Brewed By: Half Acre Beer Company in Chicago, Illinois
Purchased: 22oz bomber bought at West Lakeview Liquors in Chicago, IL; 2014 (2013 vintage; December 15 release)
Style/ABV: Russian Imperial Stout, 10.0%
Reported IBUs: ?
Tonight's beer is dedicated to my cats, and all cats out there. Cats are awesome. DAE cats? I cat. About Half Acre:
Reported IBUs: ?
Tonight's beer is dedicated to my cats, and all cats out there. Cats are awesome. DAE cats? I cat. About Half Acre:
The Half Acre Beer Company was founded in October 2006, which is young for craft beer in general, but great for the local Chicago scene. The founders of Half Acre started out by working with the Sand Creek Brewery in Black River Falls in Wisconsin. They eventually developed their Half Acre Lager, and began distributing and selling it in Chicago during the August of 2007. The beer was successful enough that Half Acre was able to buy out a space in the Bucktown area of Chicago. With continuing sales, Half Acre was eventually able to purchase equipment from Ska Brewing Co. and moved to their current location on Lincoln Avenue on the north side of Chicago. Half Acre has been brewing at their Chicago location since 2009, and seems to be really expanding in both amount of distribution and popularity. Check out the full story HERE, and check out their website for a low-down on all their beers and info.
The Big Hugs is a cuddly, coffee-infused Russian Imperial Stout that Half Acre began brewing five years ago. This beer has become famous for its vibrant and cuddly artwork, but word is that the actual beer is pretty good too. This RIS features the addition of coffee from Dark Matter Coffee for that Imperial-Coffee-Stout-breakfast-twist. This beer is like cats in the wall. You just don't understand them, Dee. "Cats do not abide by the laws of nature, alright. You don't know shit about cats."
The beer pours very much like every other stereotypical RIS: that is to say, opaque, black, and with two or three fingers of brown/mocha head. Head retention is very nice, with a centimeter hanging around, and as the head drops off it leaves some really nice lacing. Bright light confirms the same thing.
On the aroma: good things. This has a velvety smooth aroma, with big ash, roast, campfire, and s'mores. I'm reminded a bit of the S'more Money, S'More Problems. There's some earthy tobacco and dirt, baker's chocolate, and mocha-coffee on the nose. The more I dig into the aroma, the more I get dry/woody baker's chocolate, and big emerging coffee, espresso, and mocha. It smells really good.
I'm happy that this beer has a fairly hefty mouthfeel, it ought to at 10%. The taste is a nice continuum of the aroma, with luscious s'mores, ash, roast, earthy coffee and roast, dry baker's chocolate, hints of espresso and mocha, and woody dry sweetness. There are some hints toward lactose in here, with some shades of coffee creamer and cream. And you get some light, berry-like acidity from the coffee, with some coffee tannin and coffee carbonation.
This isn't the most mind-blowing coffee beer you can get, but it really does a good job at masking the 10% alcohol while providing enough mouthfeel to add the fullness necessary for the style. The mouthfeel is medium-full to full, with moderate palate depth and duration, and pretty above-average complexity. There's enough going on here to keep you engaged. Up front: velvety smooth mocha, chocolate, coffee, earth/ash, and huge ass s'mores; that rolls into more s'mores, woody dry chocolates, lactose, coffee, espresso, bitter, roast, espresso; the back end trails with bitterness and dry chocolate. You get lingering espresso, coffee, and coffee-berry acidity. The finish is ultimately pretty dry. Really nice.
Rating: Above-Average (4.0/5.0 Untappd)
I'm feeling a Strong Above-Average here...no ragrets. As I continue to sip this, I'm picking up some boozy complexity ala Rum or Bourbon, with hints at raisins and other complexities. It's a really nice, well-made brew. That's all you really need. I like how the coffee in this beer is very integrated. This isn't a coffee show, this is an Imperial Stout with strong coffee character. I also really enjoy the velvety, woody dryness that this beer has. It's very enjoyable. Food pairings: dry chocolate cakes, ice cream, baklava, tiramisu, chocolate chip pancakes, and raunchy burgers with aggressive cheeses.
Random Thought: Unlike yesterday's beer, the Big Hugs is worth all the $10 or so you'll pay for it.
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| Half Acre Big Hugs Imperial Stout |
The beer pours very much like every other stereotypical RIS: that is to say, opaque, black, and with two or three fingers of brown/mocha head. Head retention is very nice, with a centimeter hanging around, and as the head drops off it leaves some really nice lacing. Bright light confirms the same thing.
On the aroma: good things. This has a velvety smooth aroma, with big ash, roast, campfire, and s'mores. I'm reminded a bit of the S'more Money, S'More Problems. There's some earthy tobacco and dirt, baker's chocolate, and mocha-coffee on the nose. The more I dig into the aroma, the more I get dry/woody baker's chocolate, and big emerging coffee, espresso, and mocha. It smells really good.
I'm happy that this beer has a fairly hefty mouthfeel, it ought to at 10%. The taste is a nice continuum of the aroma, with luscious s'mores, ash, roast, earthy coffee and roast, dry baker's chocolate, hints of espresso and mocha, and woody dry sweetness. There are some hints toward lactose in here, with some shades of coffee creamer and cream. And you get some light, berry-like acidity from the coffee, with some coffee tannin and coffee carbonation.
This isn't the most mind-blowing coffee beer you can get, but it really does a good job at masking the 10% alcohol while providing enough mouthfeel to add the fullness necessary for the style. The mouthfeel is medium-full to full, with moderate palate depth and duration, and pretty above-average complexity. There's enough going on here to keep you engaged. Up front: velvety smooth mocha, chocolate, coffee, earth/ash, and huge ass s'mores; that rolls into more s'mores, woody dry chocolates, lactose, coffee, espresso, bitter, roast, espresso; the back end trails with bitterness and dry chocolate. You get lingering espresso, coffee, and coffee-berry acidity. The finish is ultimately pretty dry. Really nice.
Rating: Above-Average (4.0/5.0 Untappd)
I'm feeling a Strong Above-Average here...no ragrets. As I continue to sip this, I'm picking up some boozy complexity ala Rum or Bourbon, with hints at raisins and other complexities. It's a really nice, well-made brew. That's all you really need. I like how the coffee in this beer is very integrated. This isn't a coffee show, this is an Imperial Stout with strong coffee character. I also really enjoy the velvety, woody dryness that this beer has. It's very enjoyable. Food pairings: dry chocolate cakes, ice cream, baklava, tiramisu, chocolate chip pancakes, and raunchy burgers with aggressive cheeses.
Random Thought: Unlike yesterday's beer, the Big Hugs is worth all the $10 or so you'll pay for it.
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