Left Hand Bittersweet Nitro Imperial Coffee Milk Stout

It's been a spell since i've had anything from Colorado's Left Hand Brewing, so i picked up a 4-pack of their Bittersweet Nitro Imperial Coffee Milk Stout.  And i'm glad i did.  The 8.9% ABV brew pours black with a beautiful off white head that bubbles forever as nitros are wont to do.  Aromas of coffee, vanilla, cream, and roasted malt abound.  The flavor is heavy on coffee and cream with some notes of caramel in the mix as well, finishing smooth and very balanced between the bitter and the sweet.  This beer is wonderful.

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I Love You This Much Commitment Imperial Stout with Raspberries

So whatever Valentine's Day plans my wife and i may have pretended to have yesterday were pretty much eliminated by ice and snow and freezing temperature.  That's okay though.  Chili and hanging out with kids and watching Nicolas Cage battle animatronic robots in "Willy's Wonderland" was probably what we would have ended up doing anyway.  I did get a Valentine's Day beer though with the delicious I Love You This Much Commitment Imperial Stout with Raspberries from the good folks at Saint Arnold.  The 12.8% ABV brew pours a dark brownish black with a tan head and smells of chocolate and raspberries.  The flavor is similar, lots of chocolate notes on the front with the raspberry flavor getting stronger as the beer warms to room temperature.  It's a warming brew to end a cold day.  Lovely.

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Full Grown Beast

Wanna get nuts?  Let's get nuts.  And let's do it by sipping on this 16.3% ABV monster of a brew from Tupps Brewery.  The Full Grown Beast is a bourbon barrel aged imperial stout brewed with coffee and chocolate and pours a dark, brownish black with a tan head.  The beer smells of said chocolate and coffee, along with some notes of dark fruit and plenty of oak and booze.  The flavor is the same and gets a little smoother as the beer warms to room temperature, though it's obvious you've got to watch out with this one.  Outstanding.

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Whitestone Ancho Chile & Toasted Coconut Imperial Stout

It's blowing my mind these days with many a local brewery celebrating a new milestone anniversary, a constant reminder that i'm always older than i think i am.  When i moved out to the 'burbs in Cedar Park, Whitestone Brewery was the new kid on the block, and a salvation of sorts as they were one of the only taprooms out my way.  And now they're five years old.  And to celebrate, last week they released a few new brews, one of which is the outstanding Ancho Chile & Toasted Coconut Imperial Stout.  The 10.5% ABV beer pours a dark black with a quickly dissipating tan head and smells of coconut with notes of chocolate, vanilla, and spice.  The flavor is a mix of said toasted coconut with some notes of malt and vanilla and a very pleasant amount of spice from the peppers that finishes surprisingly smooth.  Here's to five more years.

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