Black Is Beautiful: Appreciation Thread

Jackie Os is available now. I just got mine and its listed on their curbside pickup shop menu. Ill poke around CT list but most of those are gone. If I find any still available, Ill share here.

 

Here I go again, bumping this thread back up again. Ive had this BiB version for a few months, but havent had a chance to post this one. Plus it seems appropriate to have this near the start of Black History Month. Free Will Brewing's entrant is actually a coffee porter and is a collab with Harris Family Brewing, who are potentially the first black owned brewery in Pennsylvania.
The beer is courtesy of a swap with @rolltide8425 , thank you for the hookup!

Onto the review.

Sampling a cellar temp 16 oz can poured into my snifter.
Beer pours a dark cola brown color with a very dense and creamy beige colored head of 1.5 cm. the foam is so creamy it looks like steamed milk on the surface. Leaves tight lattice after I swirl or have a sip of the beer.
Aroma is heavy with coffee and roasted malt and hints of dark chocolate. the coffee notes are the boldest on the nose and the ABV is hidden and the hops are not really present. Very malt driven nose.
First sip reveals a medium body and soft carbonation. texture is smooth and this beer drinks very easy and is pleasant on my palate.
Flavor is some dark chocolate and hints of caramel or toffee which moves quickly to black coffee and roasted malt notes. Any sweetness is briefly perceptible before the roast notes move back in. I do get some light milk chocolate note on the finish too. This is a balanced porter between roasted and sweet, even though the coffee is dominant, it lets other flavors poke through here and there.
Im glad to have tried this one and glad I have another can or two left in the cellar!

 

I just found another new brewery release of a BiB brew, so I am posting here and adding to BA DB. I had been watching for this one as Armada was listed as participating, but I never saw the release announcement. Just picked up yesterday at the beer store while shopping for Porter tasting event. the beer looks pretty nice here with the first BA photo post with my new phone!


Onto the review notes from my review on the site:

Picked up this 4 pack of 16 oz cans yesterday. Pouring at cellar temp into my snifter. The beer has coconut and vanilla added according to the label.
the beer pours a black coffee color with no light passing through my can. A dense creamy khaki colored head foams up about 1.5 cm and remains as a sturdy surface layer throughout the sampling. Leaves some dense sticky lacing during each sip or swirl of the glass. Looks really good in the glass.
Aroma is rich with roasted malt and some dark bakers chocolate. I also get some light vanilla in the background, but no coconut. No hops or any hint of booze notes either.
First sip reveals a medium body with fine and tingly carbonation that really foams up in my mouth with a swirl. Texture is smooth and silky and the beer drinks pretty easy.
Flavor is what the nose tells me to expect. I get roasted malt, some black coffee, and dark chocolate. Like a dry dark cocoa powder flavor. This rolls to a little vanilla that shines through before giving back the show to a roasted flavor that lingers after each sip. Hops absent and not boozy at all.
This is an easy drinking roasty imperial stout, but I am not sure what happened to the coconut from the label, I dont smell or taste it. Still a pretty nice imperial stout.

 

THREAD BUMP!!
Another beer from Connecticut this weekend. I found this on the shelf last week, thought it may be old as the Black Is Beautiful beers were mostly brewed a while ago. Maybe its that this was aged for a year causing the later release. Great Falls Brewing in North Canaan, CT and their Black is Beautiful 10% Bourbon barrel aged dulce de Leche imperial stout. Glad to find another brewery keeping this effort and message going!

Onto my review:

I picked up a 12 oz can of this beer recently, there is no date stamp on the can, but it appears to have been released recently from the brewery. I am pouring at cellar temp into my snifter.
The beer pours a dark cola brown and no light passes through my glass when I hold it to the light. A dense creamy tan head foams up about 1 cm and sticks around as a surface covering through most of the sampling.
The Aroma is dark chocolate and some roasted malts with rich hints of bourbon in the background. No hop character is present and the 10% is well hidden on the nose. I dont get sweet milk stout notes. I like the aroma on this beer, its fairly balanced malt notes.
First sip reveals a medium body with soft gentle rolling carbonation. Beer feels smooth drinks easy for a bigger brew.
Flavor is similar to the nose with dark chocolate, a bit of sweeter chocolate too, and hints of bourbon again. the bourbon lingers a bit and is definitely flavor and not boozy heat. Again, no hops.
This is a pretty nice bourbon barrel aged imperial stout, the dulce de leche doesnt really shine through in my opinion, but everything else works.
Glad to have picked this one up at the shop.

4.12 in the BA DB