Barrel Aged Big Hugs
Half Acre Beer Company

 

Served from an aluminum growler filled at Beer on the Wall - Arlington Heights in a Phase Three snifter.

This would be the 2019 edition, just to be absolutely clear. This stuff pours a straight onyx topped by a half-finger or so of sandstone foam. The nose comprises roasted malts, chocolate syrup, mild bourbon, a hint of vanilla, and a twinge of coffee in the background. The taste follows suit, the coffee a bit more powerful now, though the barrel keeps it from getting too big for its britches (at least, in the eyes of the barrel, anyway). The body is a light heavy, with a light moderate carbonation and a thickly fluid feel. Overall, a very nice edition of the classic Big Hugs, the barrel really bringing an added dimension to things - even if that means a slight reduction in the coffee character.

Bought the beer at Hazel's in Boulder. Canned: 11/12/20; consumed: 02/13/21. It's freezing out (high of 4 today), so I thought this would be a good one to crack. The bottle of the can say: "The long night's over", I wish it was true...

A&S: Beer is a coal-black color with a head that caramel brown. The head pours a half a finer and leaves speckles of lacing. The aroma consists of caramel, coffee beans, and bourbon. Hints of cherries and raspberries.

T&M: In my option, the best quality of this beer is its taste. Pretty huge notes of toffee and molasses. The aftertaste is hot with bourbon (might be better after some additional aging) at first and fades to dark chocolate, fudge, and caramel taste. Also some woody notes in the finish. A touch on the bitter side. Medium-high body, low-medium carbonation. Lingers a bit on the palate, but not very viscous.

Overall: I really enjoyed both of the alternate offerings of Big Hugs I have tried (this and the vanilla). I would recommend it. Cheers!

Pours dark black. Aroma is strong on the bourbon BA & malts with some chocolate and a hint of coffee. Tastes dominated by the bourbon and coffee with some chocolate. Medium to thick mouthfeel.

Wisconsin liquor stores (& breweries) are by far the best reason for the state’s existence. Witness: this 16 oz. can. Split with my wife.

The pour is blacker than an old Beta videotape (look it up if you need to) but smells better, like the tape has been rubbed with coffee beans & bourbon staves. Not bad.

Big Hugs – Barrel Aged takes a routinely good stout & drops a shot of hard, hot, harsh whiskey into it. Roast pops up front & runs all the way through to the end, but is upstaged by that barrel, which commits arson on the palate & all the way south. The vanilla could be sensed by a spectrometer on the finish, but the whiskey has run it to the edge of town already. The beer itself is a ghost. Honestly glad I shared this.

Take a solid stout; put it in a wet barrel; & thusly subsume the beer in alcohol. And not in a good way. A step down from the original & scarcely about mediocre. Disappointed.

Pours dead black with no head or carbonation. Immediately I taste dark German chocolate and slight bourbon. Not boozy for 12% and the vanilla is an awesome way to finish. I hate to admit that this is worth the $14 per can.

 

 

 

 

A very tasty ba stout from half acre. A little thin for my liking, but enjoyed it. But Definitely not worth 10 bucks a can!

 

 

A little thinner than a BCS in feel. Nice barrel smell although not a strong barrel flavor. I do love the character that the barrel ads to the beer. I don’t smell the coffee as much as I would expect. It’s very smooth and easy drinking. I don’t know why waited so long to try this. Don’t pass it up. Not quite Benthic level, but a great BA stout.

 

 

 

16oz can, 2018 release, poured into a Half Acre "occult" snifter glass.

The beer pours a very dark jet black color, thick and viscous and incredibly opaque with two fingers of khaki head that has very good retention and yields excellent swatches of sticky lacing. The aroma is pleasant, strong barrel character, lots of charred wood, strong roast and hot bourbon, spice and caramel from the bourbon, lots of chocolate to this beer with some vanilla and a soft coffee character, fruity and acidic with a mild richness. The flavors are good, lots of chocolate, soft and layered coffee, it's expressed very well on the palate, light roast with a nice chocolate element that plays well with the base stout and the barrel but this coffee offers a lot of acidity and fruit flavors. The barrel character isn't as intense as the nose but there is still assertive charred oak, hot bourbon, light spice and ample caramel and toffee while a hearty roasted dark grain backbone lingers on the tongue. The mouthfeel is great, thick and creamy heavy body, rich and smooth that coats very well and finishes with a nice warmth.

Verdict: A good barrel aged adjunct stout from Half Acre. The coffee is nicely done in this beer and it's by no means a coffee bomb but still gets a lot out of the coffee character. The issue I have is that for a rich base beer and for an aggressive barrel character, the coffee is quite acidic and introduces a tangy element that I'm not sure the beer needs. That being said, this is still a very enjoyable beer.