Benthic - 2 x 4
Half Acre Beer Company

 

 

 

Yields an onyx colored beer with a bigger, slowly collapsing mohagony head atop.

Aromas unfold layers of alcohol soaked chocolate, roasted malts and coconut forward wood bark.

This drinks utmost smooth with a heavy bodied silkness to it, together with a late carbonation spark, preventing the beer from becoming too voluptuous.

Tastes of melting caramel among spicy, almost smoky licorice, making way for warming coconuts dipped into chocolate among whafts of high quality Bourbon. The beer has a sweet mid palate with caramel and toffee becoming more prominent among lingering, warm and sugary oak. Finishes with milk chocolate, Bourbon soaked raisins and charred wood, adding a light dryness to the prevailing sweetness in this.

This shines by integrating both the additives as well as the Bourbon very flawlessly, while producing a great complexity.

 

Appearance - The beer had the appearance Of what slippery tar.

Smell - The news was like a bomb of fresh coffee with noted sweetness. The coco nut was Earthy, seemingly covered in dark chocolate. All of this with the impression of melted vanilla ice cream in back.

Mouthfeel - The mouthfeel was silky and smooth with little carbonation.

Overall - This beer was hype worthy.

**
11/29/24
awesome
**
11/27/25

Coffee. Coconut. Vanilla. Are all awesome. Maybe this one is not super complex. But flavor profile is fantastic.

**

2024 Edition! Sweet milk chocolate, Swiss Miss hot chocolate and Mocha Coffee, vanilla and prominent coconut, and a subtle bourbon barrel nose on this one! Taste follows exactly with a very balanced, chocolate covered coconut and vanilla, bourbon boozy heat finish. The barrel is here, but it is more subtle and integrated than I was expecting...this allowed the additions to shine upfront. This is very good!

 

 

A 12 oz. Benthic that promises twice the coffee & quad the coconut. That doesn’t sound like a recipe for a poop party.

Black. Mocha head collapses more quickly than an argument for roundabouts. The nose is stinging coffee, bourbon, & coconut. In that order.

Benthic 2x4 delivers as advertised, but in a slightly different pecking order than the nose. Coconut (at four times) leads, bourbon is short & sharp, coffee lends an earthy, roasty, robust finishing note. There are tiny bits of coconut floaties, which always turns me on. Little roast on the end & maybe it’s the added ingredients, but this version isn’t as ass-thick as the base, which makes it easier on the able-to-drink-meter.

Surprisingly, despite the alleged overdrive of additions, this doesn’t drink a whole lot differently than the original. Which is to say it’s an excellent stout.

 

 

2023 can pour - pours black but not thicc with a dark brown head that dissipates quickly. Comparatively, it feels like more than regular Benthic, but 2x4? It has a cake batter quality without the thiccness, none of the flavors are over the top. Excellent.

EDIT: 2024 can has all the coconut, coffee, and barrel I expected from the 2023 can. Not adjusting the original rating.

This one pours a very dark black color, with a small head, and a little bit of lacing.

This smells super coconut forward, but in a very pleasant way, with tons of caramelly and spicy bourbon barrel, vanilla, a light fruitiness, and a nice creamy coffee aroma.

This is absolutely wonderful, and pretty much exactly what I want for a barrel aged pastry stout. The coconut is star here, creamy, toasted, and delicious, but it doesn’t overwhelm the excellent barrel character here. There’s some nice oak rounding things out, and a touch of bourbon spice. The coffee here is also quite nice, vibrant and chocolatey, with notes of vanilla.

This is pretty thick and creamy, with no overt booziness, and a pretty nice drinkability. It’s heavy but absolutely not syrupy.

This is phenomenal. I can’t get enough of Half Acre barrel aged beers lately.

 

 

 

 

2022 version. 10 months old at opening.

Pours a viscous jet black color. An aggressive pour yields a two finger dark mocha, almost reddish head that slowly forms due to the viscousness of the beer and impressively sticks around for a while given the abv.

Aroma is giving off huge Mounds bar vibes, with a plethora of coconut and chocolate coming through. Chocolate-covered coconut macaroon, fresh toasted coconut, and dark and milk chocolate all are at the forefront. As you dig deeper, the coffee shows, giving off a light fruitiness and fresh ground gourmet coffee beans. Nothing acrid or green pepper thankfully. Also get bourbon-soaked nougat, vanilla, oak, and bourbon spirit. As it warms the coffee and barrel intensify to match the coconut and chocolate notes.

While the aroma is more adjunct-forward, the taste, albeit still full of coconut and coffee, brings a big barrel presence. Oak tannin and bourbon wonderfully balance out the sweetness of the base and adjuncts. The coffee is also a bit more forward in the taste compared to the aroma, which brings a nice, slightly fruity dark roast coffee presence that also balances out the sweeter characteristics. The coffee adds a slight bitterness, but nothing acrid or green pepper. Get milk chocolate-covered espresso beans, coffee grounds, no bake dark chocolate cake, toasted coconut macaroon, vanilla frosting, Mounds bar, bourbon-soaked nougat, toffee, charred oak, vanillin, and forward, yet smooth bourbon spirit.

Full body. Dense and viscous. Oily, sticky, and slick. Mild carbonation.

I'd describe this as aggressive, yet refined. Despite the enormous amounts of coconut and coffee added to this one, it is still done tastefully and has balance to it. The barrel and coffee do a wonderful job balancing out the sweeter base and coconut presence. The base, adjuncts, and barrel all come together harmoniously and complement one another so well. Half Acre's barrel program is one of the best not only in Chicago, but in the country in my opinion and this is yet another example of that.