Shugga Shugga (Coffee Cake Style)
Oozlefinch Beers & Blending

I think it literally went bad - looks weirdly cloudy with uncharacteristically large bubbles and white streaks in the liquid. Tastes very sour over anything else. Either there is an unadvertised sour note here, or this can has gone bad.

- Smells of stale cigar smoke.
- A rich, dark, creamy pour with large clots of bubbles too big to be called foam. Had I not hand washed the glass myself before pouring I would have thought I'd left sour milk in the bottom of the cup.
- Sour. Very sour. I consider this a huge strike, as there is no mention of sour on the label, it calls itself an imperial stout. Setting expectations is significant to the enjoyment of most things. Sitting down to sip a rich stout and getting a sour instead is disappointing.

A: Pours an opaque yet still clear thick viscous jet black in color with light to moderate amounts of fine active visible carbonation rising slowly along the edges of the glass and faint very dark cola brown + very dark chestnut brown + very dark ruby red colored highlights. The beer has a finger tall fizzy foamy dark tan head that quickly reduces to a medium to large sized patch of very thin film covering a little more than 40% of the surface of the beer and a thin ring at the edges of the glass. Minimal amounts of lacing are observed.

S: Moderate to strong aromas of cinnamon + vanilla along with moderate aromas of slightly burnt coffee. Slightly stronger than moderate aromas of roasted + caramel + toasted + biscuit malts with moderate amounts of lactose + caramel + brown sugar/molasses sweetness.

T: Upfront there are slightly stronger than moderate flavors of roasted + caramel + toasted + biscuit + cake-like malts with moderate amounts of lactose + caramel + brown sugar/molasses sweetness. That is followed by moderate to strong flavors of slightly burnt coffee + cinnamon + vanilla. Moderate amounts of lingering roasty bitterness.

M: Medium to full bodied with moderate amounts of carbonation. Slightly sticky with a hint of alcohol warming in the finish.

O: This is a big sweet + roasty stout with decently well hidden alcohol but a definite slow sipper for me. There is a definitely flavor + aroma reminiscent of coffee cake. Enjoyable but I don’t think that I could have more than one of these - might be an interesting selection for an early morning tailgate.

Poured from the can into a teku glass.

Real nice tall fluffy tan colored head, with some big swiss cheese bubbles and soft retention reaching easy three fingers. Very dark nearly black but with lighter shades for the body color.

Aroma is pretty much as described. A very big coffee cake like sensation. Large amounts of cinnamon on the nose, powdery dry spice and touches of light coffee on the nose. There's a bit of cola sweetness though hiding on this which comes off quite sugary, but makes for a nice contrast.

Interesting palate. The first sip is quite wet for a stout, giving to a bit of weak body and fleeting flavors. Much of the roast character and coffee quality is a bit muted, being hit with large amounts of cinnamon like cola notes. The aftertaste has a real spicy warmth, hot cinnamon, some faint cocoa like quality. Palate hits with a bit of flat cola like flavors and even dead soda like prickly bubbles. Some faint char roast just in the finish but not much.

Cinnamon cola more so than stout, but does have an angle that could work nicely. This needs to hit the woodshed as there is a better beer to be had.

4 August 2020 - Beer #158

Price: $6.99 at Craft Beer Cellar in Washington, DC

Appearance: 5 - extremely black with a beautiful, fluffy tan head.

Nose: 4 - I just get coffee. It smells like burning.

Taste: 4 - whoa, now I'm getting it. Yep, totally coffee cake. Tastes a bit on the fake side, contrived.

Mouth: 5 - super frothy and bubbly. Dances across the tongue.

Overall: 4 - definitely fun. Never heard of this brewery before, might give them another try.

Cheers!

 

 

Back of the can states a date of "12/18/19."
This was poured into a snifter.
The appearance was a mellow dark brown color almost black with a small off tan to semi-eggshell white foaminess in its head. Small concave lace.
The aroma had the piloncillo (basically Mexican brown sugar) and cinnamon just a touch in front of the coffee cake, subtle milk chocolate, vanilla portions, some wafer/biscuits, dark toast, dark chocolate and a small whiff of sweet wood.
The flavor took all of those prior mentioned aromas to blend to the sweet with an earthy contour rolling in for a stellar blend. The cinnamon and milk chocolate seem to be the strongest in the aftertaste, subtle piloncillo.
The mouthfeel was about medium bodied with some sipping quality to it. Pretty good carbonation. Some stickiness with what I expected with the added 'piloncillo' effect clinging to my tongue. Finishes with a slight earthy grip from the cinnamon.
Overall, I'd say a pretty nicely done imperial stout, nice and unique! Respectable and worthy to come back to during this time of the year.

From the can, it pours a very dark brown with a nice light brown head that soon reduces to a nice ring and leaves lacing. In the nose, cinnamon hits, along with a sweetness. In the mouth, the same. It says "coffee cake style" and I agree!