Big Bright Lights
Mast Landing Brewing Company

 

 

 

Not often a fan of pastry stouts but this one caught me by surprise.
Poured like a typical stout, black coffee in color and beige, tight foam head which left rings of lacing.
The aroma was sadly lost on my Covid affected nose.
The taste, this is where it gets good! Plenty of roasted malts in the stout base, even throwing in some bitterness amidst the super creamy adjuncts. The chocolate and coconut arm wrestled for dominance which neither one won. Coffee and malt backed up the competition. They all mingled very well.
The feel was excellent, just viscous enough to carry the flavors of the beer but in no way thicc.
OA, lovely pastry stout, I’d happily drink it again and again.

From a 16 fl. oz. can dated 02/09/23. Sampled May 14, 2023.

The appearance is exactly the way an imperial stout should look with its deep dark brown to near black color, tremendous mocha head that fades but not entirely. Lacing on the way.

The aroma is alive with chocolate fudge, dark chocolate, dark roast, caramel, coconut, chocolate milk mix, and earth. Low to no booze noted.

The mouthfeel is a wonderfully full and creamy texture. Really how I like it.

The taste is wildly sweet with chocolate fudge very abundant along with coconut, cream, and a slight earth sensation. I find a little more booze in the taste.

Amazing imperial that did not disappoint. Starts sweet then tapers down to a smooth roasty finish. The smell of fresh cocoa remained in my mustache for hours after I finished. Moderately viscous. Solid ABV at 10.5. 4 outta 5 will be drinking many more.

 

A new big ol' adjunct-laden imperial stout from MLBC... don't mind if I do! BBL is brewed with toasted coconut, caramel, and chocolate and clocks in at 10.5% ABV, so I have a feeling it's definitely going to be a nice warmer to get me through this chilly, drizzly February evening. Let's see how ML does. Not sure I've had any adjunct stouts from them other than the obvious Gunner's Daughter and variants, so this should be fun.

Pours pretty nicely at first, just a huge black-bodied beer gathering a massive tower of foam atop the inky depths, though that showing of head quickly sinks to almost nothing in my glass as the bigger bubbles pop and fizzle out with surprising speed. Not much retention, as it were, but a tiny ring of deep mocha suds continues to stick around, though it also leaves behind no lacing or legs. Loving the color and density of the head upon initial pour, but it becomes less-than-great almost immediately.

The nose is dominated by coconut (as is the case with many stouts boasting this ingredient), though I can tell they tried to balance it a bit with the caramel. I'm wondering what they actually used, physically, for the caramel addition... perhaps just a caramel sauce or something, because it's really sticky and intense (in a good way, honestly). The cocoa is a little muted here, but a bold roast quality permeates the scent after the beer spends a bit of time opening up in my glass. Huge whiffs of ethanol as well; this beer is not messing around.

Solid flavors with a good mix of sweetness and dusty cocoa mingling with some light roast. Smooth feel with low-leaning carbonation and a hefty dark grain backing that feels smooth and well-developed. Big coconut upfront with a quick transition to roast, coffee-like undertones, and a slick sweetness from the caramel. Again, super boozy and intense; probably one of the least subtle imperial stouts I've had in a while. I'm happy the coconut flavor isn't straight "suntan lotion," and the other adjuncts do make an appearance that actually serves to improve the whole. Not sure I'd get this one again, but it's not a bad sipper. In the world of big flavored stouts, it's not really a priority, but it also isn't bad by any means.