Terrapin’s Wake’n’Bake (Coffee, Oatmeal Imperial Stout)

Well everyone, the stuffiness in my head and runny nose tells me that spring has finally made an appearance.  With a yard full of trees everything has taken on a nice shade of green.  This past weekend I found myself in ATL with my wife and two year old son visiting a friend of my wife’s.  Total in the house was four adult women, two four year old girls, my son and another almost two year old and this old man blogging now.  WOW!! I went out to get some well needed liquor and to my great happiness discovered quite the high gravity selection.  Angels were singing as I strolled up to the counter to pay for my bounty for I now could make it through the weekend.

We had the chance to meet with a rep form Terrapin Brewery at the Pizza Kitchen one night and we were informed that after boiling the beer is basically filtered through coffee beans before fermentation.  First pour reveals a jet black color, no light penetrates even when held up against the bulb.  I got a one finger dark tan head that dissipated quickly.  Why we tell you all about the head I have not figured out yet it just sounds impressive.  The aroma is excellent with cocoa notes up front, roasted malts and the coffee bean aroma faintly in the background.  I am getting a slight peppery smell as well.  First sip you get the coffee taste but not overpowering.  It has a bitterness from the roasted malts that linger on the tongue for a bit before settling down to the coffee and caramel aftertaste.  The carbonation is medium for a  stout and works perfectly with the velvety smooth mouth feel this brew offers.

Final snobs: Man, I have to say this is a great beer.  I was a big fan of the MooHoo from Terrapin but this takes it for me.  I am impressed with the great balance of the coffee flavor with the roasted malts and hop bitterness.  The ABV is at 8.1% is perfect for this brew.