Great Notion: Calf & Half

This is the second blueberry imperial stout I've had, and I've really enjoyed both. Beer #1 out of the box for me, and what a great start. Could clearly taste both blueberry and coconut, and the aroma, flavor, and mouthfeel were all very nice. Under all that blueberry I didn't really notice the barrel-aging (or, for that matter, very much of the "stout"), but I didn't mind. I would buy a six pack of this for sure.

 

OK, to be honest, I was all prepared to hate this beer. Blueberries, IMHO, have no business in a Stout. But one of the reasons I sprang for an Extreme Beer Box was to force me out of my DIPA/RIS rut. Well, it did that, in spades. And I really enjoyed this one! Go figure.....

 

Outstanding aroma- blueberry and coconuts go big.

Based on reviews I was expecting a nice blueberry purée stout, but find there are too many flavors going on in this beer. I get why people are giving it love, but not sure it is for me. The flavors seem to meld into something that initially gives an off putting cavendish pipe tobacco flavor, then progresses into an equally off putting flavor resembling a coconut sun block lotion. I’m in the minority and applaud the attempt, the masses seem to love it.

 

3rd beer from the box. Tons of blueberry aroma. Taste is a mix of blueberry, chocolate, and barrel. I got absolutely zero coconut presence, which is fine by me. It was fun to try but not one I’d seek out. Then again, I guess that’s kinda the point of the box.

 

Box came yesterday and we (partner and I) shared this and the frose first. First things first, this beer really took me back to the Extreme Beer Fests of years past - I stood in many long lines for tasty Great Notion beers (Blueberry Muffin may be one of my favorites, from EBF 2017) and it gave me some nostalgia to sip on this, so props for that!

Overall tasty beer, and boozy (forgot to look at the ABV before starting…whoops), although the blueberry may be too prominent. It reminded me of a blueberry granola bar (I think the blueberry Rx bars, specifically) and my partner also though it was reminiscent of a blueberry grocery store treat from his childhood, but he could not recall which one.

We both loved the can art and hope to save the label. Cheers to Great Notion for a tasty, quintessentially EBF beer!

 

I figured after some fruited sours, a blueberry stout would close out the night. It’s a bit disjointed to me, but there’s no denying the blueberry and coconut flavors and mouthfeel. Not one I’d seek out again, but a nice beer nonetheless.

 

I was meh on this stout after the first few sips, but by the end, i enjoyed it. Aroma is all out blueberry with no coconut, and the taste was the reverse, mainly coconut with some chocolate and bourbon BA.

 

My thoughts on this beer mirror my friend @beergoot - this an an amped up, elevated imperial stout that includes BA and non-BA components that work exceptionally well together.

And then you toss on a dollop of fresh blueberries and roasty coconut for good measure (I could smell the blueberries from two feet away whilst taking the pics). This is world class, IMHO.

 

There’s a lot of nuance to this 12.5% ABV sledgehammer. That takes talent by the brewer, because in my experience, that doesn’t happen - I usually walk away from those beers wondering what train just smashed me.

That is not the case - at all - with this beer. I’m partial to blueberries, but if I wasn’t, I’d still think this was wonderful.

I’d drink it on the regular if I could. Phenomenal beer.

 

Another great beer. Dark black color but the nose is surprisingly light blueberry, like you just made blueberry muffins. The taste is lighter than you'd think from the color. The grain and malt add something of a bready feel to it so the taste is like a blueberry muffin with a dash of coconut on top.

 

Admittedly, I go crazy for blueberries, but I absolutely loved this one. I have had many blueberry beers, but the fruit always seems muted in them. This one really shines and brings out the blueberry pie/compote taste and has some good juiciness to it, despite being in a big stout like this. The coconut is secondary to me in the flavor, but came out more as it warmed up. I think the mixture of barrel and not really works well here too, as there were some barrel characteristics, but it didn't make it overly heavy. I was actually surprised by how light it drank for 12.5%.

 

#5 out of the box (I skipped the WWS to save for the end). Not usually a fan of blueberries, but they could really grow on me, especially with coconut, which works surprisingly well. Velvet on the tongue, feels like the mouth is coated with a layer of melted chocolate. Big alcohol burn, which forced me into sipping mode, giving me an opportunity to taste from cold through to room temperature. I actually preferred it cold - the sweetness became a little oppressive as it warmed. We don't have a great deal of GN availability in NY, so this has been my first from the brewery. I am now a fan and will be looking for more!

 

Reading the posts on this and I'm in the minority. @HouseofWortship 's descriptors are better than mine but in the middle and end, I started to feel like I was drinking Robitussin cough syrup.The beginning through middle I got tons of blueberry pie which I loved! At the finish I thought, "that was pretty good but I'm glad I'm done". My guess is that the Robitussin obviously contained chemical flavoring which very closely match flavor compounds in blueberries and my memories of the medicine intertwined with this experience.


Look: Midnight black. Aggressive pour yielded a head that quickly fizzled away.

Smell: Blueberry burst into my face. Then I got some pie, blueberry pie. (I’m a genius).

Taste: Sweet blueberry, boozy with a bit of a sting from sourness maybe. Started to get medicinal halfway through. At the end I thought about Robitussin cough syrup. Sounds like a negative but it wasn’t bad.

Feel: medium body, slick and sticky

Overall: The whole blueberry pie taste in the beginning was exciting but halfway through to end the cough syrup taste started to take over.

 

Husband and I had very different takes on this:

Me--practically slapped in the face by the blueberry content when I opened the can. I can only express it as an overpowering blueberry muffin scent. The pour was quite flat with only a small, deep caramel brown head, but it was the color that surprised me; it is a very dark beer with no translucency at all until you get to the very top edge (giving it an amber/golden caste along the rim). We started it out fairly cold (it was in the fridge for about 45 minutes) but with the high ABV, we both worked on our glasses for about an hour. The beer mellowed out and sweetened in flavor as it warmed. I love stouts and I love barrel aged beers, so this hit many of my favorite beer buttons. The balance of barrel-aged to non-barrel aged was very deftly handled. Despite the ABV, the alcohol did not overpower it but only gave a slight tingle on the tongue. I picked up blueberry throughout, with only slight hints of coconut (mostly on the back of sip). Roasted, mellow, bread-y... almost a little smokey. I thought it was good at the top of the glass but I thought it was delicious at the bottom. I really enjoyed it.

Husband--blueberry but also very strong coconut flavors in both scent and sips. Heavy on the tongue, not bubbly and not bitter but sweet. Tiny hints of chocolate. Not like a normal stout and definitely not a typical barrel aged beer. Barrel aging comes out mostly at the back of the mouth. Can only smell the blueberry a bit at the bottom of the the glass (unlike the powerful blueberry at the top of the glass). It an okay beer, not my favorite.

 

4-packs; and at $37.00 you better love it!

 

This is just a blueberry beer. It's kind of a shame because I was looking forward to tasting what was behind it. Blueberry is also one of those flavors that always tastes artificial, so that didn't help the cause here.

 

Spoiled as I am here in the (sometimes a) Great Land of Notion, this is the rare one of their wildly creative concoctions that I hadn't yet tasted. Calf & Half ably fills a stall in their gigantic barn of over-the-top, massive stouts. It's the first with blueberry, and their flavor-blending genius does not disappoint as that fruit erupts in the nose from the get go, and maintains throughout the gradual emptying of my glass. Coconut reveals itself subtly, but also steadily through the last sip. The syrupy mouthfeel of this monster is characteristic of Great Notion's mad alchemy with stouts. As always for me it's a challenge to finish a whole pint of such overwhelming goo, but I guess I'll just have to soldier on!