Mr. Sandman - Chai Spice
River North Brewery

L: Pours a thick opaque brown black with a very small tan head that dissipates almost immediately.

S; Notes Chai spice, clove, ginger, some sweet cinnamon and a lot of other spices, followed by some roasted malt.

T: Sweet Chai Spice, cinnamon, glove ginger, and a strong herbal spiciness, a light bit of roasted malt, but the Chai spice here is definitely the dominant player in this beer (even after more than two years from it being bottled), I would like to see a little more the stout base show here.

F: Larger body, smooth creamy mouthfeel.

O: While I would like the spice toned down a bit, this is still a nice stout.

 

L: Opaque dark deep brown with a thin tan head that dissipates to a wispy cap with clumpy retention.

S: So many spices come together on my nose. I don't get the vanilla so much - this does not smell like a dessert beer, but rather a black chai tea, plus the roastiness of a stout. All well blended but in descending strengths I find ginger, cloves, black pepper, cinnamon, and I do pick up the cardamom which is a nice surprise.

T: Follows the nose with a roasty dry and bitter finish. No cacao to be found.

O: Bottle aged 13 months as 6 mo was not enough for the standard BA version. I very much enjoyed this brew. I generally do not go for the pumpkin ales or other heavily spiced beers, but this one really did it for me by not taking the dessert road. I tend to find the addition of such spices to detract from the base, but amazingly this iteration blows away both the base beer and the whiskey barrel version!

 

Black body with a nice inch khaki head that dissipates into a nice even lacing. Smells like nutmeg upfront and a bit like freshly baked pumpkin pie. Tastes like cinnamon, chai, vanilla, star anise and dark malts. Feels smooth and lightly carbonated. Super drinkable but not really a traditional stout.

Coal-black body; thick, foamy head, long lasting. Spicy, minty aroma; sage; cocoa; earthy. Spicy, peppery flavor; some suggestion of a chili pepper presence; cinnamon; dark roasted grain and bitter chocolate flavor. Heavy body; smooth but with a spicy edge cut; muted sweetness at the finish along with some alcohol burn.

A very spice-forward imperial stout delivering some nice edgy counterpoint to the usual heavy sweetness of many imperial and double stouts. Suggestions of anise and sage along with a deceptively low-key booziness play well together and deliver a unique dark ale experience. The adventurous and daring stout drinker should find this one quite intriguing.

A: Opaque dark brown with a light brown head that disappeared to just a thin layer across the top of the beer. A slight amount of sticky lacing that over the course of drinking the beer also disappeared. No visible carbonation.

S: Without dissecting the beer, the ingredients come together similar to a pumpkin spice beer. I realize writing this at the front of my review may immediately turn you off, but please, stick with me here.

Taking a deeper dive, cardamom, clove, cinnamon, vanilla, ginger and black pepper. There is a hint of spice to the aroma, but it is hard to tell if this comes from ginger, black pepper or both. I want to say there is a hint of freshly cracked black pepper. Everything comes together in unison. You can smell each ingredient, but they are all well integrated. None of them stand out on their own and none of them are hidden. I’ve never had the base imperial stout, so I am not sure how it tastes, but outside of the notes above, I am not getting anything else that would indicate stout, such a chocolate, coffee, roast, etc. The spices dominate and create a sweet aroma. There is a sweet doughy/bready component. Think raw gingerbread or oatmeal raisin cookie dough. Zero indications of the 12.1% ABV.

T: This beer is not as sweet as the nose indicates. On the tip of the tongue the sweetness comes through as vanilla and bread baked with spices such as cardamom, clove, cinnamon and ginger. Toward the middle of the palate the flavor shifts to cola, along with the spices. I am not getting any heat on this beer from the pepper or the ginger. The finish is dry, moderately roasty and bitter. Imagine crushing some cinnamon, clove and cardamom with a mortar and pestle. It would actually be quite bitter. This is what I am getting. Not sweetened spices like a Starbucks chai spice latte. I do not taste any alcohol, but get a hint of pleasant warmth in the pipes.

M: Nice mouthfeel. Not the thickest stout I have had, but full bodied with some prickly carbonation. Finishes dry on the palate.

D: This is a nice beer. If you do not like the aforementioned spices, then you probably will not like this beer. However, this is just that: A Beer! It does not taste as sweet as it smells, and in fact, there are some nice stout qualities that I mentioned in the taste above. It is not a pastry stout, despite its description as a “chai spiced stout.” Given the dry, roasty and bitter finish, would probably work extremely well with a very sweet dessert such as a black forest cake. Very good beer that I would drink again if seeking this flavor profile.