Great Divide - Espresso Oak Aged Yeti

I've been breaking out some decent bottles in the last month or so, some of which are documented in this blog.  Today will provide no exception as I'm finally ready to crack open a bottle of Espresso Oak Aged Yeti from Great Divide Brewing Co. out of Denver, Colorado.  I'm pretty excited to say the least.  I've only snagged tastes of Yeti before and one of those was a bottle that was shared at the 2012 Dark Lord Day, but it had soured.  I tasted it anyway just to see the off flavors.  As with many beers, this one is not immediately available in my area, so you know that when I saw it at a beer store when I was out of town, I had to snag it.  Especially after being subject to its reputation for too long.  Let's pour!

Oh baby.

Aroma 12/12

Even before opening the bottle I was expecting a monstrous coffee aroma in proportion to the mythical creature of its namesake.  Thankfully, I was mistaken.  Yeti did not try to bowl me over with overpowering coffee.  I was apprehensive after seeing "with coffee added" on the label instead of being brewed with coffee or a malt that might elicit the same flavors.  As mentioned, Yeti does sets aside all those worries and gives the drinker something truly special.  It's not often one is comforted by a Yeti.  You may quote me.

Surprisingly, the first to the nose is a dark, dark chocolate malt and is followed closely by brewed espresso (naturally), and a lesser sweet oatmeal or lactose note.  The coffee is anything but overpowering even as the drink warms, and I give this beer high praise for its restraint.  When chilled, the beer initially makes the sweet creaminess easy to detect.  Eventually a bit more balance appears and a bitterness begins to grow on the palate.  The final stage is a glorious one as chocolate and heat step forward a bit, and the coffee + chocolate blend begins a perfect harmony.  I mean perfect.  I can hardly tell which one is more present.  Is there one that's 51/49?  55/45?  Couldn't tell you.  They are wondrously blended.

Yeah.  Pretty sure even the head could be SRM rated.

Appearance 3/3

I should just be able to write, "This looks like one of the best stouts you've ever had" and you would know.  However, in the interest of maintaining a high level of detail I shall elaborate.  It pours black and thick and raises a generous, two fingers of chocolate mousse-colored head.  The head nearly has the appearance of cake it is so thick.  Look at the below photo!  I had to take one, it was that striking.  I mean, c'mon, it even could have its own SRM rating!  Its longevity was also impressive as was its lacing.  There is nothing to complain about here and if I could give it more points I would.  Maybe I can just send money to Denver and tell them to buy themselves something pretty.  They deserve it.

Look at that head!  It makes you wanna slice it up and
serve it with ice cream!

Flavor 19/20

So maybe now is when I'll be overwhelmed with coffee, right?  Right?  Well, perhaps not as this particular bottle was born on December 19, 2011.  Maybe I should just drink it and find out.  The first sips are absolutely saturated with flavor and only once the tongue begins to acclimate to this tsunami of goodness can one begin to pick apart the flavors.  A burst of dark roast comes first, but is instantly washed away, almost literally, by the foaming action of the beer and an intense dollop of extremely dark chocolate.   The chocolate sits heavily in the mouth and refuses to be moved, but instead is paired with a salty flavor and bits of char from the malt.  I must commend the chocolate/salt blend.  Wow. This is absolutely delicious!  The coffee flavor has faded with age, but it still provides a general bitter to help darken the beer as a whole.  The bitter is, of course, more present in the finish as the beer flows over those 'bitter' taste buds on the back of the tongue.  The mouth remains coated with chocolate and coffee flavors and only much later in the aftertaste are we treated to any hint of warmth in this beer.  It comes with a lingering chocolate java and ties things together nicely.

Mouthfeel 5/5

After swallowing, I found myself wanting to chew this beer.  Some part of me needed to get every last savory bit of flavor out of this brew.  I even chewed the sides of my mouth a little bit just so my teeth could scrape off any lingering dark, smoky goodness.  This is unquestionably a full-bodied, big ol' beer and packs an absolute flavor bomb.  It offers a carbonation a smidgen higher than I might expect, but it also might be necessary as this beer is extremely sticky in the mouth after swallowing.  When the beer is still chilled, that carbonation offers an neat foaming action, but later on is there to simply provide texture for a very large beer.  Warmth is invisible save for its brief cameo in the aftertaste.

Overall Impression 10/10

I'll try not to gush, but.... WOW!  What a beer!  The flavors are massive and the chocolate espresso blend is a home run.  The coffee flavor itself had faded (I'll never know how much), but even in its current state adds a solid bitter that lends itself well to portraying a darker chocolate than perhaps was intended.  Please keep in mind that even though there are many mentions of chocolate, this beer is not what one would call sweet.  Just as a 90% cacao chocolate bar isn't exactly something you offer to the kiddies.  Superior appearance, amazing aroma blend, massive flavor, and it absolutely slides across the bottom of your mouth.

Total 49/50

If you see this, buy it.  Even if it's $20, buy it.  It would be a bargain and one of the few beers at that price point that actually deserves to be there.  I'm pouring the second half of this bomber bottle and loving it even more.  When it's more chilled, the beer foams up in the mouth nicely, but really smooths out as it warms.  i know I've mentioned that before, but it's a really cool effect and I can't tell which mouthfeel I appreciate more.  It is simply excellent on every level.  I'm glad the coffee wasn't immense, but that the flavor was definitely Sasquatch-sized.  My wife likened the brew as a whole to Cuban Coffee.  For those that don't know Cuban Coffee is essentially espresso that is brewed over several table spoons of sugar.  Any sugar that is not immediately dissolved is taken care of in the next step as the steam wand of the espresso machine is placed deep in the brewing vessel to almost super-saturate the espresso with the sugar.  This results in a a delicious, sweet, thick concoction that is the equivalent of nitrous oxide for pretty much anything that is alive and brave enough to not fear its heart exploding.  If a cardiologist sees a cup of it, it spontaneously bursts into flame.  Heart issues aside, I also really appreciate the fact that they make no qualms about wanting you to drink this for breakfast (see below picture).  If I could I wouldn't even wait til breakfast in my morning routine to enjoy this brew; I'd bathe in it.

A wise man once said, "Don't sweat the petty things and don't pet the sweaty things."  I hope that I can make an addendum to this sage wisdom with, "but always drink the Yeti things."

Word at both top and bottom indicate that this is a "breakfast beer."
Whatever that is, I love it.

Founders - Kentucky Breakfast Stout

Today friends, I review a beer that needs no introduction.  I knew that cracking open my sole bottle of KBS was drawing near immediately after I was unable to procure tickets to this year's KBS Release Party due to some errors on the part of some 3rd party ticket brokers.  I, like many people, had a ticket in my cart, but to no avail.  But I'm not worried!  The past has passed!  I will not be broken-hearted or bitter over things I cannot change nor correct.  All I can do is enjoy the current bottle I possess, given to me by my good friend Matt D.  The last time I was fortunate enough to get a pour of KBS was at 2011's Screw City Beer Festival in Rockford, IL.  It looked a little something like this.

This is what it looks like when I poo my pants.

I think it goes without saying that I have been looking for an excuse to drink this beer for quite some time.  Let's pour!

Aroma 12/12

This is like dark, melted chocolate made violent love to black, gourmet coffee after a bourbon-soaked evening.  The coffee is bitter and strong, burnt, dark roasted malt is abundant, and dark chocolate's sweetness rounds things out nicely.  Warmth is more present than the actual aroma of bourbon at this point, but it is not overpowering and you'd never guess this was an 11.2% ABV beer.  I want to wear this as cologne.

Appearance 3/3

I hate to make the generic simile that this beer pours like motor oil, but... it's more like filthy motor oil.  It's a host of cola and coffee browns with a yellowish tinge around the edges.  The head was barely present, but was a shockingly dark shade of brown.  This beer had legs like road tar.  It stubbornly hung on the sides of the glass and refused to be moved.

Flavor 19/20

I don't believe that there is one milliliter of this beer that is not dedicated to being saturated with flavor.  It's not the most intense thing I've ever tasted, but nothing is wasted to deliver all the intended flavors to your waiting taste buds.  It begins with a oatmeal-y, sweet creaminess, which blossoms beautifully into the sweeter aspects of the rich, rich chocolate.  Then the bourbon rolls in and things get rowdy.  This goes from being a luscious, savory, delectable slice of German double molten chocolate cake with a side of coffee, to a beer that tastes like every bite of cake is first dipped lightly in bourbon.  The chocolate and bourbon are definitely the stars here and the coffee takes a supporting role.  When held in the mouth, however, the coffee is the most persistent of the flavors and makes itself known once the others have faded.  Be patient though because, sweet Holy delicious chocolate booze cake, are those flavors strong and it's going to take a while.  The finish is mocha coffee sweetness plus the tingling heat from the bourbon while the aftertaste is pretty much the same aftertaste if you combined how your mouth feels fifteen minutes after drinking coffee and two minutes after sipping bourbon.

Mouthfeel 4.5/5
Wait, can I even give half points?  To that I say in my best Eric Cartman voice, "It's my blog, I do what I WANT!"  I've never done it before, but I've never felt compelled to do it before.  I basically want to say that the mouthfeel of this beer is remarkable, but I cannot say that it is perfect.  The bourbon is simply too strong and covers some of the other flavors that I know are in there.  To add to that, this beer is from 2012!  It has aged for almost an entire year!  I can't imagine how aggressive this beer would be were it fresh.  It is just shy of being full-bodied and while the carbonation is wonderfully subtle, the alcohol warmth adds enough tingle to be as interruptive as a higher level of bubbles.

Overall Impression 9.5/10 
Well, if I'm gonna start issuing half-points I might as well use two so that the final score is a whole number, right?  This is a supremely tasty beer and for a guy that hasn't eaten dinner yet, its 11.2% ABV is definitely a force to be reckoned with.  This coffee-licious, chocolate oozing, bourbon monster simply must be tried.  It tries extremely hard to live up to its gargantuan reputation and does an admirable job, even if it doesn't taste like God himself lactated it into each and every bottle.  This is a chocolately delight that I will be aging even more next time to mute the bourbon into submission.

Total 48/50

I know, I know... It doesn't take a whole lot of fortitude nor prowess to drink a great beer and give it a high score.  Big surprise, right?  However, I was expecting to give this beer a perfect score and perhaps that expectation worked against it.  It is a towering giant of chocolate and bourbon warmth with coffee riding its coattails the whole time.  The warmth is not insane, but it is enough where I do feel that it overpowers some of the other flavors that should definitely be making a contribution, namely the coffee.  If you're fortunate enough to see some after the April 1, 2013 distribution date, buy it.  Even if it doesn't live up to its ludicrously lofty expectations (and what could), you won't be disappointed.

New Glarus - Coffee Stout

Well, gang it was the first blustery, cold day of the season and that put me in the mood for a stout.  Also, today the Chicago Bears play the Green Bay Packers and I'm going to need a good, sturdy beer to fuel me through that 60 minutes of intense rivalry.  Not that I'm a fan of either team (go 49ers!), but I always enjoy watching a hard fought game.  Football aside, I have no idea how long this beer has been in my fridge.  I assume somewhere around the 18 month mark.  It's not one that New Glarus currently brews and they currently have it listed in their "Beers We Have Known and Loved" section on their webpage.  I don't know if they'll brew it again, but I sure hope so because it's a solid go-to offering when it's available.  Let's pour!

Aroma 11/12

This is an absolute truck load of delicious malts.  Chocolate comes first, is followed by some smoke, and a lovely dark roast.  The coffee is very muted until the beers warms to an appropriate level and then... Look. Out.  The aroma almost doubles in intensity and richness as a rich, dark coffee jumps out of the glass and all but covers the chocolate.  

Appearance 3/3

A gravity-defying tan head floats atop an all but completely black beer.  True to its name, only some coffee-toned browns are visible at the top most edge when the beer is held to light.  The head offers excellent size and retention.

Flavor 17/20

A surprising sweetness starts this beer.  It's a much brighter sweetness from the malts than one would expect in a coffee stout and feels like a combination of chocolate and black malts, but also gives a hint of lactose as in a milk stout.  The beer then flashes the palate some rich coffee goodness before fading gradually back to a smoother blend between the coffee and the darkly roasted chocolate/mocha malts.  A nice light char has been overseeing this whole process and making its presence known throughout - another nice layer of flavor complexity.  The finish again provides that lighter, brighter malt sweetness and mixes it with the coffee, which seems to rob the brew of some of its richness.  There's plenty of coffee flavor, it just doesn't seem as bold and dark as it could be.

Mouthfeel 3/5

This category is clearly the weakest part of the beer.  One generally expects a thicker, chewier experience in their stouts.  The label claims this beer to be "full-bodied," but it's medium-bodied at best.  If it is truly a full-bodied, then it is done a gross disservice by both its boisterous carbonation and the coffee.  As in the aroma, the coffee pushes the malts around in every aspect of this beer and mouthfeel is no exception.  The big chocolate malts are made to feel thinner by the coffee, just as a glass of chocolate milk would suffer a lighter body if you poured an iced coffee into it.

Overall Impression 8/10

The lightening of key elements by the coffee is truly the beers Achilles' Heel.  When the beer is cold the malts are quite impressive and shine on their own, AND there is a point in the temperature transition that is ideal where both of these elements embrace each other and absolutely sing in harmony.  However, past that point, the coffee sandbags what could be a remarkable beer.  Not that it's short on flavor by any means!  It has loads of flavor, unfortunately it's all too easy to see what this beer could be.

Total 42/50

For a beer sold in a six-pack, it's definitely one to purchase.  Heck, the aroma alone is almost worth the price of admission.  As indicated in the previous paragraph, my main problem resides where the coffee meets the malt.  A coffee stout needs to have that big body to carry the big flavors.  That in mind, a coffee stout should always be malt-based with coffee added and not appear to be coffee-based with malts added.  That in mind, this is a super tasty stout that I have enjoyed, and will continue to enjoy, if and when it becomes available, on a number of occasions.  The lighter mouthfeel and carbonation keep it ridiculously drinkable for a stout with this much flavor, but the char and coffee give it enough bitter so that it falls far short of being a lackluster brew.  I don't know when New Glarus is planning on brewing this again, but it would be a welcome addition to any fridge for the fall season.

Two Brothers - Red Eye Coffee Porter

With the clamor that this brew has created in the Chicago suburbs, I wasn't about to leave Chicago (on a recent trip) without seeking out a bottle for myself.  According to the label,

"Red Eye Porter is the first of our 15 archive recipes we will brew to celebrate out 15th anniversary.  Red Eye debuted in the Spring of 2009 and quickly won acclaim from the public and press alike.  We brewed it a second time, which was the last time we made it, in the fall of 2009.  Since then it has easily become the most requested beer for us to bring back (like almost every day).  So we hope you enjoy the start of our fun 2012 project."


Bringing back beers simply on public demand?  That's good business and great PR right there.  No wonder I wanna support these guys!  I also wanna drink this beer.  So let's pour!

Aroma 10/12
There are definitely both elements of the coffee & porter here.  The coffee is present, but more in an "iced coffee" way instead of an "Ohmygoshwejustwalkedintoacoffeehouse!" kind of way.  Still a great coffee aroma, but not the embrace of fresh ground goodness, which I doubt is possible in a beer without using artificial flavorings.  It mixes well with the peaty, roasted porter malts and even includes a touch of chocolate from time to time.  I may be eating crow yet, because as this beer warms that authentic coffeehouse aroma becomes ever closer.

Appearance 3/3
This brew certainly has the appearance of a robust porter.  It is espresso brown (a.k.a. pretty much black for all intents and purposes), but barely shows some brown/red highlights toward the very top and only when held to light.  The head was smaller than average, but is a nice toasted marshmallow tan and leaves a little lacing as it fades away.

Flavor 17/20
Wow!  Not what I was expecting at all.  I was immediately bushwhacked by all sorts of porter-y goodness!  It starts strong as that sour, peat-like porter, gives a touch of coffee grounds, and then is joined by all sorts of sweet, gooey caramel and toffee flavors (and maybe even a dark fruit or seven).  Unlike the aroma, the chocolate is no longer subtle, but lends a darker sweetness to the lot and helps transition to some of the later coffee flavors.  Not that the coffee flavors on the back end ever take over this dentist's nightmare of sweetness, instead it sneaks in behind the chocolate and before you know it you're holding a much more bitter, coffee-emphasizing beer in your mouth than when you started.  Fantastic!  The sweets never truly go away, so truth be told, it's a very sweet coffee (like someone added too much sugar and no creamer), but the sweet flavors are fantastic, and I'd let someone make this coffee for me anytime.  A slurp brings the coffee bitter and alcohol warmth quickly to the forefront.  The aftertaste is coffee bitter (no surprise there), but also a tingle of said alcohol on the tongue and in the breath.  It's a bit of a shock since the warmth (9.2% ABV) was so well-hidden in the rest of the beer.  Overall, this seems very sweet.

Mouthfeel 5/5
A medium-bodied brew with a non-distracting level of carbonation.  I'm surprised that the beer doesn't feel thicker in the mouth given the high level of sugars present.  They really did an excellent job of making that happen and not erring one way or another with the carbonation.  Spot on.  The warmth is really only present during a slurp or in the aftertaste so Two Brothers get top marks for camouflaging (yet not completely hiding) their alcohol as well.

Great label art!  Love it!

Overall Impression 8/10
A lot sweeter than I thought it would be and a lot sweeter than most porters I've had, excepting some of the flavored varieties (maple, etc).  Not that porters can't be on the sweeter side, but this seemed to take every sweet porter characteristic and include it in a single bottle.  Even with that sweetness, Two Brothers managed to make the coffee flavors come through in a way that didn't take over the beer and included some excellent technical aspects as well.

Total 44/50
Still a very respectable score for Two Brothers.  My only real qualms with the beer were an initially weak aroma (I went back and changed the score after the beer warmed), which is more my fault than theirs, and a beer that was a bit sweet for my taste.  I feel it would've been easy for Two Brothers (@TwoBrothersBeer) to not only make a more balanced, attenuated porter, but they even had the coffee at their disposal to assist them in balancing the bitter and the sweet.  I suppose there is an effort made, as the aftertaste is mostly bitter to counter the sweetness of earlier portions, but it comes "too little, too late."  Does that make this a bad beer?  Hell no.  I'm now wishing I had bought more than one bottle when I was in the Chicago area.  I'm sure this beer's sweetness could help convert some folks ready to move on to darker beers.

I'm torn.  All these sweet flavors make a very tasty, complex beer, which is great to examine on a technical aspect, but a little harder to drink "mindlessly" and just enjoy the taste.  If you like a sweeter porter, you can't let this pass you by in the craft beer aisle.  If you like a more balanced porter, you could still give this a try, but only if you want to be impressed my the myriad of flavors they've managed to shoehorn into this bomber bottle.  I'm impressed, but one is probably enough for me.  Cheers to Two Brothers!  See you at the Hop Juice Festival!

Mikkeller - Beer Geek Brunch

Tonight I bid farewell to "Pinty" my beloved pint glass.  Pinty was one of Dollar Store's finest pint glasses and was with me from the beginning for all of my current 60+ reviews.  He was cracked today whilst being washed and so a suitable beer must be chosen en memoriam.

False obituaries for inanimate objects aside, today's review is for Mikkeller's Beer Geek Brunch.  It is way past brunch time, but I feel that my exbeerience will be similar, regardless.  There truly is no better way to introduce this beer than to reprint the description from the bottle.

"This imperial Oatmeal stout is brewed with one of the world's most expensive coffees, made from droppings of weasel-like civet cats.  The fussy Southeast Asian animals only eat the best and ripest coffee berries.  Enzymes in their digestive system help to break down the bean.  Workers collect the bean-containing droppings for Civet or Weasel Coffee.  The exceedingly rare Civet Coffee has a strong taste and an even stronger aroma."


I'm not sure who has it worse, me as a drinker or the workers that collect weasel turds all day.  And you thought chicha had a nasty recipe.  Let's pour!

Picture is my own.  Bottle art image used without permission for educational uses only.

Aroma 12/12
This is everything that a stout should be.  Coffee is first in the nose followed by a dark, dark roasted (yet unburnt) chocolaty malt.  The sweet creaminess of the oatmeal peeks out next, followed by just the slightest hint of smoke (which I attribute to the malt.  Perhaps a bit of charring occured after all?).  When pouring a sample, be sure to let the head die a bit.  When the head is still churning and fresh, a great deal of alcohol warmth and oatmeal sweetness come roaring out.  This smells like quite a treat.

Appearance 3/3
Again, perfectly on the mark for the style.  This beer is pitch black, completely opaque, and pours thicker than a Weight Watcher's meeting.  Plenty of brown, sticky head is present which lingers in the glass and leaves some lovely lacing.  This is a pint full of awesome.  The SRC/EBC color chart in the picture is completely superfluous as this beer is out-and-out black.

Picture is my own.

Flavor 19/20
The initial flavor had me a bit concerned, but thankful those concerns were rendered baseless very quickly.  The first sip is a tangy, salty bite in front of the traditional stout flavors.  No, not exactly what one expects when diving into a stout, but thankfully this flavor is completely absent in the rest of the beer and even fades from the beginning as the beer warms.  From this bite, we transition to the backbone almost like leaving an underground tunnel in a car - big flash of light (our biting first sip) and then fades gradually into focus as our eyes adjust (the backbone).  The beer's backbone is phenomenal!  Espresso beans, dark vanilla, alcohol warmth, darkly roasted chocolate malt, oatmeal's creamy sweetness, rich bits of caramel, and a subtle alcohol warmth.  You could let this sit in your mouth for an extended period of time with no complaints.  Not because the flavor is changing and transitioning, but because it is delicious!  Heck, they even throw in a hint or two of black licorice for good measure.  The finish shows a mocha blend of the chocolaty malt and the coffee beans, then proceeds to combine that with the oatmeal.  Gorgeous.  If that was not enough it also includes a sharp hop bitter after a brief, yet distinct moment.  The finish is a peppery hop bitter along the sides of the tongue, but primarily features breaths full of alcohol warmth and coffee.  This is a powerhouse stout and not for the faint of taste.

Mouthfeel 5/5
I was initially looking to deduct a point for the "barely existant" level of carbonation.  The almost imperceptible bubbles could have perhaps used a bit of company, but as it is their lack of presence was not distracting.  Warmth is present, but not completely absent nor overwhelming; quite a feat in a 10.9% ABV beer.  Creaminess is abundant, but the body is not as heavy as I would expect considering this beer's other feats.  It could be categorized as "medium heavy."

Overall Impression 10/10
If you enjoy stouts, this beer will bowl you over.  From the nose to the flavor to the appearance, everything in this beer borders on ridiculously good.  You want imperial?  They've got your imperial right here.  Good gracious!

Total 49/50
This is an extreme beer for the extreme beer drinker.  Gargantuan taste, lots of alcohol, rare and/or unusual ingredients, expensive, and delicious.  This is a sipper, but gladly so.  I can't imagine tearing through a portion of this size as it would result in my immediate and glaring disappointment.  This is my first beer from Mikkeller and I can guarantee that it will not be my last.  If you can find it (and enjoy big ass stouts), you should buy it.  Not only will you not regret it, but it is worth every penny.  I don't know how else to end this except... wow.  Pinty would be proud.

Terrapin - Wake N Bake Coffee Oatmeal Imperial Stout

Readers, I thank you for your patience.  I've been a bit under the weather the past week and while I do not completely endorse "tea totalling" during illness, I would not have been able to tell you the aroma of a beer if I tried.  That said, I will be making up for lost time and writing one review every day for the next week.

This week's beer is Terrapin Beer Co.'s Wake N Bake Coffee Oatmeal Imperial Stout (discretely labeled on the bottle as "W-n-B").  To me that sounds like a mouthful.  The only types of stout the left out were oatmeal raisin, oak aged, milk, and several types of overpriced, caffeinated beverages (espresso, mocha, cappucino, etc).  While this will make the beer harder to categorize under a single particular style, I will hopefully be able to differentiate some characteristics it takes from each.  Big thanks to Brent C. (Bartender Extraordinaire) for the suggestion and Keith for the bottle.  Let's pour!

Picture is my own.  Bottle art image used without permission for educational uses only.

Aroma 9/12
First sniff is of dark chocolate, but boy has he brought some friends!  There is also the essence of a milk stout and a bit of smokiness, though in subsequent sniffs I determined that the smoke was merely the dark roasted malt.  You can even smell the warmth in this one!  Exciting!  I love a good, stiff brew.

Appearance 3/3
This beer poured thick, which is almost always a good sign in a stout.  In the glass, it did not take much effort to produce a nice-sized, brown head on top.  The beer is pitch, friggin' black, which is exactly what I like to see in a stout.  Not only is the color awesome in the beer and the head, but the latter had some decent retention as well.  If I could give bonus points, I would.

Picture is my own.

Flavor 20/20
If you think I am about to drop every stout description in the universe, it is because I may.  Do not forget, this is called a "coffee oatmeal imperial stout."  Long story short, this beer is complex and I love that.  Initial sips are sweet.  The milk stout (ahem, the oatmeal which GIVES the milk stout flavor) of the aroma makes itself known and is accompanied by rich, dark fruit flavor.  Other times, it will also include a dark caramel in the  initial flavor.  The dark fruit-based sweetness is the primary flavor in the beer, but far from solitary.  This sweetness will hang around in your mouth as long as you let it.  It waits for you to take the next step (which is really cool).  Once you do begin to swallow, this beer performs a perfect transition from its current sweetness to the bitter tones beneath it.  As I drank the pint, I thought the sweetness was fading into a dark chocolate flavor just before a drier, coffee finish.  However, I now think the chocolate flavor was just a perfect melding of the sweet and the dark bitter.  The warmth from the aroma makes its appearance in the aftertaste along with the coffee bean bitterness.  Note:  not "coffee", but "coffee bean."  Very balanced and very tasty.

Mouthfeel 4/5
This had a good body for a stout.  It did not drink as thick as it poured, but was still a heavier-than-medium body.  The carbonation (appropriately) faded away to low levels quickly after the pour.  The warmth in this beer was a very nice touch.  It was not until later that I looked at the bottle and discovered it had a 8.1% ABV!  No wonder I could smell the warmth!  In fact, this is also VERY appropriate to the imperial stout style  as high alcohol contents were need to preserve the beer while shipping the long journey to Russia.  The body and warmth make this a sipper, but the flavor always has you picking up the glass for another taste.


Overall Impression 10/10
It hits the nail on the head and I have no idea how.  OK, so I see how its feasible to nail the appearance since all three are stouts (coffee, oatmeal, imperial), but the flavor?!  Yet, all three are there without the compromise of any other.  Its an amazing accomplishment.  This beer is dark, balanced, warm, complex, opaque, and a very exciting combination of styles.

Total 46/50 (Outstanding)
This beer promised us a lot in its name and it delivered.  While it is primarily a imperial stout, there is certainly coffee present and the oatmeal shows itself in milk stout and caramel tones.  I initially had ranked this beer lower in some categories, but as I was reviewing the scores I could not justify them.  Of course it deserves a 10 in overall impression!  Not only did it peg one style, but three.  Of course it deserves a 20 in flavor!  What more do I want?  More complexity?  More experimentation of the style?  If I gave it a 19/20, what more was looking for in this beer?  What was I hoping to see that I did not which would have made it perfect?

I could not answer that.  I have a hard time finding this beer, but I am in a much smaller market.  If you see this, buy it.  Kudos to the boys at Terrapin.  We owe you one.