Päncake Walk
Hubbard's Cave Brewery

Hubbard's Cave Päncake Walk Imperial Stout, 12% ABV. Pours deep murky brown, thick, with a middle-finger of brown head. Nose is strong maple syrup and chocolate, taste follows, VERY sweet but just short of cloying, with almost no bitterness. Excellent mouthfeel, overall outstanding to near-world-class. Folks who love pastry stouts need to try this one, and folks who don't should stay away.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Received as an extra in a trade.

A - Poured into my Duvel tulip a super, super thick and murky dark brown almost black. As I started to pour I thought "wow, this looks like mud"...and then I got to the bottom THIRD of the can and it poured even thicker and sludge like. No head, thin wispy halo, excellent legs.

S - Aromas of almost maple cream liquor. Huge maple syrup notes without being overly sweet and cloy, creamy milk chocolate, flashes of generic nuttiness. Only knock is I don't get any coconut. The nose is utterly wild though, comes across as some sort of chocolate maple cream liquor. Not boozy at all but in homogenized aroma. Very enticing.

T - Taste is similar to the nose. Big, sweet maple cream liquor once more right up front that almost gets a bit too cloy and sweet. The lactose is there in big ways, thick and creamy melted milk chocolate. There is more of that generic nuttiness and the coconut is super, super fleeting but kinda there. There really isn't any discernible alcohol which is nice. As it warms though it becomes almost lockjaw level sweet.

M - Mouthfeel is minimally carbonated, not quite still but it's there. Not much alcohol going on but man oh man is it thick, heavy, and sticky sweet. Like, chugging a bottle of maple syrup sticky.

O - Overall I can feel myself slowly turning into Wilford Brimley with each passing sip. There is phenomenal levels of maple syrup, lactose, and chocolate here...but...this isn't really a stout. More like an alcoholic beverage. The more it warms the sweeter it gets too which makes 16 ounces of this a near impossible task. Four ounces into this I have the sudden urge to film an Instant Quaker Oats commercial. I've got to struggle on though. As it warms the coconut still does not come out on either the nose and incredibly marginally on the taste while the maple gets more and more aggressive and sticky. Halfway through the glass I'm receiving phone calls from Liberty Medical to be their newest spokesman. Well if you have diabeetus you probably shouldn't be within a six foot radius of this beer. It will help you live a better life.

Serving Type: Can

 

 

 

 

Pours out thick and dark brown. Almost black. No head formation.

Nose is huge chocolate, maple, coconut, malt and nuttiness. Like a pancake with pecans and chocolate. A lot of sweet smells but not overpowering. So much chocolate jumping out of the glass.

Taste is chocolate and maple first, with some savory nut character. Then the coconut comes in with some roasty coffee notes. This makes me forget I'm drinking a beer. It's almost like a whole dessert. So many flavors stacked up without being divisive. Everything works well together here. The sweetness is present but never overbearing, keeping itself restrained.

Mouthfeel is a dense, thick, syrupy conisistency. Minimal carbonation making it as smooth as possible.

This is an extremely fun beer. Decadent and packed full of well executed flavors. A dessert beer through and through that demands your attention and certainly makes it worth your time.

 

 

Pitch black pour with a thin, dark brown head that has almost no retention and zero lacing. Big aroma of milk chocolate initially overwhelms any other notes, but as it warms I get more booze and nuttiness. The booze hits the palate first, then chocolate, nuts, and a sweet maple finish. Mouthfeel is silky smooth and creamy, coating your mouth with sticky goodness. There is a nice alcohol heat on the swallow. Delicious sipping, dessert beer.

16 ounce can into snifter, 2019-2 can vintage. Pours dense pitch black color with a small fairly dense tan head with poor retention, that reduces to nothing pretty quickly. Zero lacing on the glass, with a light amount of streaming carbonation. Aromas of big milk/dark chocolate, cocoa, coffee, caramel, brown sugar, maple syrup, toffee, vanilla, cream, fudge, brown batter, coconut, pecans, toasted biscuit, and dark/brown bread; with light notes of raisin, prune, cherry, fig, date, licorice, molasses, smoke, char, herbal, grass, and yeast/roast/toasted earthiness. Minimal booze in the aromas as it warms. Damn nice aromas with great balance and complexity of dark/roast/bready malts, chocolate, coconut, maple, pecans, lactose, and light earthy hop/fruity yeast notes; with big strength. Taste of huge milk/dark chocolate, cocoa, coffee, caramel, brown sugar, maple syrup, toffee, vanilla, cream, fudge, brown batter, coconut, pecans, toasted biscuit, and dark/brown bread; with light notes of raisin, prune, cherry, fig, date, licorice, molasses, smoke, char, herbal, grass, and yeast/roast/toasted earthiness. Very minimal herbal, grassy, roast, charred bitterness on the finish. Lingering notes of milk/dark chocolate, cocoa, coffee, caramel, brown sugar, maple syrup, toffee, vanilla, cream, fudge, brown batter, coconut, pecans, toasted biscuit, dark/brown bread, dark fruit, licorice, molasses, light smoke/char, herbal, grass, and yeast/roast/toasted earthiness on the finish for a while. Incredible complexity, robustness, and balance of dark/roast/bready malts, chocolate, coconut, maple, pecans, lactose, and light earthy hop/fruity yeast flavors; with a solid roast/hop bitter/sweet balance; and no cloying sweetness after the finish. Slightly increasing dryness from lingering hop/roasted bitterness. Light carbonation and very full body; with a very smooth, creamy/silky/velvety/slick/syrupy, and slightly sticky/chalky mouthfeel that is great. Mild increasing warmth of 12%, with minimal lingering booze after the finish. Overall this is an incredible imperial flavored milk stout. All around fantastic complexity, robustness, and balance of dark/roast/bready malts, chocolate, coconut, maple, pecans, lactose, and light earthy hop/fruity yeast flavors; very smooth and dangerously easy to sip on for the huge ABV, with the mildly bitter/drying finish; great soft/silky feel for the ABV. Amazing balance of super rich malts, flavorings, and maple/sugars; mild earthy hops and fruity yeast. Not overly sweet/heavy from lingering dryness. A highly enjoyable offering, and outstanding style example as expected. Not overwhelming on any aspect.