Epic Brewing Company – Big Bad Baptist

This beer was brewed by Epic Brewing Company, which is the first brewery to make beers with high alcohol content in Utah. This beer is an American Imperial Stout brewed with Cocoa nibs, coffee nibs, and aged in whiskey barrels. 11.7% ABV

This beer was enjoyed on International Stout Day in 2011.

APPEARANCE

Hey, this a stout here. It’s dark, and it’s viscus. It had a smidge of a khaki head that went away fast. Only a little bubbles crept up the glass. What else can you say about this Big Bad Baptist?

SMELL

Coffee dominates the nose at first. It’s followed up by a nice amount of bitter dark chocolate. After awhile, the whiskey comes through and brings a tinge of alcohol, but it doesn’t smell boozey. There’s a little bit of bread notes a well as some slight raisin and dark fruits. It’s definitely heavy on the coffee, but isn’t completely overpowered by it.

TASTE

Like the nose, coffee dominates the palette. The first sip was almost all coffee. Subsequent tastes brought in the dark chocolate in a big way. The whisky is present, and comes through toward the end. There’s a lingering sweetness toward the end as well, which brightens the chocolate character. The bitterness is also high, from the hops, coffee, and bitter chocolate. There’s a little liquoroce after taste. This isn’t as boozy as expected, but it does have a little heat as the beer warms in the class.

MOUTHFEEL

This has got some definite body. It’s pretty big on residual sugars, and it’s not the easiest drinker. It has a slighlty dry finish, but it isn’t smooth per se. The carbonation is medium, and only slighty foams up in the mouth. It’s a good example of a  ”meatier” Imperial Stout.

OVERALL

This is a tasty beer! It’s not as polished as other similar beers (Founders KBS, for example) but it’s still a good brew. It could stand a little age on it to smooth out, but it’s very nice fresh. The name implies that perhaps omeone was sending a message in the land of Mormons, but the massage I’m getting is that this is good beer.

Cheers.

SCORE: ★★★★ 4/5