He Who Walks Among Monsters
Timber Ales

Viscous jet black under leggy, steady sepia foam; coffee, spice cake, roast, wood and cacao on the nose; fig, tar, maple chewies, cinnamon bun, sweet licorice, chocolate cake, and camp coffee; smooth, round and chewy.

4.25 4 4 4 4.25

Big cakey malts shot through with plenty of Chinese cinnamon. Maple plays like wood and extra sugar more so than any distinctive maple quality.
Very sweet without cloying, somehow.
Well-executed and discrete in its use of adjuncts yet somehow still missing something.

Still, a promising brewery.

Pours a pitch-black coloration with a large, creamy, mocha-colored head. Smells of roasted, caramel malt, cinnamon and maple syrup, with hints of coffee and chocolate coming through as well. Taste is a great balance of roasted, caramel malt and strong cinnamon and maple syrup notes, as well as lighter coffee and chocolate, with hints of licorice as well. Finishes with a light bitterness and medium sweetness, as well as some cinnamon and maple syrup lingering in the aftertaste. Thick mouthfeel with a rich body and liight/medium carbonation.

While I wish that the coffee was featured a little heavier here to provide a better balance to the sweet maple syrup and sweet and spicy cassia bark, I will cut this some slack as I suspect that it might be rather old, with the coffee having faded somewhat. Still, even in its current state, this still makes for a rather enjoyable example of the style, with the roasted malts and spice from the cassia bark just managing to keep the sweetness in check here, which never feels quite cloying, although more coffee would certainly have benefited this a lot. Likewise the ABV is reather well-hidden as well, without a hint of booziness to this. It's a little too sweet for my personal taste, but still makes for a rather enjoyable example of the style that may have been a lot better fresh, with a more intense coffee presence.

 

This just hit the spot for me and checked all my boxes - the richness of the red hue on the black body & creamy head of this one was extremely inviting. The cassia character was executed perfectly, fully present from nose to palate to finish but never spicy or cloying, nor was the maple syrup character ever out-of-whack to send this one into sugary pastry territory. It was just VERY GOOD all the way around, well-executed. My only complaint; would have loved a bit more coffee character in mine.

Not gonna call this a decadent dessert stout, but more like a morning sippy as you roll out of bed and have odd convo at the corner diner.

Dark, thick viscous. Deep tan head. Quite sticky on the sides.

Somewhat smoky, mildly sweet aroma reminiscent of burnt bacon mixed in with maple syrup and pancakes made on a blackened flattop; they even added some out-of-season blueberries and cream on top.

Sticky on the lips, but has a fluffiness on the palate with a drying carbonation.

Something on the line of redhots melted on that new non-stick pan to impress your friends. Only you didn't stop there, but added grade A maple syrup. Chocolate bagel and maple walnut cream cheese vibes. Light roast coffee; vietnamese coffee á la Two Roads Saigon Scooter.

 

 

 

 

A: Pours an opaque yet still clear extremely thick viscous jet black in color with light to moderate amounts of fine active visible carbonation rising along the edges of the glass and faint very dark chestnut brown + very dark cola brown + dark garnet red colored highlights. The beer has a finger tall dense foamy dark mocha head that slowly reduces to a large patch of thin film covering the entire surface of the beer and a medium thick ring at the edges of the glass. Moderate amounts of lacing are observed.

S: Moderate to strong aromas of light roast coffee + chocolate + maple syrup + cinnamon over the top of moderate aromas of dark roasted + slightly charred + chocolate + caramel malts with a moderate amount of maple syrup + caramel sweetness and a light aroma of earthy hops.

T: Upfront there are slightly stronger than moderate flavors of dark roasted + slightly charred + chocolate + caramel malts with a moderate amount of maple syrup + caramel sweetness. That is followed by just shy of strong flavors of light roast coffee + chocolate + maple syrup + cinnamon. Finally there is a light flavor of earthy hops. Overall there is a light to moderate amount of roasty bitterness which fades away quickly leaving complex malt flavors + cinnamon lingering.

M: Full bodied with moderate amounts of carbonation. Smooth, almost syrupy with a hint of dryness in the finish.

O: Drinks very easily considering the strength of this beer and a the alcohol is very well hidden with a wonderfully smooth, syrupy mouthfeel. Very enjoyable flavors and aromas from the rich complex malts to the coffee + cinnamon + maple. Excellent and I would gladly grab another of these - would be a perfect post-run breakfast beer for the next time I’m up in the mountains doing some trail running.

A- Darkness pours out of the can into a tulip with a brew that is as black as can be and a thick foamy head. The head takes on a dark cocoa brown hue and has pretty good retention. A small ring at the edges remains leaving webs of lacing.

S- Coffee, dark roast malts, maple syrup and spicy, earthy cassia bark that brings cinnamon notes. Suggests a moderate sweetness and the malts bring chocolate and roast barley notes. Maple takes a slight edge over the rest but pretty nice balance of everything.

T- Opens up like a great maple latte espresso drink and a moderately high sweetness. Chocolate and roast malts follow alongside the spicy, earthy and peppery cassia bark which brings a strong but still balanced cinnamon note. Slightly boozy, some licorice hints and the maple grows with warming to become the frontrunning flavor here. A lot of very bold flavors but it is smooth despite the cassia bring pretty strong and peppery.

MF- Thick and just luscious. The body is oily and slick and has a slightly frothy texture. Carbonation is on the lower side and the beer finishes with a nice warmth.

Liking Timber Ales so far. They manage to make stouts that are loaded with flavor, really bold ones and are sweet but still not a cloying disaster with a nice boozy edge. Maple latte with a scoop of cinnamon.

 

Recommended by the guy at Fort Point Market in Boston

Canned 9.16, opened 11.20, poured into a tulip

Pours a muddy motor oil, like its been driven too long. Thick and viscous. Dark thin creamy brown layer immediately evaporates to a ring.Good lacings

Aroma is maple, coffee, peppery spice, cinnamon ( cassia bark)

Taste is cinnamon ( cassia bark) without the burn. Coffee, roast malts, maple. Reminds me of a Viennese coffee with cinnamon. Sweet

Thick, syrupy mouthfeel, low sudsing

Good beer

 

Pours out super thick and dark. Not even a finger of head, but very dark brown when it does appear. Not much retention either.

Nose is for the par with other Timber Ale stouts. Really roasty malt, combining with coffee, providing this almost acrid scent. This is brighter than Morning Shakeout though. Now doubt because of the maple. Some cinnamon.

Taste is malt, coffee, chocolate, maple, cinnamon(I know its Cassia). Not as dry as the Morning Shakeout either. The maple bringing enough sweetness to counteract.

Mouthfeel is thick and dense. Mild carbonation. Like a decadent dessert.

Overall, this is very similar to many other Timber Ale brews. The maple brings something new. I wish they would venture into more varying territory though. It seems like they're playing it safe. I'd like to see something different from them.

Drank from a 1 pint / 16 fl. oz can purchased at Fort Point Market, Boston, MA
PKGD 09/16/20
Served in a tulip

Super viscous, near pitch black appearance. The dense, oily looking body was topped by a small, finely beaded, saddle brown head that quickly dropped to a thin halo. A singular thick, pockmarked ring of lacing stuck along the back portion of the glass and a patchy blanket coated the front.

The aroma was fantastic. Really rich and complex with an enormous malt presence. Both roasted and caramel malts. Dark roast coffee also came through strong. Cinnamon was noticeable as well. (Apparently this was the cassia bark.) Creamy lactose-like notes were also detectable. Touch of maple. Quite sweet overall. The cinnamon notes really intensified as the beer warmed. Hint of booziness too.

The flavor profile was perhaps even better than the nose. Super malty and robust. Roasted and caramel malt notes came through strong. Big, creamy lactose-like presence too. Loads of cinnamon/cassia as well. Semisweet chocolate was also noticeable. Touch of maple. More roast and espresso on the back end and the finish. Hint of booze. Considering the ABV, the alcohol was remarkably well buried.

Outstanding mouthfeel. Super thick and viscous, even for the style. Creamy, slick and smooth on the palate. The liquid contained a fine, fairly zippy effervescence that fluffed up beautifully.

Timber Ales are cranking out some amazingly rich and decadent pasty stouts that can definitely compete with the limited-run offerings by Tree House, Trillium, etc. Although the ones I tried so far all pretty much taste the same (and contain basically the same ingredients), they are really enjoyable and surprisingly easy to acquire.