El Zacatón
Hubbard's Cave Brewery

El ZacatónEl Zacatón
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From:
Hubbard's Cave Brewery
 
Illinois, United States
Style:
American Imperial Stout
Ranked #799
ABV:
12%
Score:
94
Ranked #2,342
Avg:
4.26 | pDev: 6.34%
Reviews:
25
Ratings:
95
Status:
Active
Rated:
Dec 16, 2023
Added:
Jun 27, 2017
Wants:
  1
Gots:
  3
Imperial Stout fermented on toasted oak with almond flour, cocoa powder, cinnamon sticks, vanilla beans, Ancho chiles, Guajillo chiles and Habanero chiles.
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
Ratings by Damian:
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Reviewed by Damian from Massachusetts

4.48/5  rDev +5.2%
look: 2.5 | smell: 5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.5
Drank from a 1 pint 9.4 fl oz (750ml) bottle purchased at Fort Point Market, Boston, MA
2018-1
Served in a tulip

Really unattractive appearance. The liquid poured an oily pitch black and was capped by a thin, filmy film of saddle brown bubbles that quickly dissolved. Brown clumps of what appeared to be cinnamon could be seen floating atop the body.

While the beer looked pretty bad, the aroma was outstanding. Both the cinnamon and the vanilla notes came through big time. This reminded me a lot of a freshly baked, frosted cinnamon roll. Sweet but not excessively so. Malty and robust. Dark malts were apparent. Slightly roasty. Perhaps a touch of almond too.

The flavor was similar but less adjunct forward. Malty and sweet up front. Big roasted and caramel malt notes. Vanilla came through in the center. Good dose of cinnamon too. Some dark chocolate notes were detectable. The beer finished fairly boozy with more roast, sweetness and just a hint of lingering chili spice. Nicely balanced for a pastry stout.

The beer was medium bodied for the style. A touch lighter than I anticipated. The liquid contained a fine, moderate effervescence that turned frothy, slick and smooth on the palate. By the drink’s end, the sugars in the beer left a slightly sticky film on my lips.

El Zacatón is a impressive cinnamon and vanilla-forward imperial stout and a great deal at $17 a bottle. I definitely plan on trying more of Hubbard’s Cave stouts and hoppy beers as well.
Dec 23, 2018
More User Ratings:
 
Rated: 4.22 by craigbelly from Iowa

Dec 16, 2023
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Reviewed by Roguer from Connecticut

4.52/5  rDev +6.1%
look: 3.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.75
Nothing worth noting in the appearance; very little head production, and it's quickly gone.

Strong aroma, quite roasty and rich. The stout base is front and center despite the kitchen sink approach to additives. Chocolate and vanilla stand out, but could easily be part of the malt and yeast expression, along with notes of cola, prune, toast, caramel, and coffee.

The peppers hit hard on the palate, and immediately. This isn't a pepper beer that takes a while to grow on you; it's legitimately spicy. At the same time, it's not over the top (a la Habanero Sculpin). It's too hot for someone who doesn't like chilies - and I mean really like - but it's certainly a manageable heat. I can't pick out the individual chili notes from each other; I suspect that even if one could normally, once they're all tossed together in a massive flavored imperial stout, the nuance of each pepper is going to be lost.

Thick and nearly chewy. Mouth coating and belly filling. There's some alcohol heat struggling to be noticed behind the chilies.

Additional tasting notes are perhaps a touch predictable: chocolate, espresso, vanilla, honeycomb, caramel, almond. Predictable, in this case, is by no means bad; this is a delectable and rich stout. Cinnamon doesn't really stand out, but it's present; it, too, is a bit lost behind the peppers.

Overall, this is an absolutely fantastic chili stout. I haven't been this impressed with a beer in this style since Mexican Cake, and that's high praise.
Jul 11, 2023
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Reviewed by Christianriveraaa

4.53/5  rDev +6.3%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5
Poured from a can into a snifter - motor oil pour with a centimeter of dark foam risen to the surface.
Getting aromas of chocolate, vanilla, chili peppers, slight cinnamon the more I smell it.
Taste is exactly how it sounds, chocolate, vanilla, big amounts of cinnamon, some almond, and chili peppers. You really get the chocolate, vanilla in the beginning with a slight amount of vanilla in the middle along with a big amount of cinnamon. The chili peppers lingers throughout for a burning sensation after the sip is downed. Gotta take my hat off and say well made.
Feel is heavy bodied, chewy, easy to sip. The burning from the peppers hides the ABV along with the sweetness. Jeez this beer is very complexed.
This is one of the better chili stouts I've had. Gotta say I've never had anything similar to this other than bomb by prairie. This beer can compare because it's unique in it's own way and therefore gets a well deserved A+. Great job Hubbard brewing. This is my first beer I've tried by them and I will definitely check more stouts out as I see them.
Apr 08, 2023
Photo of jeffdr123
Reviewed by jeffdr123 from Florida

4.29/5  rDev +0.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4.25
From a can. Pours nearly black with almost no head or lacing. That's the first hint that this beer is low on carbonation. Pretty slickery. This is an over-the-top beer with large amounts of everything they advertise: toasted oak, cocoa powder, cinnamon sticks, vanilla beans - and lots of hot chile - Ancho chiles, Guajillo chiles and Habanero chiles. You can see the flecks floating in the beer. Lots of fun, this one.
Mar 31, 2023
 
Rated: 3 by 1971bernat from Virginia

Mar 09, 2023
 
Rated: 4.8 by RBorsato from Virginia

Mar 08, 2023
 
Rated: 4.49 by BMBCLT from South Carolina

Feb 21, 2023
Photo of pathman
Rated by pathman from Ohio

4.5/5  rDev +5.6%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5
01/28/23 can @ home; 2020-21 version; Aged on oak
Jan 28, 2023
 
Rated: 4.48 by Dope from Massachusetts

Jan 27, 2023
 
Rated: 4.25 by EMH73 from New York

Dec 25, 2022
 
Rated: 4.22 by Abstractspirit from Rhode Island

Dec 09, 2022
 
Rated: 4.25 by rare_bird from Michigan

Nov 04, 2022
Photo of mdfb79
Rated by mdfb79 from New York

3.9/5  rDev -8.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Too much heat from the peppers.
Oct 30, 2022
 
Rated: 4.22 by BeerBeast from Florida

Aug 03, 2022
 
Rated: 4.07 by WillieThreebiers from Connecticut

Jul 30, 2022
Photo of ovaltine
Reviewed by ovaltine from Indiana

4.29/5  rDev +0.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4.25
Pours a murky dark brown color that settles as black in the glass with a minimal, sudsy tan head that evaporates in seconds. The nose has lots of chocolate and cocoa notes, some cherries - and chiles. Lots and lots of chiles. I am intrigued.

The taste is a sledgehammer combo pack of cocoa, milk chocolate, tart cherries, and chiles packing heat - and they literally hit simultaneously, something that I wonder if it is attributable to the fact that this beer has no discernible carbonation at all. Like none.

But there’s a creaminess, and loads of heat from the chiles (which I am really enjoying) that rests at the back of the palate.

This is a “kitchen sink” imperial stout - there’s a lot going on here, and there are some very rough edges, but there’s loads of potential with this brewery, and I’ll keep looking for their stuff to see where they venture next.
Jul 25, 2022
 
Rated: 4.14 by kjkinsey from Texas

Jun 25, 2022
 
Rated: 4.31 by sd123 from Georgia

May 13, 2022
 
Rated: 4.4 by BarrelAgedG from California

Apr 15, 2022
El Zacatón from Hubbard's Cave Brewery
Beer rating: 94 out of 100 with 95 ratings