The International
Gigantic Brewing Company

i wish i had better access to beer from these guys, really love what they do, always have. this is a caramel coffee stout, and its quite good, even though i wish i had opened it fresher, kind of got lost in the beer fridge and its a shame because there is some coffee fade now, which makes it seems slightly sharp and oxidized, not super problematic, but its obvious that this isnt quite at its best anymore, which is on me. nice and dark, black in the glass, not overly viscous, holding three quarters of an inch of mocha colored head, thick and frothy, looks really well refined, high shine, pretty in the glass. aroma is sweet up front, seems more like long boiled crystal malt than like added caramel, but it does hint at that, and with the java it seems a little desserty, kind of fancy, hints of brown sugar and creme brulee, lots and lots of roast, intense almost burnt, coffee and dark barley together on that, bold stout at the core of it. the flavor is great, i definitely taste the caramel up front and in the middle, warming and enriching, sweet for sure, but its pleasant and balanced by the end because the roast and the coffee in here are both real dark and intense. good bitterness, some modest acid from the coffee too, the green pepper and cardboard fade there as it warms, lots of body, could be some oats in here there is some creaminess, and some minerals in the mix as well. its long and wintery and cozy, not too sugary to drink, and with a strength that i think is right on for what they are targeting with this, its a feeling and i like it. always fun to drink gigantic beer, this was a perfect last beer of the night on a cold wintery one. hope to try it super fresh someday...