Early Bird Special
Aardwolf Brewing Company

 

 

A black oily color on the pour with a fast off-white head. The nose is decently floral with malt and spices. I seem to be getting a berry note as well. My initial guess would be some sort of fruited stout/porter. The drinking hits with lots of thick malt upfront, with a silky smooth flow, and tangy finish. Additional flavor tones of chocolate, coffee, vanilla, cinnamon, lactose, tannin, and oak. The more I consume the more I begin feel how very well balanced the brew is and all the different flavors meld right together. Full bodied and while I can tell its a high abv, I'm guessing +10%, but it hides so well and drinks so easily. Thick, but lush and silky as well. A slight decadent feel but it's not terribly sweet.

Overall, this is delicious and right up my alley.

I suppose it's time I pull this from the cellar and crack it.

Purchased at Broudy's in St. Augustine for $10.99 back in June 2018.

Dark black pour with a thin fingernail of head, receding to almost zero.

Strong aroma of cinnamon and vanilla, with hints of guadjillo pepper, hot tamale, coffee, and very very faint hot chocolate.

Boy lemme tell you - if you like cinnamon and vanilla (particularly cinnamon), this is the stout for you. You can't miss it. Cinnamon bomb with lots of vanilla, slight coffee, slight hot pepper, and even slighter chocolate. The chocolate actually adheres to the sides of the mouth and you can taste it more after the finish. Wow.

Feel is a bit watery/light, definitely not as thick or as carbonated as I'd like. Slightly uncharactaristically slick. It's kinda flabby. Nice alcohol and pepper/cinnamon heat though, which saves it somewhat.

Overall, a pretty damn stellar stout. I'll be jamming on this for awhile, I dunno if I'm glad that I picked this for the rest of the night, I may cap it and revisit tomorrow not because it's too strong/icky, but just because I'm not sure I want this much cinnamon for the rest of the night. This is really what Xocoveza should be - and that's not a shabby beer either, but this one is better.

 

No date on the bottle but I’m assuming it’s from earlier this year since I picked it up locally and they rotate stock often. Now I wish it were fresher because I didn’t realize it wasn’t a stout to sit on. Happy to see it made with Bold Bean coffee just down the road from the brewery, though. And appropriately, I cracked this open at 9:30am on a Sunday.

I’m just a bit disappointed, though, because some of the flavors are a bit off. If this were a blind taste test, I’d guess it was the version with chili peppers. Maybe it’s just too much cinnamon or Madagascar vanilla beans are stronger than I realize. Something is just too bitter and a tad hot.

Meh...was excited for this one, but it really just seems like a boozy stout, not a true imperial. Coffee aspect is solid, being present throughout. Other than that, this is rookie stuff. Oh well.

Modest beige head. Deep dark brown liquid where no light shines through at all. Little lace.

Spicy aroma of cinnamon, nutmeg, and light chilies. Faint vanilla and dark chocolate are also present. Extraordinarily complex.

The flavor starts off normally but explodes with a variety of flavors in the swallow. Chewy body but with ample carbonation as balance. The dark and burnt malts give way to the aforementioned spices in the finish except I note a lot more bittersweet chocolate in the taste. Long pleasant aftertaste.

 

L: The pour is dark dark brown with a reddish edge. Minimal and fine head that dissipated quickly. Head showed a red hue while it lasted.

S: A mellow coffee roast with a very subtle vanilla sweetness. Chickory. Pretty good stuff that reminds me of a good coffee at breakfast.

T: For a dark stout loaded with coffee this is a very mellow taste. The vanilla may be a cause of the soft subtle almost milkyness of this predominantly coffee forward beer. Very easy finish. The coffee is better quality and more gently roasted than some. This is a matter of preference, and I am torn as to whether it is weaker/ less mean spirited/less agressively angry than I want .... or beautifully balanced and well thought out in comparison to others..... Just depends on my mood I guess. I don't get much cinnamon flavor. I expected more based on the description that mentions cinnamon.

F: At first it hits a sort of flat and coffee forward note. Spreads nicely across the palate and holds a brilliant complex flavor throughout. The finish is very milky smooth and rather brilliantly uses the vanilla to smooth out the acidic coffee.

O: This is a slightly different breakfast stout. Pretty brilliant if what you are looking for is something intellectual and smooth. Aardwolf is making something special in this stout.

 

 

 

 

 

Decent head retention for the style; brew is a nutty, ebony color, seemingly clear.

Wonderful coffee-forward aroma, with vanilla and cinnamon fighting for second place. Think: a more coffee-forward Xocoveza.

Flavor is a more balanced blend of the three major adjuncts, with cinnamon, vanilla, and coffee vying for equal representation on your palate. There's also an interesting smoky component, completely unexpected and reminiscent of bacon. Roasted barley brings a toffee and chocolate flavor to the party.

Fairly thick, smooth, a touch sticky; excellent feel overall.

I really have zero complaints with this beer, save perhaps that it's a touch derivative of others' work. However, for pure quality, this is an outstanding breakfast stout.

My first official review on this site! I'm more of a sour beer guy, but seeing as how the release for the latest batch of Early Bird Special is this weekend, I had to go with this beer first. This probably the best stout brewed in Jacksonville, and one of my personal favorites of any brewery. Seek it it out!!

 

 

 

This is pretty nice, kind of an all adjunty stout. The body is medium, smell is light spice, taste is pretty similar, some vanilla notes but nothing bold. Very decent for 10 bucks