Space Brunch
Other Half Brewing - Center Street

 

 

The product of an unholy marriage between two of the USA's very best craft brewers. This collab is DENSE. Pours black and headless with the consistency of motor oil. Coffee dominates the nose. The mouthfeel is honey, slides luxuriously down the throat without a hint of its prodigious 13.2 ABV. At the onset, maple, coffee and a bit of tannin bitterness comes forward, but upon warming chocolate comes up full. Incredibly long, satisfying choco-maple finish. It would be gastric overkill, but this pastry dessert stout would be a frightening companion with a slab of Black Forest cake. Indulge thyself!

 

 

After a dinner than included Central Waters BA Barleywine, this 500ML bottle should put me down until after I should start working tomorrow. Oh well.

Black as tourmaline with a head that’s there, then is not there, in a few heartbeats it’s as still as a calm lake at midnight. Big, rich sweetness: maple & malts

Space Brunch has than indefinable ‘it’ factor that haunts TG stouts. It’s a lushness, a fullness that borders on pastry stout but just says “hey, I’m fucking thick, with enough alcohol to kill a naïve 19 year old, so sip carefully”. That thickness coats the palate, lips, mouth, everything it gets near. Taste is nearly secondary. Huge malt hit brings sweetness that’s complemented by a soft hand of maple & some weirdness that I’m going to credit the ice cream for. Finish of chocolate & vanilla. I’ll have no trouble putting this bottle down (& vice versa).

Decadent. Rich. No apparent booze until I, like, y’know, try to get up. This one kicks, hard. Fantastic brew.

 

Poured from the bottle into a teku glass.

Fudged dark looking brown, nearly black with a real hint of smudge to the body color. There's noticeable carbonation along the edges which makes for an interesting surprise. Very dark mocha brown head, but fleeting, and the edge carbonation barely keeps a collar going.

The aroma is a real nice treat. Big notes of ripping just opened up the coffee bag, large and accented with a good gooey caramel to maple sweetness which a great pairing. The nose really is coffee forward, and a very good one if it seems to mask much of malt and roast character.

Palate doesn't lie on the advertised flavors. Big gooey and silky velvety body, that coats like rich milk chocolate. Large flavors of coffee and chocolate ice cream that go down just like it was melted. Rich coffee notes, heck am I tasting even chocolate sprinkles in here it seems like, with livey cream and vanilla coffee all mixed in.

Big take on a pastry stout, and just like eating ice cream.