohio

Aug 16, 2023
 
Rated: 4.44 by brentblackwell from Georgia

Jul 27, 2023
 
Rated: 4.5 by ThaKennster from Texas

Jul 18, 2023
 
Rated: 4.75 by freundianslip from Missouri

Jul 09, 2023
Photo of Snowcrash000
Reviewed by Snowcrash000 from Germany

3.94/5  rDev -11.9%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4
Pours an opaque, pitch-black coloration with a small, fizzy head. Smells of roasted, caramel malt and strong milk chocolate and cinnamon aromas, with hints of vanilla coming through as well. Taste follows the nose, with a poor balance of roasted, caramel malt and strong chocolate and cinnamon notes, with the cinnamon standing out particularly, as well as some vanilla and just the merest hint of chilis. Finishes bittersweet, with a medium sweetness, light bitterness and some cinnamon and chocolate lingering in the aftertaste. Full mouthfeel with a medium/rich body and carbonation.

BA Abraxas has got to be the most overrated stout that I have ever tasted and, perhaps unsurprisingly, the same goes for the base version which suffers from exactly the same poor balance that I already disliked for the barrel-aged version. It's basically a total cinnamon bomb, the cinnamon being WAY too overdone here and pretty much drowning out everything else except the chocolate, which only underlines the sweetness of the cinnamon. There's hints of vanilla as well, but next to no chili heat coming through, which this would have desperately needed to balance out that sweetness. At least the roasted malts and a light bitterness in the finish prevent this from becoming quite too cloyingly sweet, but I have had plenty of much better Mexican Imperial Stouts and the hype that surrounds this beer absolutely mystifies me. I will say that the body and mouthfeel are indeed very nice here, rich and velvety, while the chilis seem to come out just a little bit more as this warms. Also, the ABV is very well-hidden, this drinking surprisingly smooth and mellow. This is by no means a bad beer, just feels more like a Pastry Stout than a Mexican Stout to me.
Jul 08, 2023
Photo of BeerIsGood1337
Reviewed by BeerIsGood1337 from Missouri

4.53/5  rDev +1.3%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 5 | overall: 4.5
2022 vintage. Cacao and a hint of chili on the nose. Taking a first sip, the cacao really pops. A light chili and cinnamon aftertaste follows. The chili isn't spicy, but it's flavorful.

This is a fantastic imperial stout. At first, I thought this might be a little too sweet, but as I drink more, it's really not. The sweetness does a great job of balancing out the bitterness of the baker's chocolate as well as the cinnamon and I can see why they did it. I might have dialed it back just a hair, but that's a nitpick.

FULL bodied. Nice and thick, like an imperial stout should be. Almost chewy. As the beer gets warmer, the cinnamon gets more noticeable.

Long after a sip, vanilla takes center stage as it lingers on the tongue with the cacao, chili and cinnamon still noticeable in the background. Wonderful.

Overall, this is one of the very best imperial stouts I've had. Excellent job. I will buy a few more of these and see how they age, assuming I can keep them around for a few years without drinking them first.
Jul 01, 2023
Abraxas from Perennial Artisan Ales
Beer rating: 99 out of 100 with 3120 ratings