Rho - Mostra Ghost Bear Espresso
Equilibrium Brewery

Equilibrium Rho - Mostra Ghost Bear Espresso Imperial Stout, 11% ABV. Pours extremely thick and black with a beautiful 6+ finger brown head that was sturdy and left foamy lacing. Not sure what that dark brown saw-tooth in the head is about. Nose is heavy coffee, roast malt, and brown sugar. Taste follows, plus chocolate and caramel/toffee, quite sweet, slightly bitter, no alcohol flavor. Thick and creamy mouthfeel, overall world-class. Thickest beer I've ever had.

 

 

One inch of creamy, chestnut head suddenly appears after the pour has completed. That head holds ten minutes, becoming a fine, golden-brown cap. The Stout is jet black, consuming all light. A fine curtain of lace turns to constellations on a Pretentious Glass Company Imperial II snifter. The pour is dense like syrup.

Strong dark-roasted and charred malt combines well with espresso. Dark fudge brownies and toffee yield to burnt sugar. Warmth adds faint cherries and cigar ash.

The flavor is rich, with chocolate malt and charred malt. Mild bitterness is equal to the mild sweetness. The coffee flavor is more similar to cappuccino than espresso. A long, roasted-malt finish lasts several minutes. Warmth brings fudge and mild rye whiskey.

The alcohol is dramatically below expectations and carries no heat. The soft, smooth texture is plush within a full body and light carbonation. Residual sugar collects on the lips.

This is an exquisite sipping Stout, perfect for contemplation or a nightcap. I am enjoying it on a cold evening while the winter wind roars outside.

 

500ml bottle. Date stamp on label is '01/22'.
Black color body with a glint of garnet back lit edge. Full pour never results in a full head, but the surface is always active with spots of bubbles. No lacing.
Aroma is big with coffee, but also roasted malts and some dark fruit (cherry, plum).
Taste bursts with sweet fudge brownie and dark cherry. Coffee. Has a progression of caramel to toffee to molasses. Tea tannins. Reverts to caramel chocolate fudge in the aftertaste.
Full and thick mouth feel, with a syrup texture. Overall sweetness masks the high ABV%, but the beer is warming. Supportive carbonation.
Main emphasis is coffee, but the blending flavors, including chocolate, caramel, and cherry, add supporting depth.

 

Pours a nice sized but slow building head. Beautiful beer; retention is excellent.

Huge coffee notes on the nose, easily dominating the other notes of caramel, toffee, toast, and brown sugar - but not at all unpleasantly. This is a coffee stout that plainly announces its intentions.

Thick, smooth, creamy, even chewy on the palate. Clearly a big beer, but no harshness for the ABV. I wouldn't say the alcohol is hidden; I'd say I don't mind its presence.

Taste is sublime, a near-perfect marriage of bold espresso notes with a delectable semi-sweet stout base. Notes of coffee, chocolate, toast, caramel, toffee, cherry, brown sugar, toffee, pecan, and cream.

This is on par with the best Tree House coffee stouts. It's not as bitter or drinkable as FBS; it's more in the vein of rich and decadent stouts, without ever coming across as cloying.

500 ml bottle, 01/22 stamped on the label so I'm assuming that's the bottled on date. Served in a chalice, the beer pours dark brown/black with about a couple inch creamy tan head that stayed around a while and took some time to settle down. Lots of lacing, too. Aroma is nice, the brew smells like coffee, roasted malt, espresso, vanilla, dark fruit and some dark chocolate. Taste is similar to the aroma, but there's also some burnt/charred malt and cream flavors noticeable too. Mouthfeel/body is full, it's creamy, rich and slick with a moderate amount of carbonation. I thought this was a good imperial coffee stout, definitely worth trying if you come across some!

 

 

From the bottle in a snifter. This excellent imperial pours a
dark blackish brown with a nice head of brown foam that settles
to a thick ring, thin dusty layer, and sports some nice lacing. Nose of
dark espresso, dark berries, rich cream, vanilla, char, brulee, and dark
bakers chocolate. Flavors hit the mark and then some with dark bakers
chocolate awash in char, brulee, RICH espresso, vanilla, and cream
dashed with dark fruit notes of black and blueberry. Nice mouth
feel; full slick body, smooth, coating, rich, low carbonation, and a
sweet yet bitter malt finish.

Overall, VERY nice!

Cheers

Pours black with three fingers of dense caramel-colored foam. Aroma is roasty and toasty with heavy coffee behind. It has a rich roastiness, with smooth chocolate underneath. Caramel and mild figs work their way into the mix, but are afterthoughts to rich coffee and chocolate. Flavor profile is full stout strength - roasty and toasty malts, and mild caramel. Smooth coffee comes second, coming off a little more potent than the aroma. Coffee adds a rich roastiness, smooth chocolate, and mild fudge qualities to the beer. Really decadent. Mouth feel is thick without being overly full. It has a mild creaminess throughout. Overall, rich and full without being sweet or sickly. Coffee notes are fantastic, it's like drinking brownie batter with a sip of quality, balanced coffee.

Served in a 15.5oz Spiegelau tulip from a 500mL bottle. Green label.

It's thicc for certain. There's that peppery note in the nose that does not translate to the flavors, which are waves of deep espresso notes that finish lightly bitter.

 

New York is a ways away so it is difficult to find their beers often. Eq is one of our favorites and I am very quick to pick up if I see them available. Here we have an EPIC coffee stout with the helping from Ghost Bear Espresso. The stout has insane gravity that is wrapped up in a blanket of rich/smooth coffee. It is one of the best pure coffee stouts I have had. They put a lot of care into finessing this rich brew and I am thankful. I’m not sure if they barrel age this but that variant would rock the house.

Beautifully done imperial coffee stout, strong on the espresso flavors but overall well done.
Smell was …. odd. Definitely had a “green jalapeño” smell on the open dissipated as you drank but never quite left your nose. No pepper spice, just oily, rich espresso stout.