Wake Up Dead | Left Hand Brewing Company
Brewed by:
Left Hand Brewing Company
Colorado, United States
lefthandbrewing.com
Style: Russian Imperial Stout
Alcohol by volume (ABV): 10.20%
Availability: Year-round
Notes / Commercial Description:
No notes at this time.
Added by elgiacomo on 05-04-2011
View: Beers | Place Reviews | Events
Ratings: 1,021 | Reviews: 207
4.24/5 rDev +9.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
3.5/5 rDev -9.8%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
3.96/5 rDev +2.1%
look: 4.25 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
On tap.
A - Pitch black, opaque pour with a thick, creamy, Guiness-like head. The creaminess is very sticky on the sides of the glass.
S - Dark roasted chocolate, cream, cocoa.
T - Cocoa, toasted chocolate, cream, some char, and a lingering dark roasted cocoa bitter-sweetness on the back end. The 10% is hidden extremely well.
M - Full bodied and silky, creamy on the texture. Lip smacking sticky on the lips.
O - This a very drinkable Russian Imperial Stout. Nice flavor and drinkability.
502 characters
look: 4.25 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
On tap.
A - Pitch black, opaque pour with a thick, creamy, Guiness-like head. The creaminess is very sticky on the sides of the glass.
S - Dark roasted chocolate, cream, cocoa.
T - Cocoa, toasted chocolate, cream, some char, and a lingering dark roasted cocoa bitter-sweetness on the back end. The 10% is hidden extremely well.
M - Full bodied and silky, creamy on the texture. Lip smacking sticky on the lips.
O - This a very drinkable Russian Imperial Stout. Nice flavor and drinkability.
502 characters
3.65/5 rDev -5.9%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 2.75 | overall: 3.75
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 2.75 | overall: 3.75
3.68/5 rDev -5.2%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.75
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.75
4.5/5 rDev +16%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5
3.25/5 rDev -16.2%
look: 3.25 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 3.25 | overall: 3.25
look: 3.25 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 3.25 | overall: 3.25
3.5/5 rDev -9.8%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
Smooth with a bittersweet caramelly flavor.
43 characters
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
Smooth with a bittersweet caramelly flavor.
43 characters
3.77/5 rDev -2.8%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
"Good morning, you've woken up dead. You're in ruins, but don't be discouraged. Here's a black ale to brighten your day. Wake Up Dead lurks in our cellars for over 4 months before being unleashed. Hints of raisins, black licorice, coffee and dark chocolate are followed by earthy, herbal hop notes. Any apprehensions about the rest of your day are quickly forgotten, for whatever the mind expect, it finds." Brewed in the style of a Russian Imperial Stout, available in seasonal 22 oz. bottles and on seasonal draft. 2014 vintage compared alongside a 2012 vintage.
Poured from a 22 oz. bottle to a snifter glass.
(Appearance) Pours a creamy frothed head of a light brown color over a near black body. Retention is above average and lacing is light and spotty. 4
(Smell) Cocoa nibs, caramel syrups, dark fruit pulp, spicy licorice and gentle roast with a mild graininess and moderate sweetness. Potency is moderate. 3.75
(Taste) Flavor is similar to the aroma, with chocolate leading the way, through a subtle caramel bread and syrup body, dark fruit sugars, licorice and a moderate graininess. Finishes spicy, slightly grainy and moderately viscous. 3.75
(Mouthfeel) Texture is slick, mildly creamy, lightly oily, chewy, and mildly viscous, medium dry. Carbonation is modest, generating a mild frothiness and a medium crisp finish. Body is shy of medium for the style, shy of heavy overall. Balance is slightly grainy, fruity spiciness and roasted bitterness over sweet. Alcohol presence is moderate, and there are no off characters. 3.75
(Overall) While I'm not blown away by the flavor profile in this one, I can appreciate the balance it brings to the table, being a more European-influenced stout with richer dark fruit notes and licorice spiciness, the roast and even the chocolate takes a back seat at times. One of the better options in Left Hand's lineup, although based on a previous experience, I'd avoid the barrel aged version like the plague. 3.75
Vertical Notes:
2012 (4 Years Aged): Pours an equally frothy, creamy head of a light brown with soft caramel shades over a dark brown body, with similar retention. The aroma reveals more chocolate on the surface, sharper dark fruit notes, some slight oxidation and a more revealed grain alcohol pinch. The flavor amplifies the dark fruit characteristics, with gaining notes of raisin and fig, a sharper graininess and lighter roast and chocolate presence. The texture is slicker, more syrupy and frothy, a bit heavier bodied than the fresher vintage, with an equally frothy carbonation and dryness, slightly more exposed alcohol presence, and no off characters. Aging this beer does not do too much more to improve the flavor, although it has not been harmed much, as a great deal of the flavor is fruit based, and this beer is a bit more relaxed with nice fruit undertones, at the expense of natural oxidation and more exposed grain alcohol. Had this been in more session-worthy packaging, I would have recommended setting one bottle aside, but in its current format, I don't think it's an effort with a reasonable payout.
Recommended vintage: Fresh (er)
Left Hand Brewing Company's
Wake Up Dead Imperial Stout
3.77/5.00
3,192 characters
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
"Good morning, you've woken up dead. You're in ruins, but don't be discouraged. Here's a black ale to brighten your day. Wake Up Dead lurks in our cellars for over 4 months before being unleashed. Hints of raisins, black licorice, coffee and dark chocolate are followed by earthy, herbal hop notes. Any apprehensions about the rest of your day are quickly forgotten, for whatever the mind expect, it finds." Brewed in the style of a Russian Imperial Stout, available in seasonal 22 oz. bottles and on seasonal draft. 2014 vintage compared alongside a 2012 vintage.
Poured from a 22 oz. bottle to a snifter glass.
(Appearance) Pours a creamy frothed head of a light brown color over a near black body. Retention is above average and lacing is light and spotty. 4
(Smell) Cocoa nibs, caramel syrups, dark fruit pulp, spicy licorice and gentle roast with a mild graininess and moderate sweetness. Potency is moderate. 3.75
(Taste) Flavor is similar to the aroma, with chocolate leading the way, through a subtle caramel bread and syrup body, dark fruit sugars, licorice and a moderate graininess. Finishes spicy, slightly grainy and moderately viscous. 3.75
(Mouthfeel) Texture is slick, mildly creamy, lightly oily, chewy, and mildly viscous, medium dry. Carbonation is modest, generating a mild frothiness and a medium crisp finish. Body is shy of medium for the style, shy of heavy overall. Balance is slightly grainy, fruity spiciness and roasted bitterness over sweet. Alcohol presence is moderate, and there are no off characters. 3.75
(Overall) While I'm not blown away by the flavor profile in this one, I can appreciate the balance it brings to the table, being a more European-influenced stout with richer dark fruit notes and licorice spiciness, the roast and even the chocolate takes a back seat at times. One of the better options in Left Hand's lineup, although based on a previous experience, I'd avoid the barrel aged version like the plague. 3.75
Vertical Notes:
2012 (4 Years Aged): Pours an equally frothy, creamy head of a light brown with soft caramel shades over a dark brown body, with similar retention. The aroma reveals more chocolate on the surface, sharper dark fruit notes, some slight oxidation and a more revealed grain alcohol pinch. The flavor amplifies the dark fruit characteristics, with gaining notes of raisin and fig, a sharper graininess and lighter roast and chocolate presence. The texture is slicker, more syrupy and frothy, a bit heavier bodied than the fresher vintage, with an equally frothy carbonation and dryness, slightly more exposed alcohol presence, and no off characters. Aging this beer does not do too much more to improve the flavor, although it has not been harmed much, as a great deal of the flavor is fruit based, and this beer is a bit more relaxed with nice fruit undertones, at the expense of natural oxidation and more exposed grain alcohol. Had this been in more session-worthy packaging, I would have recommended setting one bottle aside, but in its current format, I don't think it's an effort with a reasonable payout.
Recommended vintage: Fresh (er)
Left Hand Brewing Company's
Wake Up Dead Imperial Stout
3.77/5.00
3,192 characters
3.42/5 rDev -11.9%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 3.25 | overall: 3.25
Nitro drops it down some notched
32 characters
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 3.25 | overall: 3.25
Nitro drops it down some notched
32 characters
3.75/5 rDev -3.4%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
4.72/5 rDev +21.6%
look: 4.75 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 5 | overall: 4.75
look: 4.75 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 5 | overall: 4.75
3.88/5 rDev 0%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.25 | overall: 3.75
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.25 | overall: 3.75
4.15/5 rDev +7%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4
4.23/5 rDev +9%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25
Vintage 2016, i bought this in February of 2016 and it's been in my fridge since then.
pours dead black with a thin head.
smells like vanilla/coffee/toffee yet reaks of creamy gasoline coffee.
taste is nice, has a mellow ring to it. full of flavor, lots of coffee notes with burnt chocolate.
worth buying and glad i bought 1 for consumption and 1 for cellar aging.
368 characters
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25
Vintage 2016, i bought this in February of 2016 and it's been in my fridge since then.
pours dead black with a thin head.
smells like vanilla/coffee/toffee yet reaks of creamy gasoline coffee.
taste is nice, has a mellow ring to it. full of flavor, lots of coffee notes with burnt chocolate.
worth buying and glad i bought 1 for consumption and 1 for cellar aging.
368 characters
Wake Up Dead from Left Hand Brewing Company
3.88
out of 5
based on 1,021 ratings.
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 4