Great Divide | Espresso Oak Aged Yeti

Espresso Oak Aged Yeti

Ahhh, the latest incarnation of Great Divide's famed creature, the YETI! Great Divide loves the Yeti, and rightfully so, has made the Yeti their claim to fame. There are currently six different versions of this beer, most being seasonal, and some being quite rare. Lets get a beanful of this one, the espresso oak aged variation. (yep, I really just said "beanful")

Poured into a pint glass from a 22oz bottle, this Yeti has got to be the thickest beer I've ever poured. It looks like melted chocolate flowing into my glass. Jet black in color with two fingers of brown foamy head. Excellent head retention, and lots of lacing are left after each sip.

The aroma is loaded with coffee/espresso, dark roasty malt, wet oak, and hints of alcohol. A good swirl releases moderate amounts of alcohol sweetness ranging from chocolate, dark fruit, and licorice.

The flavor is of smooth velvety chocolate and coffee with undertones of vanilla, oak, and sweet fruit. The finish has a lingering dark chocolate bitterness and perhaps a bitter hop character. It's baffling how smooth and rich this beer is. Definitely way too drinkable for it's own good; but I guess having the consistency of spent engine oil is only helping the cause. It's so sludgy that I bet it would cure a sore throat.

Granted, I haven't had KBS, CBS, or BCBS, regardless of that, this is definitely the best stout I've ever had. The regular Yeti is phenomenal on it's own, but the espresso and oak aging give it some serious oomph. Good lord is it delicious, and man is it squatchy.

Personal 10/10, for an Imperial Stout 10/10.

Terrapin Beer Company | Wake-n-Bake Coffee Oatmeal Imperial Stout

Back to back Terrapin Beer Co. offerings tonight as we do another winter seasonal,  Wake-n-Bake Coffee Oatmeal Imperial Stout this one being part of the Monster Beer Tour.  The tour consists of four Imperial versions of various styles for each season.  Tons of hops, lots of flavor, and high alcohol content is the norm for these truly huge beers.  This is definitely my favorite out of the four.  Although there is one that I haven't tried, Hopzilla Imperial IPA, which will be joining the tour for 2012.  I'll be looking forward to that one...hopefully we will get it.

Wake-n-Bake was poured from a 12oz bottle into a Sam Adams Perfect Pint Glass.  It's black as night and a good inch of brown creamy head recedes quickly down to a thin layer.  More retention here than I saw from the Moo-Hoo.  That plume of effervescence is once again rising up to the top in the center of my glass.  As I swirl the beer there is a good amount of creamy lacing that sticks to the side rather than ooze down like it did with the Moo-Hoo.  

Wow, the aroma here is pretty much all dark roast coffee.  Alcohol is just slightly detectible as it is masked from the coffee smell.  They suggest jokingly that this would make a great beer to have with breakfast.  After smelling it I'm not sure that was actually a joke.  W-n-B is brewed with Jittery Joe's Coffee, a local Athens, Georgia gourmet Coffee company.  Wow, the intense coffee aromas make me wish Jittery Joe's was available in Jersey...guess I'll just have to settle for Wawa. 

As the first sip is taken, it is overwhelmingly coffee.  The coffee is almost so robust it could be compared to espresso with some alcohol taste.  Even though you can taste the alcohol,(this brew is 8.1%), it is hidden quite well by the intense coffee flavors.  On the back end you can taste the roasted malts and a slight dark chocolate taste as they complement the coffee taste quite well. This is a rich full bodied stout.  Very creamy and luscious as is goes down.  Great after taste as well.  An almost perfect representation of an Imperial Coffee Stout.  Don't miss this one as it will go fast!  Personal 9.0/10 and style 9.5/10.