Alpine Ridge
Riverlands Brewing Co

 

22oz bomber poured into Crooked Stave tulip.

Appearance: Black bodied beer with 1 finger of thick densely packed head that quickly drops down to ring around the glass.

Smell: big coconut nose with hint of nutty coffee with creamer. German Chocolate cake come to mind as well. Great nose.

Taste: Starts sweet and rich; then finishes with a building coffee bitterness. German chocolate cake and chocolate / pecan icing. Strong coconut in the middle. At the same time you are tasting the coconut, you taste a little bit of booze heat / spice. Was hoping for a hazelnut bomb, but its more coconut and chocolate here. Lightly burnt earthy coffee with moderately bitter finish.

Mouthfeel: medium bodied stout with low yet adequate carbonation. Thicker body, but not really motor oil. Not overly creamy or silky either. This has a little bit of heat to it.

Overall: Was excited to come across this on the shelf recently. Solid Riverlands stout, but I was slightly disappointed by this one. Was really hoping the hazelnuts were over the top in this stout. The coconut and coffee seemed to trump the hazelnut flavors. The hazelnuts nevenr really emerged either as a prominent flavor; just stayed in the background most of the time. It is a bit hot too. Usually the Riverlands stouts are not as boozy as this. Still a great stout that I was excited to sample though. This one drinks better cold and as it warms up it gets substantially boozier.

Pours dark brown, minimal head and lacing. Strong scent of hazelnut, which always reminds me that I don’t like hazelnut, coconut and coffee hanging out in the background. Taste is sweet-hazelnut and coconut are in the forefront, notes of cocoa and vanilla, coffee has a mild presence. Thick, slightly oily, big body, and the alcohol is quite subtle for such a high abv. Pretty flavorful.

 

Collaboration with Foreign Exchange Brewing Co. Pour is thiccc and syrupy, with a full mouthfeel to match. Very aromatic, with strong hazelnut notes and an impression of lactose that I don't think the beer actually has in it. The coconut and coffee sit back on the nose but are very present on the palate, where the coffee presents as very earthy and chocolatey. It complements the nuttiness of the hazelnuts. The coffee is well balanced, not too dark on the roast and not over-extracted. Much richer than I would expect without any cacao nibs or vanilla, but not too sweet--just lots of malt flavors mingling with the additives. Unrivaled degrees of mouth-coating texture. Very enjoyable; between this and The Corner of Dean St and Borden St, my eye will be on any imperial stout these folks cook up for the foreseeable future.