Flap Jacks
Doc G's Brewing Co.

Poured from a 12 oz can into a Dogfish Head tulip

L: Dark, dark brown pour... nearly black with a finger of mocha colored head. Thin/minimal lacing.

S: Roast and char with some sweet syrup and coffee.

T.F: Roasted grains and espresso. Lighter cocoa. A whiff of maple syrup and some sweets. More roast. Boozy... thinner than expected... smooth and well carbonated.

O: A pretty average take on a RIS. Decent roast/coffee but not much beyond that. Lacking body. Glad to have one... wouldn't reach for another. R.I.P. Doc G's.

 

Pours a deep dark chocolate brown to black color with a huge tan head. The nose has a healthy dose of coffee. The flavor is very roasty and the body is healthy and full. My only criticism is that the sweetness from the maple syrup actually detracts from the solid roast profile.

Really excited to try this not many maple stouts I can think of on the market.
A - Very impressive looking RIS very syrup like deep dark blackness with a solid inch plus of deep mocha head.
S - Not a let down but it does smell like a rather smooth coffee stout... but not much in terms of maple. Just a ton of bakers chocolate and mocha coffee goodness.
T - Again very strong coffee presence I can taste the green from the fresh grounds slowly to a cocoa nib/bakers chocolate sweetness. Coffee and smoke mostly. Not getting any maple at all sorry
M - Very smooth and dangerously drink able. For 11 percent it could get you in trouble smooth light to medium body silky smooth.

Overall a very tasty high gravity coffee stout but is it even brewed with maple syrup I can't smell or taste any over that awesome coffee presence. Maybe they should try the maple thing again with just a RIS base no coffee...

 

New CANned Beer Sunday (Week 681) CANtinues with one that I mighta coulda had for breakfast, but things are moving kinda slowly today. The CANQuest (tm) moves on its own time, irrespective of daylight or other barriers & boundaries.

From the CAN: "Russian Imperial Stout brewed with Coffee & Maple Syrup"; "A Seasonal Favorite"; "Beer for Breakfast? Sure, why not? Oats, coffee, and maple syrup come together to make this delicious stout the most important part of your balanced breakfast. Well maybe not, but it's never too early for flapjacks!"

I Crack!ed open the vent only to get a spray across my fingertips by dint of its being a brimful craft CAN. I then performed a slow, gentle Glug into the awaiting glass, followed by a vigorous in-glass swirl. This raised a brief two fingers of foamy, rocky, deep-brown head with poor retention that quickly faded away to wisps. The beer itself did not seem to have a lot of inherent carbonation. Hmm. Color was stygian Black/Opaque (SRM = 44), like the color of the syrup that Cthulhu uses on his pancakes. Nose was uber-roasty, undeniably coffee-driven, but the syrup was not readily identifiable on the nose. Sorry, but if you make it prevalent on the label, then it should be prevalent on the nose. I am merely justifying my scores. Mouthfeel was medium-to-full, but this is a style where body counts. The taste was very roasty, more towards baker's/baking chocolate than coffee, although I tasted coffee in there also. The only problem was the lack of maple syrup presence. I liked the way that it tasted, but it lacked one of its stars. It was incredibly smooth for 11% ABV and even warming, I just could not put my finger on maple syrup. Chocolate & coffee, yes. Maple syrup, no. 8=( This made it really difficult to assign a numerical rating since maple syrup is not a part of the style description, but at the same time, when it is prominent on the label, then I call for truth in advertising. I'll split the hairs/difference on this one. Caveat emptor. Finish was very dry, quite roasty & actually a nice interpretation of the style, made even more interesting by virtue of being in a CAN. YMMV.

Poured into a grip shaped goblet: color is solid black, head is light tan with fine bubbles that presents about 1/4 inch thick and then dissipates quickly to a ring with no lacing.

Smell is big roasted malt, good charred malt and bitter chocolate notes.

Taste is similar with a big roasted flavor with charred malt and chocolate, hints of smokiness, light sweetness and hint of maple like flavor. How is this 11% abv? I get no heat or alcohol flavors.

Mouthfeel is excellent for such a strong beer with good sweet balance to any potential harshness from roast and alcohol.

Overall a very good strong ale with great big roast and char flavors.

Hard poured from a can. Nice black color with a darker tan, almost brown head. The head dissipates after about 5 minuets but a little remains, which laces nicely. Lots of coffee in the smell and the taste followed. Honestly I didn’t catch much maple, but it’s still an extremely good beer though. I would recommend it very much.

Sampling a cellar temp 12 oz can poured into my trusty snifter. The beer pours a dark coffee brown color with almost no light passing through the glass. A dense creamy tan foam of 4 cm rises up from the pour but fades to one large wispy island and a thin edge layer on my glass. The aroma is some coffee grounds and a dose of charred malt. Unfortunately I dont get any maple syrup on the nose, which would be a nice balance with the char notes. The first sip reveals a thinner body than expected and spacious and gentle carbonation. The texture is a little bit of a sticky coating, but the thinner body still flushes my palate after each sip.
The flavor is a lot of roasted coffee and again a good dose of charred malt. I still dont get any of the maple syrup note here either. No hops are found anywhere in this sampling and the booze is very well hidden for the size of the kick. I have some lingering char and roasted flavor in my palate after each sip. This beer is underwhelming to me based on the description on the can. the absent maple syrup character is the most disappointing. The body is also thinner than I would expect for an Imp Stout, this could be from the maple syrup. I may pass on this one next time.

A - Dark brown opaque pour with light transparent caramel colored lacing.

S - Lots of smokey char and dark chocolate.

T - Light smokey char, dark chocolate, smoke, coffee, and maple that pokes through on the very end with lingering dark chocolate/coffee bitterness.

M - Medium body.

O - Was surprisingly thin for the style, but, the ABV was also surprisingly well hidden.