Bear Republic Big Bear Black Stout

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

1PT. 6FL.OZ bottle from dkachur (thanks!), served at cellar temperature in a tulip glass.

App.: Deep brown-black with ruby hues under intense light, remnants of a mocha head (reminds me of the crema on espresso). Aroma: Tangy black coffee, dark chocolate, inviting vanilla, light toffee, some green, resinous and grapefruity hops, light tangy fruitiness. Palate: Medium+ body, virtually no carbonation, smooth. Flav.: Lots of resinous hops with some grapefruit, mashed in with black coffee, a bit of dark chocolate, a bit of wood; off-dry and quite bitter, with a bit of alcohol and some burnt sugar, floral and nutty notes to finish.

Not exactly subtle, especially with the hopping. Unbalanced, but I like the big bitterness, so that’s OK by me.

bomber. dark black pour with a small foamy brown head and some lacing. floral, hop and roasted malt aroma. medium bodied - not as thick as a lot of imperial stouts I’ve had - but good texture. burnt caramel and hops. a bit of spice. a bit of tobacco. light bitter coffee taste that lingers in a good way. not outrageous, but very good. K-7.5

THOUGHTS: A nice imperial stout, but nothing special. A little more hops than I prefer in an imp., but still really nice. A very good balance. There was chocolate there, but not nat as much as I’d like in an imp stout. TECHNICAL: Bottle. Poured a dark brown that was black in the glass with a small to average, light tan head that mostly diminished but left good lacing. The aroma was moderate to heavy roasted, chocolate and mild coffee malt, moderate pine hops a little dark fruit and some alcohol that grew in strength as it warmed. The initial flavor was lightly sweet and bitter; while the finish was moderately sweet and heavily to harshly bitter with a long duration. There was milk chocolate and dark fruit then bitter chocolate wand pine hops with some alcohol. The full palate was oily with fizzy carbonation and a light alcoholic and slightly metallic finish

Dark brown-black pour with a small but creamy tan head. Aroma of roasted coffee and chocolate, with a hint of sweet maltiness. Nice lacing throughout the glass. Sweet at first sip, but darker and roastier as it goes down. A bit thin on the palate, but an above average impy stout.

Bottle from Wine Warehouse in Charlottesville. Dark brown pour w/ medium head. Good lacing and retention. Slightly bitter coffee and chocolate aroma. Chocolate dominates the taste, but there are fairly assertive espresso notes also. Smooth and full.

Pours a rich black color with large frothy tan head. Aroma is of light milk chocolate, citrus hops and oatmeal. Taste is milk chocolate, citrus hops and roasted malt. The beer is full bodied and pretty creamy. The alcohol is well hidden but the citrus is coming thru pretty strong. Still a good beer from Bear Republic.

Bottle: Pours black with lingering tan head. Flavor is chicory roasted coffee, and sweet chocolate malts. Nice cascade hop profile here, really rounds out the flavor and adds a dry bitterness. I really enjoyed this one.

Bottle. Pours black with a large, thick light brown head that persists. Pretty. Aroma of rich coffee and chocolate. Subtle but powerful. Very nice and rich aroma. Flavor of coffee, bitterness. The palate lacks the richness expected from the aroma and almost tastes watered down. A good imperial stout, but it doesn’t quite break into the ranks of the great imperial stouts for me.