Bear Republic Big Bear Black Stout

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

Deep and dark, tan head that doesn’t last. Coffee and toffee aroma, not too heavy on the roast. Nice stout flavor, but relatively light for a stout. Very good, but not great.

Interesting brew, nice balance of malt, hops, sweetness, and even a bit of saltiness to give it more depth of flavor. Pours black with mahogany light shining through with a nice cap of beige head, decent lacing. Aroma of sweet molasses, roasty malts, and a bit of licorice twist. Nice flavors of roasted (not burnt) malt, subtle hops, roasted almonds, and a pinch of salt. Great smooth body, just a bit on the thin side.

A boldly hopped, fizzy and bright. Those are things you seldom say about an Imperial Stout... but not this one. Coupled with heavy mocha chocolate. The balance on this is unreal. Patriotic and Delicious, sold.

Dark ebony, thin mocha head, soapy lacing. Nose-chalky mocha, stewed fruit, hops. Taste- cola, dry burnt roast, sweet milk chocolate and dark fruit. Finish- dry from roast and bittering hops. Little heat detected. Very drinkable. classic american impy.

Pours is black with a thin beige head. Aroma of American hops and dark roasted grains. Complex flavors with roasted grain, leather, tobacco, and molasses. bitterness followed by sticky sweetness on your lips. Alcohol is well hidden.

this stuff surprised me. i had a massive head after the pour that dissolved fairly quickly and had this wonderful smell of brown sugar, molasses and a hint of caramel. i tasted a little hoppyness but its overpowered by the roasty, malty, smooth sensation. bitter but not overpowering and smooth. i drank it pretty quick and i loved every second of it. im not a huge imperial stout guy so i was very surprised, i can see how stout and porter freaks could see how this is light reading the reviews but all in all a wonderful beer!!

22 oz bottle from Barron’s. This beer pours a cola brown color with a medium to large brown head. Body of beer has some tight micro bubbles. Nose has a nice roasted malt bouquet. Nice chocolate, pale malt, molasses. Flavors are rich is deep roasted to burnt malts. Definitely a burnt edge to the initial flavors. Flavors build with a good amount of hop tones. A fair amount of pine tree and earthy hop tones. The hops definitely take the lead over a deep roasted malt beer. Some coffee builds up midway through the beer, nice roasted coffee, some smoke. I enjoyed this hopped up stout which I usually do not. Mouth is is medium to full bodied. Nice hop dry and bitterness. I cannot believe I have walked past this beer so many times and not picked it up.

The second beer I’ve been lucky enough to try from Bear Republic. These beers are un-gettable in Australia usually, but I know someone... Great dark colour, the hops do stand out. I’m not used to trying a stout with that much hop aroma, but I like it! Lovely rich, dark malt character. I could drink a lot of this beer. Thanks Andrea!