Oath
Fox Farm Brewery

 

 

 

Sampling a cellar temp 12 oz can poured into a snifter. Date Stamp is 1/25/2025. Picked up at the brewery while BIF shopping. This is labeled Batch #2.
The beer pours a jet black color and sort of thick leaving the can. A dense creamy tan head foams up about 1 cm and this foam slowly fades to a sturdy surface covering. Leaves dense lattice when I swirl the glass or take a sip.
Aroma is roasted malts, coffee grounds, and dark chocolate, very high cacao scent, almost like a bakers chocolate. No real hop character on the nose, and also not boozy , so kind of sneaky at 10%.
First sip reveals lots of dark chocolate and again high cacao, sort of dry bittersweet chocolate with a good bit of roasted coffee grounds as well. The chocolate lingers long after each sip.
Body is pretty thick and texture is smooth to almost chewy, definitely some coating on my palate after each sip. Nitro carbonation is fine and pretty gentle in my mouth. This is a pretty straightforward AND interesting imperial stout. Roast and chocolate through and through. I should buy more of this one, and will definitely share more frequently in trades as it is available each year.

Can dated 1/29/25, batch 2, courtesy of @roguer from BIF '25.

Pours jet black with an ample mocha head--takes a while to dissipate. Smells of roasted malt, coffee, dark chocolate and a touch of smoke. Taste is dark chocolate, coffee, hop bitterness. Mouthfeel is creamy and quite tasty.

Batch 2
L - jet black pour, lingering mocha head
S - medium roast coffee, smoky bacon, cocoa powder
T - smoked malt and dark chocolate abound, fading into a latte-esque finish which lingers on the palate
O - The smokiness confused me at first, to the point where I thought I was imagining it, but once I tried it, I knew it was for real and was very happy about it. A great accompaniment to (or dessert following) brisket or any other smoked meats

 

2024-12-07
12oz can served in a snulip. I think the stamp says it was canned on 01/17/24. @Roy_Hobbs sent it to me in NBS BIF #18. Label says "Imperial Nitro Stout with Coffee and Cacao," also says it's Batch No. 1.

Pours dark brown, almost black, opaque. Shook gently and poured hard, per the instructions on the label. Lots of carbonation (nitrogenation?), thick dense creamy brown head, settles slowly, after several minutes still have about half a centimeter cap with sturdy meniscus. Smell is rich coffee and chocolate with a little bit of a hot note. Not screaming, but undeniable.

Taste is coffee, dark roast bitterness, anise and burnt molasses. Some sweetness, vanilla cream seems a little bit evident. Booze is certainly noticeable.

Mouthfeel is rich, smooth, velvet, without being chewy or sticky -- really nice. Overall, very good beer.

 

Very nice pour, great deep dark color, not much head

Very noticeable smell of coffee, cocoa, but also metallic.

Smooth taste.

Good beer, glad I had it, but would not be looking to buy again.

Appearance is an expected dark brown / black, with a nice creamy beige head. Aroma is wonderful, with loads of fresh coffee and chocolate notes.

Taste has plenty of roasted malts, coffee and intense dark chocolate. It doesn't evolve a ton on the palate, mostly remaining consistent from sip to finish, with a slight pivot towards dark roast towards the end. Not quite as creamy as I anticipated given this is a nitro stout (possibly due to forgetting to gently shake the can?).

Overall, this is very good, and an excellent breakfast beer.

From a 12oz can canned on 01/17/24

I followed the can instructions, and gently shook the beer, and did an aggressive pour. The color of this is pitch black, though it was a bit lighter as the head settled out from the beer. The head is very thick at 3 finger, and very long lasting, even more so when you consider this an 11% beer. The head has very small bubbles, and looks quite fluffy. There really isn't much lacing on the glass.
The nose is very rich in chocolate and coffee. The chocolate aroma seems to be more of a sweet chocolate. I also seem to get a hit of lactose on it, but none is listed.
Taste - The chocolate hits right away and has both sweet and dark chocolate notes. The chocolate does fade a bit and that's when the coffee hits and mixes with the chocolate. Roasted and dark coffee flavor. Not getting any lactose flavor in this beer, that I got in the aroma.
Thick and very full body. Smooth, creamy feeling. Very slight burn, and I mean slight, from the alcohol.
This is a damn solid beer, and a pleasure to try.

I missed the instructions to shake before pouring so it might be not quite true to their intended results.
Poured stout black with a 2 cm brown head- I’d imagine it would have been different had I read the instructions.
The aroma, sadly, is lost on my Covid damaged nose.
The taste is sublime. Has the chocolate (yes chocolate and not cacao) with a little oak and a touch of whiskey. There is an additional layer of flavor that I could not define, but it was really good.
The feel is soft and smooth, lightly viscous, very nice.
OA, very good stout. Pretty sure I would buy a few every year just to see how it develops.

Nitro can, batch 1, canned January 15, 2024. Served in a Spiegelau tulip. Pours one shade shy of black with a creamy, mocha-colored, three-fingered head. Nose is lovely - rich chocolate notes followed by earthy coffee notes and finishing with notes of spirits. Taste follows nose - coffee is much more assertive and comes out across the middle after the cocoa notes. The whiskey barrel character is a bit hot at this point. Mouthfeel is smooth and creamy. The nitro makes it difficult to describe the body. Overall, quite tasty. I wish I bought a couple extra cans to age for a year or two to see how the whisky character develops.