Westbrook's 4th Anniversary beer?

I'm surprised to hear several people saying this. To each their own of course, but personally its my favorite anniversary beer to date, including Mexican Cake. Then again, I wasn't a big fan of Skoons. Taste preferences differ I guess. That being said, to say there was no coconut or almond is kind of crazy to me. I've had multiple bottles and theres been tons of almond. Coconut isn't huge, but definitely noticeable. I'm not surprised people think the coconut is tame, but the almond absence claims don't make sense to me .

 

Yeah I agree with this for the most part. I don't like it more than Mexican Cake, but I do like it a lot. Drank 3 bottles, got the same impression from all 3. Minimal coconut, but TONS of chocolate and almond. I do think barrel aging this beer would make it badass though.

 

It's my favorite anny beer so far as well. I never tasted Skoons, but between 4th, MC, and Orange Bliss, I'd put them in that same order. I drank half of 1 bottle of Bliss, and didn't like it much.

 

Wait, wait, wait....hype from the label?!?! So a listing of ingredients is hype now?

Guys, a good beer can be a good beer. Everything doesn't have to be .rarmazing. What is this, like 8, 9 bucks for a bomber? It's not like Westbrook told you this was on par w/ the best beers they've made, charged you $30 and then laughed because they got by with a "slight coconut" taste.

I've yet to try it, but if I get to I'm going in with the expectations that it'll be a $9 bomber of an imperial stout brewed with coconut, vanilla & almonds. Because that's what it is.

 

Well said. That is why you were chief resident of Psychiatry at Mass General for 2 years, and did a fellowship in psycholinguistic at M.I.T.

 

Man, slow down a second on getting up in arms, I'm happy to clarify. When I say label hype, I mean the placebo effect it can have on people's tastebuds. You mix the fact that Westbrook typically makes great, sought after stouts with the words Coconut and Almond, and I think some folks out there will make themselves think it tastes better than it does. Not everyone of course, but I do think this tends to happen. A lot of reviews I read said this was liquid almond joy and I just don't see that even in the slightest.

I love Westbrook, but to me it wasn't a good beer. I wasn't expecting 10 stars and a perfect beer. The cost of a beer doesn't dictate my opinion of it. I also don't quite understand your point that a $9 bomber can't be amazing. Those beers exist.

Lastly, how about you just try the beer before shitting on someone else's opinion of it first?

 

Its ironic that you call it a placebo effect that other people like it based off of the name of the brewery and the description on the label, yet you are let down because you had a certain expectation based off of the name of the brewery and the description on the label.

 

Am I being a dick here? Goodness.

They are marketing it as a coconut almond beer, so yes, that is what my expectations were to taste. However, I could have still enjoyed the beer without getting those flavors. As I mentioned previously, the beer I tried tasted overly burnt and was not balanced enough for me to enjoy. So while I didn't get coconut or almond in it, that's not really the reason I thought it wasn't a good beer. However, that contributes to my disappointment in it because deep down I'm fat kid who loves chocolate covered coconut and almonds and I didn't get that.

Some people don't like the same beers. Crazy right? If you enjoyed it and got those flavors, awesome. I'm not going to sit here and try to make you feel stupid about it because we disagree.

 

Not sure where I said that....I said not everything has to be amazing. You are right though, I need to taste it before going further into whether it's justifiable to call this beer a disappointment. Only the first line of my post was directed at you, the rest of it was a reference to lots of people calling this a disappointment.

"Disappointment" only comes with preconceived notions of hype/quality. My point was if I'm buying a $9 bomber, in my opinion, that beer will either be good, bad or meh. "Disappoinment" would come into play if it was a high priced, literally hyped up event that I had to stand in line for and it was bad compared to other releases.

 

I hear ya. That's fair. Lucky for me I was able to get it on the way home from work. No lines! But some people did wait in line at the bottle shops here and it sold out in minutes. Atlanta is insane though. People love waiting in line for beer deliveries.

 

That's honestly an issue with the way Westbrook is distributed to Georgia. I'm trading for it, but mainly just because it was easier than driving the 1.5-2 hours down to SC

 

Depending on where you are in NC I could possibly bring some to you. I'll be driving up tomorrow and stopping in Greenville to look for some bottles. Could always make one more stop to save you shipping costs and whatnot. Will also be at Raleigh Rare on Saturday if you're attending that.

 

Just arrived in Macon this week.

 

Thanks for the thought, but I'm over in Hickory which I'm sure is way out of the way for you if you're headed to Raleigh Wish I could attend Raleigh Rare but somehow completely missed the boat on getting tickets.

 

No not at all, and I wasn't trying to be a dick either. I was just pointing out the irony in the fact that you commented on how the preconceived notions of others may have impacted their experience of the beer in a positive way, but yet didn't acknowledge that your own preconceived notions may have impacted your experience of the beer in a negative way.

Its something I think we all do. I do it myself, I'll use Zombie Dust as an example. I've had Zombie Dust many times, and have always been left underwhelmed. I think that is largely due to the fact that I am expecting it to be one of the best beer's Ive ever had based on its reputation and ranking. To me, it falls far short form this stature, and thus leaves me disappointed. If I were to go into some random bar and order Pale Ale X and it tasted exactly like Zombie Dust I would probably consider it a damn good Pale Ale, and be pleased in that it exceeding my expectations.

My point is simply that preconceived notions work both ways.

 

Just had a bottle last night. I thought this was a damn good $10 Imp stout! Not sure what the disappointed people were expecting but to each their own I guess.

 

I really think some people here must not have had the same beer I had when I tried this the first time. I would say its as good as a couple of the -bar aged Mexican Cakes. Also can't wait for the -bar 4th anniversary. That may end up being the best beer to ever come out of westbrook. Does anyone know if that one will be double barrel? Thats what i keep hearing?

 

Opened up my bottle last night and really enjoyed it. Coconut and almond don't slap you in the face, but they do add complexity above and beyond a chocolate imperial stout. Had no expectations other than for it to be good, and it was. I'd buy another if Macon didn't get so little of it.

 

its a vanilla bomb

 

Trying mine tonight. Judging from all the posts I have no idea what to expect!