Belly Of The Beast - Imperial Bacon Stout
Rockingham Brewing Company

This was poured into a snifter.
The appearance was a dark black color with an eggshell white foamy head that dissolved at a fair pace. Slight lace wound around the glass.
The aroma was absolutely awesome - just the exact level of sweet, smoky and salty bacon all up in there! Not ham, not sweetened meat, not beef jerky but pure unadulterated bacon. Yes, the real thing! And I loved every sniff that bacon revolved around the dark chocolate and playful sweet and roasty coffee beans.
The flavor revolved around the bacon, the pure blissful sweet, salty and smokiness of it all. The dark chocolate, roasty coffee beans and a slight sweet ash provided the assist on this beer to make it an absolutely awesome experience. The aftertaste was the bacon - fully sweet, salty and smoky with some dark chocolate.
The mouthfeel was about medium bodied with a good sipping structure about it. Carbonation felt spot on, not too high, not too low. ABV felt as projected. Then the finish I expected and wanted - the bacon.
Overall, nothing on the market that I know of has more "real" bacon in the beer than this beer. Yup, it's that damn good and wish Rockingham stocked this beer in Vermont, but that's okay, just says to me more trips to NH to find more of this.

Deep, dark color, thick, foamy head that dissipates quickly. The first sip carries a moderately sweet bacon flavor followed by a deep roasted malt flavor and a creamy mouth feel one expects from a true stout. The deep, rich flavor masks the high alcohol content. This is a very filling brew, one that might serve even better in 12 ounce containers than in the pints available. Having tried a number of disappointingly thin American stouts, I feel this one definitely hits the mark.

Poured from 16oz can into pint glass in August 2022, that I purchased at their brewery. There was no canned on date on the label, and I drank this less than 2 months after purchase.

Appearance: Very dark black with a 2 finger head. Head was tan, and thins out after a couple of minutes. It left a moderate amount of lacing on the glass, more than most imperial stouts.

Smell: Strong bacon aroma as expected by the name. Some roasted coffee, and chocolate. There is some additional sweetness like vanilla as well. Not much hop aroma.

Taste: There is a mix of bacon and roasted malt flavors. Also some coffee, chocolate, and a little caramel flavor. Maybe a little vanilla flavor as well. Flavors are very bold. There is a moderate alcohol presence that matches 8.5% on the label. A strong bacon and coffee aftertaste.

Mouth-feel: Thick, but with an extremely smooth and creamy body.

This is a unique Imperial Stout with the bacon flavoring, and it has a variety of flavors that adds a nice complexity to the beer. The bacon flavoring makes it unique from other imperial stouts. It is very smooth and enjoyable to drink, but will save for unique occasions and not a daily drink. I would buy this again.

 

A: opaque; deep brown in color; 1 finger finely pored light brown head that receded to a wispy cap with thick collar; no lacing;

S: deeply roasted grain with bacony smoke; a little whiskey and vanilla in the background;

T: bacony smoke with deeply roasted grain and whiskey in the background; moderate bitterness on the finish;

M: medium to full bodied; moderate carbonation; moderately dry finish;

O: Interesting, but a few ounces were all I needed?

Rich in flavor and color. The foam fountain was impressive. The faint hint of bacon was definitely different than any other beer I've had

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Bottle shared by Matthew. Thanks man!