Bear Republic Big Bear Black Stout

Brewed by Bear Republic Brewing Company
Style: Imperial Stout
Healdsburg, California USA

Bottle. Heavy malt aromas of toasted, cereal and milk chocolate, moderate resin and dough for the hops and yeast, with hints of raisin and charcoal. Head is small, frothy/creamy, off-white with good lacing and is mostly lasting. Color is dark brown. Flavor starts moderately sweet and lightly acidic then finishes lightly sweet and acidic, and moderately bitter. Palate is medium to full, creamy almost syrupy and has a soft carbonation. I loved the tastes and texture of this beer. definitely a well crafted Imperial Stout.

Pours a super black with a nice creamy tan head that fades into a thin layer on the top of this brew. creaminess/milkiness with light/hidden aromas of coffee and a drop of toffee. Coffee aroma becomes more prominent with every whiff. This is a nice hoppy stout. It has a good citrus hop flavor with some nice [milder] coffee notes. There are really good flavors of roasted malt, molasses, chocolate, light amounts of caramel and a fruity toffee ending. I nice slightly creamy stout with good flavors fill the mouth with yummy stout goodness. I like this stout enough to drink 2-4 glasses (1-2 bombers) to my head just about anytime. Remember this is a really good overall day to day stout. That’s right you can drink this everyday and feel good about it!

Everyone is afraid of the big bad bear. Everyone that is except me. I’m not talking about the four legged bristly and bushy creatures of the wild forests, but of the even more wild variety known as Bear Republic, a craft brewery who has brought me face-to-face today with the Big Bear Black Stout. A gift from my family, I am a sucker for stouts so I look forward to with great relish this imperial stout from a California brewery I had no idea existed until now. Available in large bottles, I bring out the big glass to enjoy this bear of a stout.
My Big Bear Black Stout poured as black as its name implies, thick, oily and as ebony as the midnight sky. Almost immediately a dark tan head tops off the abyss below, fading ever so slowly into a blanket while lace dot the sides of my glass. I swoon ever so slightly as I take in her gorgeous body and divine looks. Lifting her body to mine, I revel in the sweetly burnt malts, explosion of dark and bitter chocolate, espresso and freshly roasted coffee beans. Unable to resist her charms any longer, I raise my glass for our very first kiss which is quickly followed by a second and a third. A very dry palate leaves my mouth and throat thirsting for more. Bitter and dark chocolates mingle with rich espresso grinds and coffee aromas; I close my eyes and savor the flavor. Faint notes of sweet caramel lace the burnt malts and dry bitterness. For a thick and heavy imperial stout my Big Bear has a surprisingly gentle mouthfeel which lingers just enough without being cloying. Faint notes of crisp lemon bursts nip at the back of my tastebuds and throat. As she warms and I near the end of my glass, her palate comes together in near perfect harmony, a bittersweet parting gift as I gaze into my empty glass, decked out in a seductive dress of tan lace.
Bear Republic Brewing may have been unknown to me before but she has certainly firmly grasped my attention now. Now I just have to track down who and where and what I can find of their brews. Big Bear Black Stout certainly impressed me on the imperial stout front and as always my beer curiosity has me wondering what else she has to offer me. While my search may be long and drawn out, should you happen to stumble across any of her brews, hesitate not in bringing a Bear or two home with you.

Brewed in the USA !!! Pours a wonderful black color with a monster tan head. Aroma of chocolate, molasses, roasted coffee, and licorice. The taste is of bitter chocolate, roasted malts, hops, and coffee. The mothfeel is spritzy at first and becomes very smooth and bitter at the finish. This was not very expensive and is definitely in my top 5 imperial stouts........... :)

From a 22 oz. bottle purchased locally. Aroma is plums, coffee, and maybe a hint of orange. Color is a jet black with a nice tan head. Flavor fruity, malty, a little sweet, and roast comes though in the end helping with the dry finish. Some hop flavor, but plays backup to the malt. Thick and smooth, yet drys well. A slight hint of alcohol. One of my favorite stouts. It’s Imperial from the strength, but is not as heavy as most of it’s other Imperial cousins.

Simply a fantastic beer, especially for the price (about 1000yen for a bomber). Pours like a typical RIS, but the comparisons stop there. This fills the gap wonderfully between a stout and it’s big brother. Complex and delicious, without being over bearing (haha) in the alcohol stakes. class all the way

Pours a very dark black with a thick, smooth, tan head that sticks around. Aroma has a very dark roast malt scent with slight coffee notes, slight sweet raisin and some slight citrus notes. Flavor is very smooth. Starts off with lots of roastedness with some bitter chocolate and coffee hints. It moves into a nice sweet caramel malt and alcohol finish. The malt bitterness lingers in your mouth after the beer is downed. A great stout and one of the cheaper ones in our area so this equates to a consistent stocking in my fridge.

Malty. Pours black with good head. Thinnger mouthfeel but smooth and creamy. Roasty - coffee, some chocolate. Not bad.