Junkyard Black is Beautiful Imperial Stout

 Junkyard Black is Beautiful Imperial Stout. 

12 % ABV.

Junkyard Brewing, Moorhead, MN. 

Just cracked it open at poured it out and I'm feeling like this may be pushing it. Peanut Butter is screaming out, but there's a lot here...I'll read the label later. 

Complete and utter blackness, rich, roasted brown head, terminal ebony. 

In the nose: Nothing but malt, dark chocolate, deep peanut butter, thoroughly rich, absolutely sweet. Getting the graham cracker, detecting some marshmallow...

In the mouth: Dark, deep, delicious, in all it's "s'mores-y" goodness, (yes, I peeked ahead)...chocolate and peanut butter at play on the palate, with, yes, marshamallows and graham crackers, because, that's the new thing, the s'moresier the better. Maybe. Your mileage, etc. I'm of the "maybe it's too much?" camp. It is very thick and super-rich, and ...who adds peanut butter to their s'mores? It might just be overkill. 

And 12%, to boot? Boom, boom, boom, boom. Wow. 

At $15 a crowler, I can't pay that much and not use it for a blogpost, but I also feel that this should be shared with friends. It really shouldn't be enjoyed all by my lonesome, but that's the only way I do these. 

There is great richness, deep maltiness, and a crazy array of flavors. 

Imperial Stout with Cocoa nibs, graham crackers, marshmallows, vanilla beans, peanut butter, and natural and artificial flavors. 

The Bruery Mocha Wednesday

The Bruery Mocha Wednesday. Imperial Stout, Bourbon-barreled, with cacao nibs and coffee.
19.2 % ABV. The Bruery, Placentia, CA.

Black as darkest night, absolute opacity, brief brown head.

In the nose: abysmal, in the grandest meaning. Bourbon barrel, cocoa, coffee, ashes, soot, embers, firewood at the bottom of the pit. Sweet and evil.

In the mouth: Everything's cranked up to eleven. Big on the chocolate, huge with the coffee, rich with the bourbon, and absolutely brimming with the booze. All the usual suspects are at play, running rampant on the palate. Thickness, richness, big beyond measure. Wow, wow, wow.

I feel like I haven't said enough. Maybe an extra Wow?

Mocha Wednesday is the perfect follow up to a Black Tuesday. We've taken our bourbon barrel aged imperial stout and added cacao nibs from San Francisco based TCHO along with freshly roasted coffee from OC's own Portola Coffee Lab. The result is an invigorating version of our popular stout; layered with notes of rustic dark chocolate and bold, fruity coffee beans.

I didn't know it was nearly 20% when I drank it. Holy crap.

Modist Barrel Aged 32 Teeth with Cacao Nibs and Vanilla

Modist Barrel Aged 32 Teeth with Cacao Nibs and Vanilla.
Imperial Chocolate Stout aged in bourbon barrels with
Ghana cacao nibs and Madagascar vanilla beans.
11.5 % ABV. Modist Brewing, Minneapolis, MN.

Black as night, deeply opaque, rich brown head that leaves in a minute.

In the nose: Huge bourbon. Vast chocolate. Intense dark malt flavors. Smoke, char, whiskey a go go.

In the mouth: Big sweetness, massive sweet, gigantic chocolate, fudge, and a river of vanilla swims on in. Thick stuff, rich, viscous, mighty. Immense. Just about overbearing. Incredible, to a fault. Amazingly, bourbon is covered with chocolate, smothered, even, escaping through the edges. Very thick, very rich.

Yeah, pretty much too rich, too sweet...don't give me diabetes! (Thanks to Dave A. for the bottle.)

Barrel Aged 32 Teeth (an exploration of all things chocolate and beer), aged in Four Roses Bourbon Barrels w/ Ghana cacao nibs & Madagascar vanilla beans. 

Venn Batch #122 Ridiculous Anniversary Chocolate Cake Imperial Porter

Venn Batch #122 Ridiculous Anniversary Chocolate Cake Imperial Porter. 10.8 % ABV. 30 IBU. Venn Brewing, Minneapolis, MN.

Total darkness. Sizable layer of cocoa-toned foam on top. Looking good.

In the nose: Chocolate is in command, here, sweetness reigns supreme. Am I sniffing the frosting? Maybe, maybe. Big & rich are the keys in this. Alcohol potency contributes, too.

In the mouth: Even more so. More rich, more thick, more big. And quite a lot of sweet. But never too, this one, well balanced, matched with some bitterness. Tasty, tasty. Chocolate cake flavor never gets out of hand. I'm digging this all the way down.



A huge, ridiculous American-style Porter infused with a ridiculous amount of chocolate and a ridiculous chocolate birthday cake.

Malts: Maris Otter, Munich, Chocolate, Flaked Oats, Caramel 60, Extra Dark Crystal

Hops: Warrior (United States)

Yeast: American Ale

And: Lactose, Cacao Nibs, Vanilla, Chocolate Syrup 

Oliphant Chocolate Squishy

Oliphant Chocolate Squishy. Sour ale with lactose, cherries, cacao nibs and sea salt. 5 % ABV. Oliphant Brewing, Somerset, WI.

Jeremy Hughes is the Salvador Dali of beer labels.
This is only half of the picture, the other half is doubly
confusing. They should come with footnotes.

Wholly hazed, thoroughly opaque, thickly raspberry-ish coloring, slim pinkish head.

In the nose: It's all there, believe it or not. The cherries and the chocolate. And the sea salt. Not picking up on the lactose, though. All there in an incredible mix.

In the mouth: Sweet cocoa, sour cherries, all at once. Creamy, salty, clean, fun, and refreshing. This is special stuff. (I'm trying to avoid falling back on saying "tasty" or "delicious", but it is.)

Dee-lightful. Fruity, sour, with cocoa flavors lurking just below. Long lasting fruity finish.

Lush. Lovely. I guess I like it.

Pipeworks Smore Money Smore Problems

Pipeworks Smore Money Smore Problems. Imperial Stout. 10% ABV. Pipeworks Brewing, Chicago, IL. In collaboration with Keith Lonergan.

Full on ebony, slim brown head.

In thye nose: slowly unfolding cocoa, caramel, toffee. Increasingly rich and complex. Deeply flavors showing in time. Marshmallow starts to show. (When did I think I would ever write that?)

In the mouth: Here's where all the flavors come together, and cinnamon kicks in. Getting hotter as we go. Wonderful mix. Thick, rich, and quite delicious. I'm seriously digging this.


Imperial Stout brewed in collaboration with Friends With Benefits member Keith Lonergan with graham crackers, cacao nibs, vanilla bean, marshmallow and cinnamon

Sociable Ciderwerks Spoke Wrench Java Apple

Sociable Ciderwerks Spoke Wrench Java Apple. 5.8% ABV. Crafted and Canned by Sociable Ciderwerks, MPLS-MINN. Decidedly Different. Delightfully Sociable. Stout Apple. Ingredients: Fresh Pressed apples, malt, hops, cacao, coffee, yeast.

Dark brown, opaque, slim white head, soon gone.

In the nose: coffee, cola, apples. I don't really ever mix coffee and apples. Maybe I'll bite into an apple after drinking some coffee, but mixing them? Nah.

In the mouth: Big apple flavor up front, you know it's a cider, and yet....coffee? Coffee cider? I'm still, like, what? Light bodied, easy drinking, but very strange. I'm not sure who this is meant for, and, yet, I don't mind it at all. I'm not in love with it, it's touching my special buttons, but, man, it does not suck. Actually, I'm starting to like it.

Spoke Wrench reworks what you’d expect from apples by blending the Midwest’s finest freshly pressed apples with fresh cacao, chocolate and roast malts and cold pressed coffee. The result is a taste bud tune up that takes you from subtle chocolate to roast toffee without ever losing that signature apple crispness. If you're in the mood for a bit of a change this Spoke Wrench is sure to get you tuned up. 

Cigar City Cubano-style Espresso Brown Ale

Cigar City Brewing Cubano-style Espresso Brown Ale with Vanilla, Cacao & Coffee Beans Added. 5.5% ABV. 25 IBU. Cigar City Brewing, Tampa, Florida.

Rich, dark, deep brown, with a lush, brown head, leaving lace. Looking good.

In the nose: Ah! Yes! Cream, cocoa, vanilla, chocolate, coffee....all the good stuff. So lovely.

In the mouth: Full body, rich texture, big mouthfeel. Massive maltiness, minimum hops. Rich and redolent with the earthy, the chocolatey, the espresso-y. All the yummy. Just ever-so delightful. The vanilla, the coffee, and all the yum.

"This brown ale is brewed with a heaping amount of Cubano-style espresso beans,vanilla and cacao nibs. Rich coffee notes dominate this beer, while still being balanced by a smooth malty backbone. Pairs well with arroz con leche and, of course, a delicate shot of Cubano espresso.

Brewed with a proprietary blend of coffee beans produced in tandem with Buddy Brew Coffee in Tampa, Florida."

Oliphant Amphibious Rodent

Oliphant Amphibious Rodent, black ale brewed with cacao nibs. 8% all./vol. Oliphant Brewing, Somerset, WI.

Dark brown color, full tan head, looking great.

In the nose: cocoa right off the bat, smooth, rich, sweet and very lovely.

In the mouth: big malt, rich, dark, delicious. great texture, mucho cocoa. Sweet and luscious. Excellent dessert beer. Little bitterness. Big cocoa, some espresso. Full bodied, long sweet, malty finish. Absolutely wonderful.

I don't know why it has the name it has, but it's a damned good beer.

Sisyphus Safeword: Cacao

I don't watch a lot of TV, but when I do it's usually sketch comedy shows like "Portlandia", which Fred Armisen says was actually based on Minneapolis. I like "Portlandia" a lot, but I feel like these days we suffer through some indulgences on the behalf of Brownstein and Armisen to get to the good stuff. Some of their characters have worn a hole in the welcome matt. I could have been done without more of Lance and Nina, the couple portrayed by Carrie and Fred in switched gender roles. Fred as Nina? Not very fun. Annoying, actually. And I'd rather not see Carrie as a dude, though as this dude, she is very funny. I like her character more than his, and it did get us the sketch that this beer is named for, when a safe word is named cacao. "Cacao! Cacao!"

Sisyphus Safeword: Cacao. 9.1% ABV. Canned 3/2. (I've been sitting on this two weeks? What?)

Thoroughly dark with a rich, creamy head, leaving lace, looking great.

In the nose: Creamy, malty, sweet, cocoa and vanilla.

In the mouth: Nice and even bitterness matches the depth of the malt. Full body, with excellent ease of consumption. Richness and deliciousness combined. Never too anything here, not too sweet, not too rich, not too strong, though strong. No need for safe words.

Mmmm, chocolate. Mmmm, cocoa, mmmm, espresso. Yum. Cacao.

Enki Creamery Reserve Cranberry Cacao Porter

Enki Brewing Creamery Reserve Cranberry Cacao Porter. Brewed and bottled by Enki Brewing, Victoria, MN.

Bottle one of two purchased at the brewery in November, with every intention to share at holiday gatherings, but just forgot. Ah, well. I'll drink this now by my lonesome, and save the other for a bottle sharing party. Let's jump right into it, now.

Thoroughly dark with a full, rich cocoa-tinted head. Looking fine.

In the nose: Fruit pops out first, we're getting that hint of cranberry, though it's hidden by the rich malts, the cocoa tones, and the light coffee flavors.

In the mouth: It's bigger on the palate, great big cranberry flavors nestled into a solid cocoa porter. Rich malt, with flashes of fruit in every sip. Sweetness and tartness together. Tasty stuff. Medium mouthfeel.  Long, fruity/malty finish. Fine cranberry cacao porter, this. If you see it, go drink it.

Prairie Artisan Ales Bomb!

Prairie Bomb!
Imperial Stout aged on coffee, cacao nibs, vanilla bean & chili peppers. (I'm guessing this is a Coffee/Chili/Vanilla/Cacao "bomb"?)

Utter blackness, rich cocoa/tan head, a good 1/2" sitting pretty on top.

In the nose: chili pops out first, coffee next, then cocoa fills in next....sweet, hot, rich, immense.

In the mouth: sweetness first, coffee follows, then comes the heat. Nicely integrated hugeness--a calamity of flavors that somehow comes together. More sweet, more chocolate, more coffee, more huge. The chili becomes a little more subdued as the other flavors commingle.

Has alcohol arrived yet? Oh, it's only 13%, is it? It's slowly, inevitably becoming apparent.

Boom, boom, boom...it's a BOMB!

Oh, this is tasty. The chili heat takes a back seat at first, letting the other flavors shine.

Tremendous beer, simply amazing. Astonishingly good.

Enki Cacao Porter

ENKI Cacao Porter, Enki Brewing, Victoria, MN. 6.5% ABV. 24 IBU.


Dark brown, with crimson highlights, large, roasted tan head that drifts down quickly.

Nose of nuts and cola. Rich chocolate coming through.

In the mouth, the cocoa hits first, but lays mellow on the palate. Lightly sweet, but very well-balanced with just enough hop bitterness to keep it nice and even. Medium-bodied, light roast, well-done cocoa. Plain ol' nice, this one. Good 'n' smooth.

Alright, Enki, well done.

Here's how they describe it on their website, AKA, the gobbledygook:
"Like Grandma’s semi-sweet chocolate chip cookies hot from the oven, CACAO’s aroma is irresistibly tempting. The tightly-laced tan head and dark brown color invites your palate to experience CACAO’s richly smooth texture and creamy dark chocolate flavor, giving way to a clean, earthy hop ending.

One taste and you too will be saying CACAO is the best porter to ever touch your lips."

Okay, that's a bit of a stretch, Enki, it's alright, but it ain't that good.

De Proef Long of Tooth Ale (Surly Collaboration)

De Proef/Surly Brewmaster's  Collaboration  (Brewed and Bottled by DeProef Brouwerij, Lochristi, Belgium, Product of Belgium) Long of Tooth, 10% Alc by Vol.
What is it? A Belgian interpretation of an English Old Ale with cacao nibs added, for extra Belgian-ness.

Interesting color on this one: somewhere between cherry red and brown, not quite burgundy, but getting there. A slim ring of toasted tan foam rests above.

Aroma: stirringly complex. Dark fruit tones ring in first, some cherry, date, raisin notes, with cocoa right behind. Mellow, cool and promising.

Taste: Bright, brash and impressive entry on the palate. Low hop bitterness, this is a malty thing with an impressive array of flavors at play in the mouth. Caramel and toffee malt flavors swim with cocoa, raisins and more. All flavors are beautifully integrated, and it all hangs in a beautiful balance. Medium-bodied. Long, malty finish.

This one is never too sweet, never too full, not too much of anything, but packed full of plenty. Traces of a Dubbel at times, reminiscent of a strong dark ale, but completely it's own thing.

Let's read the label, shall we? "On March 31, 2014, the collaborative minds of Surly's Head Brewer Todd Haug and DeProef's BrewMaster Dirk Noudts brewed this one of a kind ale. Inspired by English Old Ales and Belgian chocolate they sat down and, over different tasting sessions, hammered out the "best" way to handle their vision.
The result is Long of Tooth Ale, dark gold in color with a complex grain bill, rife with notes of toffee, caramel, dried-fruit, cocoa, oaky-vanilla and finishing with classic Belgian character that only Brett can produce.
Suggested pairings include aged cheeses, grilled or roasted game, chocolate-caramel desserts or enjoy it all by itself!
Cheers from Minneapolis and Lochristi!
Todd & Dirk"

I paired it with ice cream, chocolate-caramel ice cream, mmm, mmm, good.

One caveat: it's a bit expensive, with the 750 ml bottle retailing for $17 -18, more than I usually pay. Is it worth it, though? Yes.

Surly Cacao Bender

I've written about Bender, Coffee Bender, and Moe's Bender. Apparently, Cacao Bender is actually different from Moe's Bender, and I don't know how, but they keep saying it is. Vanilla beans and cacao nibs added to coffee bender. Here's one description: "Mahogany hued ale infused with coffee, vanilla beans and cacao nibs. 45 IBUs." Here's how I described it: "Take Surly Bender (oatmeal brown porter) , add Coffee from Guatemala to make Coffee Bender, bring in African vanilla nibs and Guatemalan cacaoa nibs, and that equals utter deliciousness. That's Cacao Bender." I 'm not sure if I didn't use my Moe's Bender brief description, and replace it with Cacao. Anyway, let's drink some….

Deep, dark brown body, creamy head, lovely soft tan colored, long-lasting, lace-leaving.

Aroma: here it is. Coffee first, then cream, vanilla next, and cacao (cocoa?) all the way home. Perfection.

Taste: Lands on the palate all full of flavor. Small but palpable bitterness, gives way to intensive, sweet, but balanced malt. Coffee and chocolate stay on top of the flavors, with vanilla showing itself at the sides. A ton of stuff gong down here, and the caffeine isn't going to interrupt too much with my sleep schedule, I keep telling myself….

Yummy.
Guess what? I like Bender, I like Coffee Bender…I love Cacao Bender. Mmm, mmm good. Beautiful stuff, Surly. It's a tasty treat that can't be beat.