Coconut Phantom Unicorn
Pipeworks Brewing Co.

 

Pours an inky black color that has mahogany brown colors on the edges and a mocha colored head provides a nice little ring around the beer.

The nose is heavy on the oak and bourbon notes as soon as you open the can, and after the pour, there’s a significant coconut note, and lots of vanilla and cocoa.

The taste is led by the coconut and cocoa, with the vanilla smoothing thugs out for the bourbon and oak to shine at the back of the palate and warming alcohol as finish the taste. Really well done, IMHO.

The mouthfeel is full and creamy, as expected for a BA pastry stout. I’d drink this again.

malty creamy stout with ice coconut after taste

16 ounce can into a snifter. Had 11/4/22.

Pours near black and opaque, oily looking, with no head and no lacing. Aromas of bourbon, coconut, vanilla, malt, some oak and chocolate. Flavors of bourbon, vanilla, coconut, malt, some oak and chocolate. Smooth, a solid full body, appropriately carbonated.

Pretty straightforward and also barrel forward, but not dominating. The coconut shows pretty well and overall, the aromas and flavors are hearty and distinct. This is best fully warmed.

RBUG22 0424

 

Poured from one pint can into chilled glass. Poured hard result is a dark brown almost black beer with a tan head that dissipates almost immediately and leaves no lacing. Smell of bourbon, cocoa, coconut, vanilla, and hint of oak. Medium carbonation and mouthfeel. Taste follows smell with cocoa, coconut, vanilla, and a hint of oak. Deliciously decadent beer that borders on the sweet side.

From a 16oz can. Pours a thick oily black color with a dark tan head. Smell and tast is char whiskey roasted chocolate cocoa coconut. Mout feel is s west and has a great barrel forward taste luscious chocolate and warming bourbon with just the right amount of cocnut..

 

Pipeworks is one of the kings of the value stout. They release very good BA brews at a reasonable cost. Here we have the coconut variant of the BA Unicorn. It has that classic medium body, not too thick and not too thin. Good whiskey and toasted coconut flavors. ABV always sneaks up with these guys as they are so smooth.

Coconut Phantom Unicorn from Pipeworks, 16 oz can. Purchased from Franklin Beer, Franklin, PA on 20/02/23 for $ 9.50 (Including tax) - $ 0.594oz. In reefer at store, stored at 34 degrees at home. Reviewed 03/03/23 (Review 3056). Note that I use DD/MM/YY protocol.
Undated can. Served at 47.6 degrees in a hand washed and dried Jester King snifter. The final temperature was 53.2 degrees.
Appearance – 4.5.
First pour – Amber Brown (SRM 18), translucent.
Body – Ruby Brown (SRM 24), opaque. Under direct light, tons of precipitate. When rear lite, translucent ruby at the edges.
Head – Average (Maximum 2.5 cm, aggressive center pour), russet, high density, receding to a 0.2 cm crown and a small, thin island.
Lacing – None – as basically expected at 13.3% ABV.
Aroma – 4.25 – Strong cocoa, coconut, and enough vanilla that I can actually smell it! No malt, no yeast, no hops. No ethanol (13.3 % ABV as marked on label) aroma.
Flavor – 4.5 – Begins with cocoa and coconut with some vanilla on the aftertaste - no hops, no yeast. Slight oakiness. Mild gastric warming. No dimethylsulfide or diacetyl. Distinct ethanol appears on the exhale from the first few sips before disappearing.
Palate – 4 – Medium; creamy; soft, lively carbonation.
Final impression and summation: 4.25 (After deducting 0.25 point for an undated personal container) Very good! The flavors and aroma are outstanding and stand out – each is distinguishable. Unfortunately, the barrel-aging is undetectable other than a ghostly oakiness in the first few sips. Although a bit of alcohol appears on the exhale after the first few sips, it quickly disappears, making this a dangerously mild brew which can easily sneak up and noir-ly sap you.

16oz can. No dating information found.
Black colored body, with just a very thin red mahogany back lit edge. Three fingers of fizzy brown head, and this disappears in three minutes, resulting in an active surface storm and ring.
Aroma is bourbon barrel laid over chocolate, vanilla, and coconut. The coconut is definitely there.
Taste is a real balance of sweet and bourbon barrel. The sweet comes from the vanilla, lactose and coconut. The barrel aging adds the barrel and oak. Lots of yummy chocolate, especially in the aftertaste. Some molasses, and something close to cherry also.
Thicker mouth feel, with some stickiness. Supportive carbonation.
Over the top barrel aged stout, very full of added flavors - cocoa, vanilla and coconut. Seems hot, not from the higher ABV% but just from the mix that makes it intense.

 

Welcome back to MN barrel aged Pipeworks! We’ve missed you. Well, I did. 16 oz. can split with my wife.

Black, blacker. The nose brings an unstimulating amount of coconut & vanilla.

Coconut Phantom Unicorn lowers the coconut boom. Enough coconut to satisfy several sun bears. Light roast, heavy sweetness that leans towards vanilla, light booze. Very light bourbon in the back of the throat that gets incrementally less light as it warms. Sticky. Nicely balanced. The sixteen ounces would make an excellent serving size.

A good, solid barrel aged stout that’s a cannon shot from some of Pipeworks’ legends.

 

 

Pours a fairly sludgy ebony with a sliver of mocha colored head. Some lacing & near zero head retention

S: Coconut, cola, fades as the carbonation dies down

T: Toasted coconut, cola, dark fruits, & molasses up front, plus dryness, from the barrel perhaps?. Coconut, cola & a little dark chocolate, plus dryness as this beer approaches room temperature. Finishes warming, with cola & chocolate notes, plus toasty coconut & dryness

MF: Pretty chewy, low carbonation, warming

Drinks great for the heft, nice flavors

 

 

Each one of this series I try, the results are diminishing. Brownish black opaque body with a finger of dark brown foam. Smell covers up the barrel with roasted dark chocolate malt, vanilla and raw coconut, bourbon pokes through. The taste is similar, expect there is a metallic tone on the finish with the coconut that ruins all the good it had going. Barrel character is shallow, adjuncts don't pop within the malt body, but full bodied, smooth and warm.

Released summer 2022; drank 10/31/22 @ the Yarchives.

Black/brown appearance.

A rough pour yielded a small, noisy dark tan head which quickly dissipated; almost no lace.

STRONG bourbon heat, caramel & faint coconut notes in the nose. So boozy that it's a bit unpleasant.

Medium mouthfeel.

Bourbon heat, caramel & dry oak flavors.

Thin, boozy as hell and not much fun. At least it'll make you feel good...