The Giant
Fredericksburg Brewing Company, Inc.

On tap at Fredericksburg Brewing Company in Fredericksburg, TX.

This one pours a fairly dark black, with a small foamy head and not much lacing.

This smells like deeply roasted malt, licorice, herbal hops, and very dark chocolate.

After the pretty boring porter, I was surprised that this was pretty well done. It’s very burly and very dark, with a heavy and almost burnt roast character, dark bitter chocolate, licorice root, smoke, and hop bitterness.

This is creamy and rich, with a medium bodied mouthfeel, and a lower level of carbonation.

This is pretty solid. Nothing crazy but enjoyable.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Pours a thick black with a maroon tint to it. It had a small, mocha head that probably would have been bigger except that the growler was cheap and was filled a few days ago. The smell is heavenly. Like peat-smoked chocolate. I can see why they brew this for Valentine's Day. It smells like straight chocolate. Some sweet roasted malt is in there too. This is going to be a sugary stout. I can tell.
The taste is not quite what I expected. The chocolate hit first, then maybe some coffee. Lots of roasted malt flavour and maybe even some hops, but then I noticed a distinct lack of sweetness. From the smell, I thought this would be more of a cream stout than anything. I thought with the amount of chocolate on the nose, it must be sweet. But it is quite bitter. Don't get me wrong, it's damn delicious, just damn bitter too. Like barely sweetened cold coffee. And judging by the taste and the type of bitterness, I'd say there actually is coffee and cocoa used in this beer. Those two flavours are stronger than anything else. Sometimes I'm not sure if I'm drinking beer or coffee. It's like it's half and half between the two. I like drinking black coffee, so I'm still a fan, but it is a bit over the top and if they're going to do that, they really should have allowed for more residual sugars, I think. Drinking a pint of cold, bitter coffee isn't the easiest thing to do. This beats the hell out of the not at all impressive red ale from the same brewery. It's unique and delicious, but it could certainly use improvement.

 

 

Thanks to jjfoodie for sharing this growler.

The beer pours a black color with a medium brown head. The aroma is roasted malt with some earthy and dirt notes. The flavor is roasted malt, dirt and chocolate. Medium mouthfeel and low carbonation. The beer appears to have some potential, but the dirt flavor and aroma just doesn't do it for me.

A - Pours up jet black with a thin brown head

S - subtle chocolate aroma with some roast. Like a coffee with cream

T - rich chocolate flavor starts off with subtle roast finish. A hint of hop bitterness on the back of the tongue

M - full bodied with subtle carbonation

D - a little sweet which makes me feel full quicker. Not bad, but drier would have been nicer

Giant is pitch black with a creamy, brown head. Retention is very good. Aroma is of dark roasted malt with a trace of alcohol. Taste is of rich, dark malts with a sweet roasted flavor. Flavors are complex and layered nicely. A bit of alcohol joins the sweet malts in the finish. The flavor is great, but seems a little "small" for an imperial stout, to me this seems like a beefed up version of their porter instead.