Beer: Wake-n-Bake Coffee Oatmeal Imperial Stout
Brewery Location: Athens, GA
Beer Style: Imperial Stout
Serving Style: Bottle
ABV: 8.10%
I received this in a trade a few weeks ago. The Terrapin brewery isn't that old, but they are making quite the name for themselves. I started hearing about them when they came out with their "Monster Beer" series. I've been trying to get my hands on some of this since it came out, and I am glad that I was able to try some.
This beer is brewed with coffee from Jittery Joe's. Its got a clever name, but how does the beer stack up?
It pours a deep brown with a very thin swirl of head that dissipated quite quickly. The nose is packed with coffee aroma. It smells like I have a cup of espresso at my nose. There is also some bittersweet chocolate coming to the nose as the beer warms as well as some burnt brown sugar smell. The taste of coffee is very dominate on the palate and almost overwhelms everything, but it isn't just plain coffee flavor. The flavor profile tastes as if you mixed a cup of espresso with a shot of regular coffee and melted some sweet chocolate and finally some toasted malt in the mix. The mouthfeel is very smooth from the oatmeal flakes in the brewing process. Slight alcohol warmth to this with medium carbonation. You need to be in the mood to drink this, but when you are it is a real treat to drink. This is my idea of a beer that would go well with breakfast. This is a very solid sipper.
I was actually surprised by how much I enjoyed this offering. The label shows a turtle in a pair of sunglasses baking cookies. I saw that and for some reason thought more effort probably went into the label art than the beer, but I was dead wrong. If the Hoosier Beer Geeks put on that beer breakfast I am bringing this. This was delicious.
If you find yourself in the Carolinas, Georgia, or Florida bring some of this back for yourself. If you are a coffee drinker and a beer drinker then this is a beverage for you.
Cheers!
Matt