Malice - Coconut and Cinnamon
Bombastic Brewing

 

16 ounce can into tulip glass, canned in 12/2019. Pours opaque dark brown/black color with a 1-2 finger fairly dense and fluffy tan head with food retention, that reduces to a thin cap that lingers. Light spotty soapy lacing clings on the glass, with a fair amount of streaming carbonation. Some coconut floaties as well. Aromas of big coconut, milk/dark chocolate, cocoa, coffee, caramel, brown sugar, cinnamon, toffee, fudge, vanilla, roasted nuts, toasted biscuit, and dark bread/crust; with lighter notes of dark fruit, licorice, molasses, smoke, char, herbal, grass, pepper, pine, and yeast/roast/toasted earthiness. Very nice aromas with good balance and complexity of dark/roast/bready malts, coconut, cinnamon, and light-moderate earthy hop/fruity yeast notes; with big strength. Taste of big coconut, milk/dark chocolate, cocoa, coffee, caramel, brown sugar, cinnamon, toffee, fudge, vanilla, roasted nuts, toasted biscuit, and dark bread/crust; with lighter notes of dark fruit, licorice, molasses, smoke, char, herbal, grass, pepper, pine, and yeast/roast/toasted earthiness. Light-moderate pine, herbal, grass, roast, charred bitterness; and cinnamon spiciness on the finish. Lingering notes of coconut, milk/dark chocolate, cocoa, coffee, caramel, brown sugar, cinnamon, toffee, fudge, vanilla, roasted nuts, toasted biscuit, and dark bread/crust, dark fruit, licorice, molasses, smoke, char, herbal, grass, pepper, pine, and yeast/roast/toasted earthiness on the finish for a while. Very nice complexity, robustness, and balance of dark/roast/bready malts, coconut, cinnamon, and light-moderate earthy hop/fruity yeast flavors; with a great roast/hop bitter/sweet balance; and no cloying, acrid, astringent flavors after the finish. Light-moderate increasing dryness from lingering bitter/spiciness. Medium carbonation and medium-full body; with a very smooth, creamy, silky, bready, and fairly sticky/chalky mouthfeel that is great. Mild increasing warmth of 10.5% after the finish. Overall this is a very nice imperial stout. All around nice complexity, robustness, and balance of dark/roast/bready malts, coconut, cinnamon, and light-moderate earthy hop/fruity yeast flavors; very smooth and easy to drink for the big ABV, with the mellowly bitter/spicy/drying finish; nicely soft feel. Great balance of rich malts, coconut, cinnamon, and earthy hops against sweetness. A bit more bitter/drying than expected for a dessert stout, but very well executed otherwise. A very enjoyable offering.

Quite tasty. This brewery seems to churn out solid high quality beers. Date printed on bottom of can was ambushed and faded and I couldn’t make it out. Pours a darker very dark brown, almost black sludgy color with a little tan head and minimal lasting lacing. Smells of dark roast coffee, dark chocolate fudge, coconut, malt, caramel, vanilla and nuts. Taste follows the nose, great hit of coconut that tasted real and inviting - not the overly sweet, “beachy” or “sunscreen” or “pina colada” flavors that I’ve experienced before in other beers. Great balance. Couldn’t detect any cinnamon, strangely enough. Smooth mild slightly thick mouthfeel and just the right amount of carbonation. Beer opened up more as it warmed. High ABV was well hidden. Delicious and very enjoyable.

L: Black as pitch with a root beer coloration at the meniscus. A fizz of a head dissipated before I could define the color. An (assumed) cinnamon scum coats the surface and glass in lieu of lacing. I’ve never seen that before.

S: Intense sweet coconut with a hint of cinnamon, no roast or malt or anything else I’d expect of a stout. As it warms a little alcohol similar to that which accompanied a flavor extract.

T: Coconut and caramel/vanilla. Quite sweet. Not milk or pastry-stout sweet, but a little too sweet for me for the flavors and weight here. No bitter backbone like I would hope for from a stout claiming dark chocolate.

F: Medium body, not thick, coating, or all that creamy, but for the type of stout this is, it fits the bill nicely.

O: Overall this is a good beer. It doesn’t meet my stout expectations, but if I compared it to any dark ales I’ve had, I’d much prefer this brew. For this I have rated each component against the style, but the overall for how much I enjoyed the beer.