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Bear Republic Big Bear Black Stout 3.88 961

Bear Republic Big Bear Black Stout

Percentile
98
overall

bottled
common

on tap
common

Broad Distribution
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RatingsAverageScoreSeasonalABVStyle PctlServe in
9613.89/5.03.88/5.0Winter8.1%78.4Snifter
Commercial Description:
Big Bear, as the name implies, is a hefty, black, Russian Imperial-style stout. This strong stout boasts a rich, caramel sweetness lavished by a robust, deep-roasted heartiness you can sink your teeth into... Big Bear's bold flavors are produced using a blend of Belgian and English roasted barley and crystal malts. Some unique flavors come forth in the malt character...Louisiana sweet molasses and dark brown sugar. This dark brew is well hopped with Chinook and Cascade hops, which are somewhat, masked by the malt. This is a balanced strong brew boasting an ABV of 8.1% that can creep up on you, "so don't get mauled". It has a dry roasted quality that masks its high alchohol content, so drink responsibly.
 Most Recent Top Raters Highest Ratings Who's Rated This?  
 TheJester (723), Peterborough, Ontario, Canada
3.7 Aroma Appearance Flavor Palate Overall
8/103/57/104/515/20

Oct 9, 2009  
650 mL bottle. About two years old. Pours deep chestnut brown with a small, rapidly dissipating brown head. Full malty aroma, with several balanced but mild parts to it: chocolate, licorice, molasses, and a vinuous note being the most prominent. Not as much roast as you find in most of the style, either in aroma or flavour. More hops in the flavour than others, though. Chocolate, baramel, and licorice in the flavour. Not bad.

 Collint (465), Sylva, North Carolina, USA
3.6 Aroma Appearance Flavor Palate Overall
7/104/57/103/515/20
Dec 25, 2009  
Bottle, thanks to Kiel on Christmas. Alright, pours a black beer with a medium thick tan head. Aroma is mostly roasty and malt. Flavor is clean roast mollases chocolate and coffee with a hop backround, pretty good!


 drowland (1432), Tallahassee, Florida, USA
3.7 Aroma Appearance Flavor Palate Overall
7/104/58/103/515/20
Dec 22, 2009  
Bomber (2009) into a pint glass. Pours not quite black (some browns) with light around the edges and a big brown head. The aroma is slightly roasty, but there is a lot of hop going on here. The flavor is dark chocolate and some roast with a hint of coffee, and again that citrus hoppiness is coming through quite clearly. This is surprisingly easy to drink for the ABV, perhaps even a little thin on the body. The alcohol content is basically not detectable at all - well covered, but the beer isn’t all that super complex or flavorful. Definitely no flaws, though.


Grizzle (50), Lawrence, Kansas, USA
4.1 Aroma Appearance Flavor Palate Overall
7/105/58/104/517/20
Dec 21, 2009  
Bomber -> pint glasses, split with my s-n-l Amy whilst the nieces and nephews decorate X-mas cookies. Pours an opaque black, with subtle brown & red undertones. Khaki head, with large fisheyes - good lacing. Smells of cocoa, caramel, roasted malts, slightly smokey, and subtle grassy-ness. Tastes similar, with a great hoppy bitterness keeping this stout from being too sweet-tasting. I like.


 BVery (625), Burnsville, Minnesota, USA
3.9 Aroma Appearance Flavor Palate Overall
8/104/58/104/515/20
Dec 19, 2009  
BOTTLE: very dark/black pour, with a creamy-white head that is somewhat pillowy and clings to the glass. Looks like it pours medium-thick, but not terribly dense. Nose - first thing that hits me is chocolate, then a little roasted coffee in the background. Palate - full mouthfeel, semi-creamy, but again, not as thick or dense as one might expect in an Impy Stout. Flavor - chocolate and roasted coffee again, and the hop profile is right there, but well balanced by maltiness/creaminess. Very nice brew, very enjoyable.


 allfreej (375), Louisville, Kentucky, USA
3.1 Aroma Appearance Flavor Palate Overall
6/103/57/103/512/20
Dec 13, 2009  
Bottled. Dark brown pour, tan head. Roasted coffee nose. Yeasty, malty flavor, coffee and chocolate notes. Mild hop finish. Came across as more of a standard American Stout. Didn’t measure up to Russian Imperial standards,


 yemenmocha (426), Glendale, Arizona, USA
3.8 Aroma Appearance Flavor Palate Overall
7/105/57/104/515/20
Dec 11, 2009  
Opaque as opaque gets. Nice white to light tan head that retains well. Nose is very dopplebocky, with malt and roasted malt and a pleasant cereal to oatmeal component. Palate is malty sweet, maybe chocolate toffee bar with some little candy sprinkles inside, but then the Bear Republic character comes through with their use of hops. Easily recognizable as a Bear Republic product. Finish is big on the toffee malt again, but after several seconds it is a little astringent.


mcbeyond (45), Newport Beach, California, USA
2.6 Aroma Appearance Flavor Palate Overall
4/105/55/103/59/20
Dec 9, 2009  
Not a big fan of this stout. A little bland, dominated by low notes, uninteresting and unbalanced.


 savnac (453), Palmer, Alaska, USA
3.9 Aroma Appearance Flavor Palate Overall
7/104/58/104/516/20
Dec 4, 2009  
22 oz bottle. Pours black with a dense tan head that sticks to the glass. Aroma of molasses, caramel, dark fruit and roasted malt. The flavor is sweet chocolate and a roasted and hop bitterness. Full body with average carbonation and a thick rich mouth feel. This is a very nice Imp Stout, the alcohol is very well hidden and very smooth, it’s just a bit lighter than the average Imp Stout.



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